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Oklahoma baseball rewind: Sooners win second straight Big 12 series

By Chip Rouse

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 09: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres hits a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning at Oracle Park on May 09, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - MAY 09: Fernando Tatis Jr. #23 of the San Diego Padres hits a two-run home run against the San Francisco Giants in the second inning at Oracle Park on May 09, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma baseball shook off a 7-1 drubbing on Friday, sweeping a Saturday doubleheader at West Virginia to move up in Big 12 standings.

The Sooners (24-22, 8-10) moved ahead of Kansas State into sole possession of sixth place in the conference standings as a result of the two wins at West Virginia over the weekend. Oklahoma won the opening game on Saturday 8-7 in 11 innings and followed that with a more convincing 9-1 victory in the second game of the doubleheader.

The OU lineup showed good balance throughout the order in the doubleheader sweep on Saturday ang got an outstanding pitching effort from redshirt sophomore Braden Carmichael in the second game on Saturday.

Redshirt-freshman Peyton Graham hit a home run in both games on Saturday, his eighth and ninth of the season. Hitting in the leadoff spot, the Sooner third baseman had four hits in nine total plate appearances on Saturday, scored four runs and drove in a couple.

The Sooners never got untracked in the series opener on Friday, and the Mountaineers made sure of that scoring four times in the first inning and twice more in the second. West Virginia starter Jackson Wolf completed 7.0 innings, allowing OU just one run on three hits while striking out 11.

Wyatt Olds was the starter and losing pitcher for the Sooners on Friday. The sophomore right-hander’s pitching line was 6.2 innings pitched, giving up seven runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and five walks.

OU has now won two consecutive Big 12 series. The Sooners took two of three over Oklahoma State the weekend before.

Here are three big takeaways from the weekend series at West Virginia

  • Jimmy Crooks’ two-run home run blast in the 11th inning of game one of the Saturday doubleheader proved to be the decisive blow. West Virginia scored once in the bottom of the 11th. The game ended when OU reliever Javier Ramos got a strike out and a ground out to close out the win, leaving the tying run stranded on third.
  • Brandon Carmichael, the Oklahoma starter in game two on Saturday, did not allow a hit through seven innings. He pitched to one batter in the eighth before Carson Carter came on in relief after Carmichael had thrown 124 pitches. Carmichael allowed only four base runners, all on walks and he struck out 10. The Sooners carried a no-hitter into the ninth. West Virginia’s only hit in the game was a triple by Mountaineer right fielder Dominic Ragazzo leading off the bottom half of the ninth inning.
  • Oklahoma fifth-year senior shortstop Brandon Zaragoza played in his 240th and 241st consecutive game on Saturday. That broke the OU career record of 239 consecutive games set by Max White from 2010 to 2013.

Next up for the Crimson and Cream is a nonconference Bedlam contest against Oklahoma State in Tulsa on Tuesday followed by a weekend series at home against the Big 12’s third-place team, Texas Tech.

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