Oklahoma didn’t just lose its first 2 games this weekend at Arkansas, its pitching was punished in giving up 12 runs in each game.
There was Friday’s 12-2 run-rule loss in 7 innings, and there was Saturday’s 12-8 setback that set up the 24th-ranked Sooners to be swept on Sunday afternoon against the 17th-ranked Razorbacks.
But Oklahoma didn’t let that happen, and specifically its offense wouldn’t let that happen. The Sooners’ pitching once again left a lot to be desired, but Oklahoma’s bats took care of things on Sunday in a wild 15-10 victory that salvaged the finale and gave OU something to build on from the weekend.
With the SEC Tournament looming, Oklahoma improved to 31-18 overall and 13-14 in the SEC. The Sooners also snapped a 4-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Arkansas couldn’t quite get the home sweep in dropping to 34-18 overall and 15-12 in conference play.
Oklahoma ripped away control of the game on Sunday with a 7-run top of the seventh, highlighted by Jaxon Willits’ 2-run home run off Colin Fisher. Willits grabbed hold of a 2-2 pitch on the blast, and soon the Sooners would grab hold of a game they desperately needed with the recent losses piling up.
Drew Dickerson effectively put things away for Oklahoma in that seventh-inning eruption, smacking a grand slam off Arkansas freshman Mark Brissey.
Arkansas showed fight on Sunday in erasing a 5-run deficit, but the Hogs couldn’t overcome the Sooners’ offensive outburst as the Razorbacks settled for the series win without the series sweep.
Kuhio Aloy belted a solo homer and TJ Pompey had a 2-run single as Arkansas rallied to tie the game in the sixth inning. But its comeback went to waste when Oklahoma erupted in that seventh-inning offensive showcase.
Oklahoma and Arkansas will both be heading to the SEC Tournament soon, but they’ll also have an eye on next month in trying to make it to Omaha for the College World Series. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the teams with the best chance to be the last one standing in June:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
