February baseball often means frigid temperatures, and the Sooners' season-opening set with Lehigh proved no exception in that regard.

However, the OU bats had no trouble warming up from the get-go, setting a striking tone for a 2025 season that brings new horizons and high expectations in the SEC. Oklahoma (3-0) easily dispatched Lehigh (0-3) in both ends of a Friday doubleheader, then wrapped the series sweep with a decisive Saturday win at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The Sooners claimed the opener by a score of 11-3, riding a trio of home runs to a runaway win. First baseman Dayton Tockey, a junior-college transfer, went deep with an opposite-field solo shot in his very first plate appearance as a Sooner. Second baseman Kyle Branch capped an early scoring surge with an inside-the-park two-run homer in the fifth inning, at which point Oklahoma led 9-0. Junior Kyson Witherspoon struck out nine hitters over five-plus innings of solid work, and the Mountain Hawks didn't push a run across on Witherspoon until the sixth frame. Jaxon Willits punctuated the Oklahoma victory with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, and OU reliever Michael Catalano struck out four batters in two perfect innings of relief to seal the deal.

Witherspoon picked up the win, while Lehigh starter Michael Danchision was charged with the loss after surrendering three earned runs in three innings of work.

Come the nightcap, the Sooners wasted no time in jumping all over the Mountain Hawks, tagging right-hander Julio Ermigiotti for seven runs (six earned) in his two innings of work. Oklahoma's four-spot in the first inning featured back-to-back RBI singles from catcher Easton Carmichael and third baseman Dawson Willis, with Tockey tacking on a sacrifice fly. Carmichael struck again in the second inning, clobbering a three-run shot to left off Ermigiotti and extending the lead to 7-0. That was more than enough support for Sooner starter Cam Johnson, a hulking left-hander who kept the Lehigh hitters off balance despite struggling with his control at times. The LSU transfer issued a pair of bases-loaded walks in the third inning, but that was all the offense the Mountain Hawks could muster against him. Johnson scattered two hits and struck out three hitters over five innings of work before giving way to the Oklahoma bullpen.

Carmichael picked up his fifth RBI of the evening in the seventh, doubling home Jason Walk. Oklahoma then finished the job in the eighth courtesy of Christian Hoffman, who pinch-hit for Carmichael with the Sooners holding a comfortable 11-3 lead. He doubled to deep right center to drive home Mason Hamlin and Dasan Harris, giving OU a decisive 13-3 lead that triggered the mercy rule and ended the game on the spot. Ermigiotti took the loss, with Johnson earning his first win as a Sooner.

On Saturday afternoon, Oklahoma sent power right-hander Malachi Witherspoon to the mound to try and secure the sweep. He allowed a first-inning run, but the top of the Oklahoma lineup immediately erased the deficit. Walk led off with a double, took third on a wild pitch and sauntered home on a Willits sacrifice fly. Carmichael followed suit with another home run, blistering a solo shot over the right-field wall to give Oklahoma a 2-1 lead. The Sooners added another run later in the inning on an RBI double from Willis, then put up crooked numbers in the next two frames as well. A bases-loaded walk from Christiansen and a sacrifice fly from Trey Gambill accounted for the damage in the second inning, and then Walk, Willits and Carmichael notched consecutive RBI hits in the third to stretch OU's lead to 8-1. The Sooners got five strong innings from Witherspoon, as he allowed just three hits and two walks while racking up six strikeouts.

A four-run surge in the sixth inning created mercy-rule potential for Oklahoma once again, as Willis opened the flurry with an RBI infield single. Minutes after tossing a perfect sixth on the hill, Gavyn Jones stepped to the plate with one out and the bases loaded, and promptly punched a single of his own to score two more runs. Branch tacked on an insurance run with another RBI single, and southpaw Jason Bodin secured the win and the sweep by tossing a scoreless seventh inning for Oklahoma. Witherspoon earned the win, and Lehigh starter David Andolina was saddled with the loss.

Next up for the Sooners is a midweek road tilt with UT-Arlington on Wednesday. First pitch from Globe Life Field is set for 7 p.m. local time.

— Oklahoma designated hitter Trey Gambill reached base in all nine of his plate appearances in Friday's doubleheader.

— Left-handed reliever Cade Crossland tossed two scoreless innings in his Oklahoma debut Friday after spending last season at Weatherford Junior College.

— The Sooners stole five bases in the first game of Friday's doubleheader, with Tockey accounting for two of those swipes.

— Right fielder Sam Christiansen finished a home run shy of the cycle in his Oklahoma debut, going 3-for-3 with a single, double and triple in the series opener. He added a walk and a sacrifice fly in his other two plate appearances.

Not an OUInsider.com premium member? Sign up today to get loads of inside information on Oklahoma football, softball, basketball, and recruiting, all for just a few dollars a month. Click HERE to get started!

Follow us on Twitter @OUInsider and on Instagram @ouinsiderofficial!

Subscribe on YouTube by clicking here for daily video content on all things Oklahoma!