The 2023 Oklahoma Sooners’ season has come to its conclusion after an 8-5 loss to East Carolina on Sunday. The Sooners went 1-2 in the Charlottesville Regional with a 10-1 victory against Army and two losses against the Pirates — who held a strong argument to host but ultimately drew a No. 2 seed in the Charlottesville Regional.
Oklahoma took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning thanks to an RBI sacrifice fly by Anthony MacKenzie to score Kendall Pettis from third. Pettis drew a walk earlier in the inning.
James Hitt (6-2) shut down the East Carolina (47-18) offense in the first two innings but lost command in the third frame. The Pirates took a 3-1 lead thanks to a walk and three hits and never trailed for the rest of the game. Hitt was chased from the game in the fifth inning as the Pirates scored five more to take a commanding 8-1 lead.
Carter Campbell made his 34th relief appearance in the fifth inning in relief of Hitt but only recorded one out. The Western Oklahoma State College transfer allowed three earned runs on four hits — including three doubles by the Pirates.
Oklahoma (32-28) responded with two runs of their own following East Carolina’s offensive explosion in the top of the fifth. Pettis walked and scored on a single by Dakota Harris, and Bryce Madron singled and scored on a balk to cut the deficit to 8-3.
Carson Pierce and Will Carsten pitched the final 4.2 innings of relief out of the bullpen for the Sooners and were dominant. Pierce allowed two walks and a hit in 1.2 innings pitched and Carsten allowed just a walk and tacked on two strikeouts in 3.0 innings of relief.
Oklahoma got another run back in the seventh inning. Harris hit a double before Easton Carmichael hit a double of his own with two outs to score Harris and cut the deficit to 8-4 with two innings left.
In the bottom of the ninth, Madron launched a leadoff homer for his 12th home run of the season to bring the Sooners within three. MacKenzie was hit by a pitch with one out but Carmichael and Diego Muniz each struck out to end the potential rally for the Sooners.
Oklahoma concludes its 2023 campaign in its 40th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Sooners reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and third time in the last five completed seasons under head coach Skip Johnson.
