Skip Johnson raised some eyebrows when he decided to start Kyson Witherspoon over ace Braden Davis in the opening game of Oklahoma's regional.

But that decision by the Sooners' revered baseball coach paid off in spades Friday night, as Witherspoon turned in arguably the best performance of his Oklahoma career. And buoyed by a trio of home runs from Bryce Madron, Easton Carmichael and Scott Mudler, the Sooners' offense took care of the rest.

Witherspoon fired six scoreless innings, surrendering just one hit and racking up nine strikeouts, as Oklahoma cruised to a 14-0 win over Oral Roberts in their first home regional tilt since 2010. The Sooners recorded sixteen hits of their own in yet another offensive onslaught, which has become a regular occurrence for their vaunted lineup. Madron staked Oklahoma to an immediate lead in the bottom of the first inning with a sacrifice fly, then added a two-run shot in the bottom of the third. Carmichael broke the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth, blasting a three-run shot to right to increase the lead to 6-0.

And that was more than enough support for Witherspoon, who was erratic at times but consistently came up with big pitches in key moments. He walked five batters and racked up 114 total pitches over his six innings of work, but escaped every threat, including a bases-loaded jam in the top of the first.

The Sooners rubbed salt in the wound in the later innings once Oral Roberts turned to its bullpen; Mudler chased ORU starter Jakob Hall with a sixth-inning solo homer and the floodgates opened. Isaiah Lane singled in a seventh-inning run, and John Spikerman drove home two more later in the frame with a single of his own. OU tacked on four eighth-inning runs with an RBI fielder's choice from Michael Snyder, an RBI hit from Jackson Nicklaus and a single from Mudler that chased home another pair.

Carter Campbell secured the save for Oklahoma with three scoreless innings of relief.

The Sooners, who enter their regional as the No. 9 national seed, will now face UConn on Saturday for a chance to advance to the regional final. First pitch from L. Dale Mitchell Park is set for 8 p.m.

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