OU baseball gets first series sweep at Texas

AUSTIN, Texas — The Oklahoma baseball team won both games of its Saturday doubleheader at No. 14 Texas, 9-6 and 6-4, to complete the weekend series sweep at Disch-Falk Field.

The Sooners (22-19, 7-8 Big 12) swept the Longhorns (27-15, 8-7 Big 12) for the first time since 1998 and swept a three-game series in Austin for the first time ever.

Third baseman Anthony Mackenzie registered four hits on the day and drove in three runs in the first game. Right fielder Bryce Madron hit a three-run home run in the second game and shortstop Dakota Harris notched four hits in the doubleheader.

Braden Carmichael (3-0) earned the victory Saturday afternoon and Carter Campbell picked up his first save at OU with 3.1 relief innings, pitching for the second day in a row. James Hitt (3-0) got the win in the nightcap and Aaron Weber recorded his seventh save of the season.

In the series, the Sooners bullpen accounted for 11.1 innings and 11 strikeouts, allowing seven hits, three runs and two walks.

“I thought we really battled hard in the first game,” Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said. “We got a big lead and got a little complacent in the middle, but we really got the momentum back in the game, which was huge. Carter was outstanding again. I thought Carmichael had his ‘B’ and ‘C’ game, but he battled. He gave us enough innings where we could get to Carter. In the second game, I thought the same thing. Jamie didn’t have his best stuff, but he battled and kept us in the game. The offense was outstanding all day long, putting pressure on them. I thought Will Carsten was outstanding. It was good to get the wins today.”

OU is now 10-8 against Texas and 6-3 against the Longhorns in Austin during Johnson’s head coaching tenure, which began with the 2018 season.

Game 1: Oklahoma 9, Texas 6

Oklahoma jumped out to an 8-0 lead with five runs in the second inning and three more in the third, and held off Texas to clinch the series with a 9-6 win in the first game on Saturday.

Mackenzie went 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Rocco Garza-Gongora went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Carmichael (3-0) struck out four and scattered three runs and seven hits over his 5.0 innings. Campbell finished for the second game in a row, tossing 3.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts.

The Sooners scored five runs in a variety of ways in the second inning: four walks, a wild pitch, a passed ball, an RBI single by Garza-Gongora, an RBI fielder’s choice by Madron and a sacrifice fly by Harris.

In the third, Garza-Gongora singled home a run and Mackenzie hit a two-run single to extend the lead to 8-0. The Longhorns scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but Carmichael limited the damage to one run in each frame.

In the sixth, Texas cut OU’s lead to 8-6 on an RBI double by second baseman Jack O’Dowd and a two-run homer by right fielder Dylan Campbell. Mackenzie provided some insurance for the Sooners in the top of the eighth with his RBI single through the infield.

Campbell entered with two outs in the sixth inning and got a groundout, then limited the Longhorns to only a one-out single in the seventh. He retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced. In his two appearances during the series, Campbell pitched 6.1 innings, allowing no runs on three hits with three strikeouts and no walks.

Game 2: Oklahoma 6, Texas 4

Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead again in the nightcap. The Sooners scored two runs in the first inning and added three in the second to extend their lead to 5-1.

Left fielder Kendall Pettis hit an RBI triple to plate Mackenzie and scored on a single by center fielder John Spikerman. Madron blasted his team-leading eighth home run of the season with a three-run shot in the second inning.

Hitt (3-0) struck out three and allowed two earned runs on five hits over his 5.0 innings. He was relieved by Will Carsten to begin the sixth inning. Carsten struck out seven batters over his 3.2 relief frames. Weber induced a groundout to Mackenzie at third for the final out to secure his seventh save of the season.

OU withstood a Texas comeback attempt and added an insurance run in the seventh when Madron walked and scored on a passed ball. The Longhorns plated runs on a first inning sacrifice fly, an infield single by left fielder Porter Brown in the third, a solo homer by shortstop Mitchell Daly in the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.

The Sooners return home to L. Dale Mitchell Park for four games next week. OU plays host to Oral Roberts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, then faces Kansas in a Big 12 conference series next weekend. Game times for the weekend series are 6:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.