Prolific offense helps Sooners race away from Wright State in home opener

As a baseball program, Wright State might not have outstanding name recognition nationwide, but the Raiders boast a highly competitive squad year in and year out. In fact, they've appeared in three consecutive NCAA tournaments under the leadership of head coach Alex Sogard.

Even so, they were no match for an explosive Oklahoma offense on Friday evening. In their 2024 home opener, the Sooners sent a crimson-clad crowd home happy, securing a one-sided opening victory to kick off a four-game set with Wright State.

Bryce Madron helped Oklahoma get off to a torrid start early; he doubled in John Spikerman to open the scoring in the bottom of the first, then tallied two more RBI's with a second-inning double as the Sooners hung five early runs on Wright State starter Jake Shirk. Anthony Mackenzie hammered a solo home run in the third frame to increase the advantage, and an inning later, Michael Snyder tacked on a sacrifice fly to stretch Oklahoma's lead to 7-0. Shirk left the game after four innings, charged with all seven runs on nine hits.

Upon Shirk's departure, the Sooners wasted no time in jumping all over the Raider bullpen, as they batted around in the fifth. Kendall Pettis and Scott Mudler led off the inning with back-to-back singles off reliever Garrett Simpson, and Spikerman brought them both home with a one-out base hit to right. After a Madron walk, Easton Carmichael doubled down the left-field line to score Spikerman, and Snyder chased Simpson from the game with another RBI double that plated Madron. Southpaw Chet Lax entered the game to mitigate the damage, but Oklahoma quickly added two more runs, as Jackson Nicklaus blooped an RBI double into left field and McKenzie continued the onslaught with a run-scoring groundout. With the score 13-0 in the Sooners' favor, Pettis mercifully flew out to end the inning.

Lax worked a scoreless sixth, but Oklahoma tagged him for a four-spot in the seventh. With two outs, freshman outfielder Dasan Harris legged out an RBI infield single in pinch-hit duty, and Mudler followed with a towering three-run homer to right that ended Lax's outing. Come the eighth, Raiders reliever Joey Valentine walked the bases loaded, and reserve infielder Isaiah Lane promptly cleared them with a triple that pushed the lead to 20-0.

The pitcher of record for Oklahoma was starter Braden Davis, who powered down the Raider bats to pick up his first win of the 2024 campaign. Davis scattered just three hits — all singles — across six scoreless innings, tallying eight strikeouts in the process. Over his first two starts as a Sooner, the transfer southpaw from Sam Houston State has allowed just a single earned run in 11 innings of work.

After Davis exited, senior right-hander Jett Lodes posted two scoreless innings of relief, striking out four Raiders and allowing just a single hit. Wright State loaded the bases in the ninth on junior-college transfer Myles Meyer, who surrendered a leadoff double and issued back-to-back walks with one out. But freshman righty Brad Pruett entered the game and punched out the final two hitters to preserve the shutout.

The sixth frame was the only inning in which Oklahoma failed to plate a run, and twelve different Sooners recorded at least one base hit.

John Spikerman: Reached in all four plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base before being lifted for pinch-hitter Patrick Engskov in the sixth.

Bryce Madron: Went 2-for-4 with two doubles, two walks, three RBI and four runs scored.

Scott Mudler: Went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored.

Dasan Harris: Logged his first career hit and RBI on a seventh-inning infield single.

Isaiah Lane: Drove in three runs with his first career hit, an eighth-inning triple.

The Sooners and Raiders return to L. Dale Mitchell Park for a doubleheader Saturday afternoon, with the first pitch of the front end set for 1:00 p.m.

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