Oklahoma rebounded from two consecutive SEC series losses and dropping five of its last six conference games with a series win at Vanderbilt over the weekend.
After losing the series opener on Thursday, the Sooners came back to win games two and three at Hawkins Field in Nashville to improve to 24-11 overall and 7-8 in the conference, tied for ninth place with Vanderbilt (21-16, 7-8) in the SEC standings.
The Sooners had lost consecutive series to Texas and Alabama the previous two weekends, and after giving up eight runs in the late innings in a 10-5 loss on Thursday and trailing 8-5 in the opening inning in Friday night's game, it appeared that Oklahoma might be headed for a third straight series loss, if not a series sweep.
Vanderbilt broke up a 2-2 game in the series opener, teeing off on the Oklahoma bullpen for three runs in the seventh inning and a five-spot in the eighth to hand the Sooners their sixth loss in the last nine outings. The Sooners also squandered a 13-strikeout performance from starter LJ Mercurius, who went 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and was charged with the loss, his fourth to go with five wins this season.
Half of the runs scored in Friday's middle game in the series were tallied in the first inning: five by Oklahoma, countered by eight Vanderbilt runs. It turned out, though, that the Sooners were just getting started.
A pair of four-run innings, powered by grand slams in the fourth and sixth innings by Camden Johnson and Deiten LaChance, respectively, were just enough to fuel Oklahoma to a 13-11 comeback win on Friday. Johnson also homered in the first inning to help give OU a short-lived 5-0 advantage.
The rubber game in the series on Saturday was less offensive fireworks. The Sooners jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third inning, highlighted by a solo home run off the bat of Jason Walk, and never trailed after that. With the score tied at 5-5 in the eighth, Kyle Branch drove in Dasan Harris from second with a single down the left-field line with what proved to be the winning run in a 6-5 Oklahoma victory and the series win.
Oklahoma is now 7-5 all-time against Vanderbilt in baseball. Five of those games have come since last season. The Sooners took two of three in Norman a year ago, and Vanderbilt defeated OU in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
Next up for the Sooners is a midweek Bedlam matchup with Oklahoma State on Tuesday in Tulsa. Following that will be a three-game series at home against Missouri.
3 takeaways that tell the story of the Sooners' series win over Vanderbilt
Sooner bullpen comes to life in Games 2 and 3
After giving up seven runs in less than two innings in Oklahoma's 10-5 loss in the series opener with Vanderbilt, the Sooner bullpen settled down and got a lot more stingy in the final two games of the series, both Oklahoma wins. Four OU relievers allowed just two runs on four hits over the final eight innings on Friday, and the bullpen worked the final six innings in Saturday's win, giving up three runs on three hits and striking out 10 to preserve the victory.
Jackson Cleveland closed out both Oklahoma victories and picked up a save in both games. The sophomore right-hander has a team-best six saves on the season, tied for first in the SEC.
Camden Johnson powers Oklahoma to Game 2 win
Junior third baseman Camden Johnson had a career day in Friday's win. He hammered a home run over the right-field fence in the first inning with two aboard and cleared the right-field fence again in the sixth with the bases loaded. It was the Wichita State transfer's first multi-homer game in his career and his first with seven RBI in a single game. Johnson finished with three hits in five at-bats with a pair of home runs, his fourth and fifth of the season, three runs scored and seven driven in.
Friday's double-digit run production, OU's 11th of the season
Oklahoma's 13-11 win in Friday's middle game of the Vanderbilt series was the 11th time this season the Sooners scored 10 or more runs in a game this season. The 24 total wins in Friday's game equaled OU's highest-scoring game of the season, which was 24-0 against Coppin State. The Sooners have reached double digits against two SEC opponents this season: 12-11 against Texas A&M and 13-11 over Vanderbilt.