Oklahoma baseball rewind: Takeaways from a home series sweep avoided
By Chip Rouse
![Bryce Madron hits in the sixth inning to bring in a tying run as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) baseball team plays Rider at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Feb. 24, 2023 in Norman, Okla. [Steve Sisney/For The Oklahoman]Ou Practice](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F60d92c73bc7479a7507d3e51502832aac8082d8b3b7ffa26d68c00621dc7b4d9.jpg "Bryce Madron hits in the sixth inning to bring in a tying run as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) baseball team plays Rider at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Feb. 24, 2023 in Norman, Okla. [Steve Sisney/For The Oklahoman]Ou Practice")
Oklahoma baseball avoided an embarrassing Big 12 series sweep at home with a 12-2 run-rule victory over Texas Tech in the final game of the three-game weekend series on Sunday.
Bryce Madron and Jackson Nicklaus hit three home runs and combined for nine RBI in the Sooners’ win in Sunday’s series finale over Texas Tech. Madron had four hits in five at-bats and drove in four runs with a pair of long balls, and Nicklaus collected three hits and five RBI in contributing to OU’s 12-run power display.
The Sooners broke up a relatively close game with four runs to open up a 7-1 advantage. Madron’s two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, his second of the game and sixth of the season, triggered the run rule, ending the game early.
Oklahoma’s lively bats overshadowed an outstanding pitching performance from Redshirt-senior starter Braden Carmichael, who worked into the seventh inning, allowing two runs (one earned) on nine hits and striking out five with just one walk.
Texas Tech exploding for seven runs in the 10th inning in Friday’s series opener to break open a 6-6 tie after nine innings and go on to win 13-7. The Red Raiders remained hot offensively on Saturday, pounding out 13 hits off of four Sooner pitchers in a 9-5 victory to clinch the series win.
The Sooners (19-18, 4-8) would like to see the momentum from Sunday’s game carry over to a midweek Bedlam showdown on Tuesday in Stillwater against Oklahoma State. Tuesday’s game will not count in the conference standings, but the three-game set next weekend at league-leading and 9th-ranked Texas will count in the standings, where the Sooners currently occupy the bottom spot, a game and a half back of ninth-place Baylor.
Three takeaways from a third consecutive OU hardball series loss
- Sophomore Jackson Nicklaus had a big series for the Sooners offensively. The OU second baseman finished the Texas Tech series with six hits in 10 at-bats and a team-high 11 RBI and a two-run home run on Sunday, his sixth of the 2023 season.
- Left-hander Braden Carmichael made just his fourth start of the season in Sunday’s game and picked up his second win of the season without a loss. He also improved his ERA to 2.65 in 31.1 innings, going 7.1 innings against the Red Raiders and allowing just one earned run.
- After winning their opening Big 12 series against TCU. the Sooners have lost three straight conference series (0-3 to Kansas State, 1-2 to both Baylor and Texas Tech in back-to-back weeks.