This weekend in Oklahoma baseball, the Oklahoma Sooners (22-19, 7-8 in the big 12 conference) played host to the Kansas Jayhawks (20-21, 5-10) for a three-game series at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The Sooners went into this series having won 10 of their last 11 against the Jayhawks. The Sooners dropped the first game of the series, 8-2, on Friday, but come back to take the next two and win the series.
For an overview of the OU-Kansas series, check out Chip Rouse’s StormininNorman article.
Please join me as I walk to the mound and examine how the Oklahoma Sooners pitching staff faired against the Jayhawks of Kansas.
Friday, April 28, 12:30 PM
Result: Kansas 8, Oklahoma 2
Braxton Douthit took the mound for the Sooners on Friday afternoon, bringing a 4-2 record with him. Douthit has had a strong 2023 campaign so far this season, but he would probably rather forget this particular outing.
Douthit would only last four and one-third innings, allowing five of the Jayhawks’ eight runs on three hits, walking five, hitting a Jayhawk with a wild pitch and only striking out three. Douthit had three fly outs, seven ground outs and threw 101 pitches in only a little over four innings.
Carter Campbell entered the game in the fifth in relief of Douthit, followed by Jett Lodes. Campbell and Lodes combined to give up five hits, which resulted in the Jayhawk’s remaining three runs. Campbell did not walk anybody, however Lodes walked three, and the two OU relievers combined for three strikeouts.
Gray Harrison, ,Julien Hachem, Kale Davis and Carson Turnquest closed out the remainder of the game, but by this time (with not much run support from the Sooners’ offense) despite the fact that the four relievers allowed no runs on no hits and walked only two, the damage had been done.
Douthit was charged with the loss, dropping his record to 4-3.
Saturday, April 29, 3:00 PM
Oklahoma 11, Kansas 6
Braden Carmichael was the starting pitcher for the Sooners in Game 2 of the series, and fared only a little better then Douthit the day before.
Carmichael lasted five and a third innings, giving up five of the Jayhawks six runs on ten hits, striking out six and throwing 86 pitches.
Aaron Webber, Carter Campbell and Will Carsten finished off the Sooners’ victory, combining for one run on only three hits, walking two and striking out four collectively.
The Sooners’ pitching staff finished off the game with six runs on 13 hits, walking two and striking out 10, and with plenty of run support from the Sooner bats, Oklahoma took take game two handily. Carmichael got his fourth win with Carsten earned the save.
Sunday, April 30, 2:00 PM
Oklahoma 7, Kansas 4
James Hitt took the mound on Sunday against the Jayhawks and continued a strong 2023 campaign. He lasted eight innings, the longest stint by an OU pitcher this season. He allowed all four of the Kansas runs on seven hits, striking out five, issuing one free pass on 89 pitches.
Will Carston (having earned the save for the Sooners the day before) came in for only one inning of work and used only eight pitches to dispatch the Jayhawks in order in the ninth. Using those eight pitches, Carsen induced three fly outs and secured a Sooners victory, ceiling the series win for the Sooners and evening their Big 12 record at 9-9.
Sunday afternoon the Sooners needed just two pitchers to defeat the Jayhawks, a far cry from the bullpen activity in the previous two games in the series.
Hitt picked up the win, his fourth, and Carsten was awarded his second save of the weekend.
Join me next Monday, for another Monday Mound Visit, after the Sooners have spent the weekend in Morgantown West Virginia, for a 3-game series against the Mountaineers.