Spikerman, Sooners sweep Saturday doubleheader with Wright State
If Oklahoma keeps up its current level of play on the diamond, they'll boast one of the most feared offenses in college baseball by the time the postseason arrives in May.
And if John Spikerman continues his torrid start to the 2024 campaign, he'll be in contention for more than a few national awards in the months ahead.
Oklahoma relentlessly dominated Wright State for 18 consecutive innings on Saturday, sweeping a doubleheader with the Raiders at L. Dale Mitchell Park behind an offensive outburst paced by Spikerman. Through six games, the Sooners' dynamic leadoff man is hitting a clean .500, but he hasn't just made his presence felt with the bat. He's been a terror on the basepaths and a tractor beam in center field, and he flashed his uncanny abilities in every imaginable area on Saturday.
Spikerman got things rolling with a flourish in the front end of the doubleheader, as he led off the home half of the first inning with a mammoth home run to right field that traveled over 450 feet. Wright State evened the score in the top of the second, stringing together a walk and a pair of base hits off Sooner starter Brendan Girton to plate a run. But Oklahoma quickly regained the advantage in the bottom of the inning, as Carter Frederick sliced an RBI single into left field. That's when the floodgates swung wide open.
Two batters later, with one out and the bases juiced, Spikerman chopped a slow comebacker to Wright State starter Ty Roder. The right-hander's wild throw to first flew out of play, plating two more Oklahoma runs. Bryce Madron walked to re-load the bases, and Easton Carmichael followed with a two-run single to left. Cleanup hitter Michael Snyder then chased Roder from the game by roping a first-pitch RBI double. Raider reliever Garrett Peters allowed another run on an Anthony Mackenzie sacrifice fly, but escaped the inning without incurring further damage. All told, the Sooners sent 12 batters to the plate in the second, scoring seven total runs and grabbing a commanding 8-1 lead.
From there, Oklahoma cruised. Wright State did rough up Girton in the fourth, tagging him for four earned runs and prompting Skip Johnson to insert left-handed reliever Jace Miner. But Spikerman quelled the rally with a leaping catch at the center-field wall to end the threat, stranding a pair of Raiders on the basepaths. The Sooners added two runs in their half of the fourth and three more in the fifth, and that provided sufficient margin. Wright State's Luke Arnold launched a two-run homer off Miner in the sixth, and come the seventh, Jay Luikart took Oklahoma reliever Grant Stevens deep for a two-run shot of his own. But the Raiders could muster no more offense, and Oklahoma claimed the first game of the doubleheader by a score of 14-9.
Miner, who allowed two hits and two runs in two innings of work, earned the win. Spikerman led the charge offensively by going 3-for-4 with a double, the leadoff homer, four RBI's and two runs scored. Carmichael, Snyder, Mackenzie, Frederick and Kendall Pettis all registered multiple hits. Meanwhile, Bryce Madron was an on-base machine from the 2-hole, going 1-for-2 with a run and four walks.
Come the nightcap, junior-college transfer Kyson Witherspoon got the nod for his first career start as a Sooner. He got run support right off the bat, as Spikerman created a run all by himself in the bottom of the first. The Sooners' star outfielder drew a leadoff walk, stole second, then swiped third as well. As he slid into third, Raider catcher Boston Smith's throw sailed into left field, and Spikerman trotted home to give the Sooners a 1-0 lead. Pettis doubled in another Oklahoma run in the second, but Wright State got it back in the top of the third with a one-out RBI double from Sammy Sass. A couple of defensive gems got OU out of the inning; Pettis first laid out for a full-extension diving catch on a shot into the gap, and then Sass attempted to take third on a wild pitch. Catcher Scott Mudler's ensuing throw got away from Mackenzie and rolled toward the Oklahoma dugout, but Mackenzie ran down the ball and coolly gunned down Sass at the plate to end the frame.
Oklahoma added two runs in the third frame, as Madron got the party started with a one-out triple down the right-field line. Carmichael singled him home, taking second base when Raider left fielder Ben Vore misplayed the ball. After Jackson Nicklaus reached safely with a beautifully placed bunt single, a sacrifice fly from Snyder brought Carmichael across the plate.
In the bottom of the fourth, Pettis led off with a blistering solo shot to left to make the score 5-1, and a one-out double from Jaxon Willits ended the night for Wright State starter Josh Laisure. Reliever Wes Earles induced a pair of groundouts to escape the threat, but the Sooners got right back into gear in the fifth. Mackenzie drove in a run with a one-out double, and Pettis singled Mackenzie home for his third hit and third RBI of the evening. Scott Mudler brought Pettis around with an RBI double, and the Sooners didn't sweat for the remainder of the evening. A sixth-inning two-run shot from Snyder neutralized a couple of scratch runs from the Raiders, and 10-3 was the final tally.
Witherspoon picked up the win with five-plus innings of solid work, scattering seven hits and two runs while logging three strikeouts. Reid Hensley and Carter Campbell did the mop-up work for the Oklahoma bullpen, combining for four innings of hitless relief.
The Sooners will look to complete the four-game sweep of Wright State tomorrow; first pitch from L. Dale Mitchell Park is at 2 p.m.
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