Oklahoma made Sooner baseball history this past weekend. The Sooners had not won a game, let alone a series, at LSU since 1972.
OU took two of three games from the reigning national champion on the latter's home field in Baton Rouge to improve to 4-2 in the highly competitive SEC and 19-5 overall. Ranked No. 8 in the country, the Sooners are one of 10 SEC teams ranked in the top 25 nationally and one of six ranked in the top 10.
The Sooners lost the series opener at LSU 7-1 on Thursday, but bounced back to claim 4-2 and 4-3 victories on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The win on Saturday was Oklahoma's first in five previous visits to Baton Rouge since 1972.
Oklahoma got off to a rocky start in Game 1 of the series with starter Cameron Johnson lasting just one out into the second inning, allowing five runs (only two of them earned) on just one hit. He walked six in 1.1 innings, and the Sooner defense behind him committed three second-inning errors, allowing LSU to score five times in the first two innings and cruise to a 7-1 victory.
LSU starter Casan Evans gave up just one run on three hits and struck out 15 hitters in 7.2 innings to secure the Tigers' series-opening win. For Johnson, who was charged with the loss, it was his first of the season to go with three wins.
Oklahoma pitching took over the final two games in the series behind a pair of strong starts by LJ Mercurius in a 4-2 Sooner win on Friday and a 4-3 victory in the series finale on Saturday with starter Cord Rager on the mound. The Sooners fell behind early in both games, but managed to come back and secure victories in both contests.
Mercurius, a right-handed transfer from UNLV, worked 5.1 innings in Friday's win, giving up two runs on four hits, striking out seven and walking two in improving his season record to a team-best 5-1.
Rager got the start in Saturday's rubber game of the series. The freshmen left-hander worked into the fifth inning, allowing three runs on two hits, striking out four and issuing the same number of free passes. The pitcher of record in the game, however, was OU reliever Cleveland Jackson, who entered the game in the bottom of the seventh and pitched a scoreless and hitless 2.1 innings to earn the win.
Oklahoma scored three times in the top of the eighth in Saturday's season finale to wipe out a 3-1 LSU advantage and give the Sooners a 4-3 victory and the series win. OU had plenty of scoring opportunities in Saturday's win, leaving a season-most 14 runners on base.
The Sooners on Thursday begin a three-game series at Texas against their Red River rivals. All three games in that series can be seen on SEC Network.
3 observations of note from the LSU series
1. Series of sequential throwing errors in same inning doom Sooners in Game 1
Three critical and unaccustomed Oklahoma throwing errors in the second inning of the series-opening game on Thursday led to three unearned runs for LSU. The Tigers scored a total of four times in that innings, and as things turned out, that was all they would need in a 7-1 win over the Sooners.
2. Two of OU's series wins were in come-from-behind fashion
Oklahoma fell behind early in all three games of the series. Fortunately, the Sooners were able to mount comebacks in the final two games and win the series. It was OU's ninth come-from-behind win in 24 games this season.
3. LJ Mercurius shines again as ace of Sooner pitching staff
The UNLV transfer has emerged as the ace of the Oklahoma pitching staff this season. The right-hander has a 5-1 record and leads all Sooner starters with a 1.87 ERA in six starts, as well as in strikeouts (48), walks (10), innings pitched (33.2), WHIP (.86) and opponents' batting average (.162).
Mercurius was one of four OU pitchers who appeared in Friday's 4-2 win. That group recorded 13 strikeouts (seven by Mercurius). It marked the 15th time in 24 games Oklahoma pitchers have been credited with at least 10 punch-outs in a single game.