Oklahoma baseball rewind: OU bats sing in sweep of Kansas
By Chip Rouse
The Oklahoma baseball offense made every hit count over the weekend, exploding for 46 runs on the same number of hits in sweeping a three-game series on the road at Kansas.
What aided the Sooners greatly were 26 walks issued by Kansas pitchers.
The Sooners finished off the series sweep on Sunday with a 24-4 rout of the Jayhawks. That was preceded by a 15-2 OU win on Friday and a come-from-behind 7-6 victory in 14 innings in the middle game of the series on Saturday afternoon.
OU improved to 25-13 overall and is now 7-5 and tied with West Virginia in 5th place in the Big 12 standings.
It was an especially big weekend for Sooner first baseman Blake Robertson and shortstop Peyton Graham. Robertson collected 11 hits in 17 official plate appearances in the three games, scored eight times and drove in 11 runs. Graham, meanwhile, proved equally difficult to get out, going 10 of 17 at the plate in the series with 10 runs and eight RBI, including a solo home run on Saturday, his team-high 10th of the season.
Robertson had six RBI in Sunday’s runaway win, including a three-run home run.
The Sooners broke up a relatively close game in Friday’s series opener, scoring 11 runs over the final four innings while holding Kansas scoreless the rest of the way and to just two runs for the game. OU starter Jake Bennett went a strong 6.0 innings to earn the win, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking two KU hitters.
OU trailed 6-3 entering the ninth inning on Saturday but scored three times in the ninth on just two hits to tie the score and send the game to extra innings. Neither team scored again until the 14th inning, when the Sooners put together a single by Graham followed by a ground-rule double by Robertson, placing OU baserunners at second and third. Tanner Tredaway lifted a sacrifice fly to center field scoring Graham with what proved to be the winning run.
Sooner reliever Michael Trevin got the win in game two, pitching six innings in relief, giving up no runs on three hits and striking out eight Jayhawks. It was his third win of the season without a loss.
Kansas took a brief 1-0 lead in the first inning on Sunday on a pair of singles, a wild pitch and a double-play ball. But in the OU half of the second, the Sooners exploded for nine runs, all with two outs, and followed that with a six spot in the third, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Four Oklahoma pitchers saw action on Sunday. Freshman Cade Horton made his first start of the season against a Big 12 opponent. He went 2.2 innings, allowing five hits and two runs before yielding to Chazz Martinez, who pitched 2 1/3 innings and was credited with the win, his third against three losses.
Nine Oklahoma players scored at least one time in Sunday’s blowout and four players in the Sooner starting lineup accounted for four runs apiece.
The Sooners return to action on Tuesday against Oral Roberts in Tulsa. OU defeated ORU 8-2 in an earlier game this season in Norman. It’s back to Big 12 action this weekend as the Sooners host Kansas State in Norman.