Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma baseball rewind: Pitching shines in series win over Northwestern State

By Chip Rouse

CARY, NC - FEBRUARY 23: AJ Medrano #12 of Wagner College waits for a pitch during a game between Wagner and Penn State at Coleman Field at USA Baseball National Training Complex on February 23, 2020 in Cary, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
CARY, NC - FEBRUARY 23: AJ Medrano #12 of Wagner College waits for a pitch during a game between Wagner and Penn State at Coleman Field at USA Baseball National Training Complex on February 23, 2020 in Cary, North Carolina. (Photo by Andy Mead/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma baseball wrapped up its second week of 2022 action with three wins in four games and a series win over Northwestern (Louisiana) State.

The Sooners capped off the weekend with a 5-1 win over the Demons of Northwestern State. The three-game series was moved to Globe Life Park in Dallas because of inclement weather in Oklahoma. It marked the second weekend in a row that the Sooners played at the home of MLB’s Texas Rangers. They opened the season with games against Auburn, Michigan and Arizona.

OU never trailed in Sunday’s series finale behind a brilliant pitching performance by Chaz Martinez. The sophomore left-hander went innings, allowing no runs and two hits and striking out 14 of the 23 batters he faced.

Freshman second baseman Jackson Nicklaus put the Sooners ahead 2-0 with a two-run home run, the first of his collegiate career. OU never trailed from that point. Preseason All-American Peyton Graham also homered in the game, his second of the season. Both of his home runs have been at Globe Life Park.

Oklahoma took two of three games from Northwestern State. The Sooners dropped the series opener on Friday 4-2 despite an equally strong outing by starter Jake Bennett. Bennett went the first 6.1 innings and gave up no runs on just two hits while striking out 14.

With the Sooners leading 2-1 in the top of the eighth inning, Northwestern State erupted for three runs on three hits off three OU relievers to take a 4-2 lead, and that’s the way the game ended.

Another young Oklahoma hurler led the way in a 2-1 Sooner win on Saturday. Northwestern State scored first in the game, putting up a single run in the second inning. But the Sooners countered with single runs of their own in the third and sixth innings, which proved to be enough to secure the victory.

David Sandlin, making his second start of the season, completed six full innings, yielding one run on five hits along with eight strikeouts. Carter Campbell and Trevin Michael finished up the game in relief for OU, with Michael getting the save.

Sandlin evened his record at 1-1. He took the loss in Oklahoma’s 14-4 loss to then-No. Arizona last weekend.

Prior to the weekend series with Northwestern State, OU opened the 2022 season at home at L. Dale Mitchell Park with a 6-2 runaway win over Wichita State. The Sooners literally used their feet, stealing 11 bases in the game, three each by Graham, Tanner Tredaway and Kendall Pettis.

Center fielder Tredaway and freshman third baseman Cade Horton each drove in a pair of runs for the Sooners in the win over Wichita State.

The Sooners stand 5-2 after the first two weeks of the season. Oklahoma travel back to the state of Texas this weekend to play at another MLB park: Minute Maid Park in Houston, home of the Houston Astros. The level of competition ramps up considerably this coming weekend, when the Sooners will play 7th-ranked LSU on Friday, UCLA on Saturday and wind up the weekend facing 17th-ranked Tennessee.

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