Oklahoma opened the 2025 college baseball season with a decisive three-game weekend sweep of unheralded Lehigh before the home crowd at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The Sooners, who scored 24 runs and pounded out 24 hits in taking two games from Lehigh in a Friday doubleheader, continued the offensive onslaught for a 12-1 run-rule win in seven innings in a single game on Saturday.
Oklahoma pitching held the Mountain Hawk offense to one run on just three hits with junior right-hander Malachi Witherspoon matching his brother Kyson's masterful outing on Saturday, going five innings while yielding one run on three hits and striking out six.
The OU lumber sizzled in all three games as the Sooners reached double digits in runs and hits in all three games. Among the Oklahoma hitting stars in the Lehigh series was catcher Easton Carmichael, who collected six hits in 11 plate appearances and drove in eight runs, including five with a deep three-run home run in the second game of the doubleheader on Friday.
Leadoff hitter and center fielder Jason Walk had seven hits in 13 at-bats over the weekend and scored five runs.
The Sooners had new starters at the corner infield positions in first baseman Dayton Tockey and third baseman Dawson Willis, and at second base with Kyle Branch, and new players at all three outfield spots with Trey Gambill, Jason Walk and Sam Christiansen.
The weekend pitching rotation looked solid with the Witherspoon brothers and left-handed LSU transfer Cameron Johnson. That trio collectively yielded six runs on seven hits and 18 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched.
It is difficult to draw much from just one series regarding what kind of season we might expect from this remolded Oklahoma squad -- especially going against an overmatched opponent -- but next weekend's action will give us a much better read on this Sooner team.
Oklahoma plays a midweek game on Wednesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, against the University of Texas-Arlington, but next weekend the Sooners participate in the Round Rock Classic featuring games against Minnesota, No. 7 Oregon State and Virginia on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Oregon State was 45-16 a year ago and Virginia was 46-17.