Kyson Witherspoon didn't get off to a fantastic start on Friday.

The flamethrowing Oklahoma right-hander surrendered a leadoff home run to Minnesota's Josh Fitzgerald, which could have set the tone for a precarious nine innings of baseball at the Round Rock Classic.

Instead, Witherspoon buckled down and then some, as Minnesota didn't manage another baserunner until the fifth inning. After allowing the leadoff bomb, Witherspoon held the Golden Gophers to just two more hits and no more runs in seven dominant innings of work, logging a remarkable 12 strikeouts to help OU secure a 3-2 victory.

Though they initially struggled to break through against Gophers right-hander Cole Selvig, the Sooners finally drew even in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single from Kyle Branch. They took their first lead of the game in the fifth, when Jason Walk led off with a double. Selvig retired the next two Oklahoma hitters, but seeing an ostensibly favorable matchup, Minnesota head coach Ty McDevitt decided to bring in lefty reliever Will Whelan to try and record the final out of the inning. Due up for Oklahoma was right fielder Sam Christiansen, a left-handed hitter. But after going down 0-2 in the count, Christiansen punched a single into left center to give the Sooners a 2-1 advantage.

Oklahoma got insurance in the eighth inning courtesy of a miscue by Whelan, who committed a balk with the bases loaded. That enabled Trey Gambill to score, and though Whelan escaped the jam without incurring further damage, the Sooners had all the margin they needed.

After Witherspoon exited the game, OU reliever Jamie Hitt got into immediate trouble, hitting the first batter he faced and then allowing a one-out infield single. Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson quickly gave Hitt the hook in favor of Michael Catalano, who induced a flyout for the second out of the inning. Johnson went to the bullpen again for Dylan Crooks, who allowed an RBI single but then coaxed an inning-ending groundout from powerful Minnesota outfielder Drew Berkland.

Crooks stayed on the hill in the ninth inning, and worked around a one-out single from Landen Lozier to record his first save of the year. Witherspoon picked up a well-deserved win, moving his record to 2-0 on the young season, while the loss was charged to Selvig.

The Sooners are back in action tomorrow at the Round Rock Classic, as they'll tussle with Oregon State. First pitch is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be streaming live on D1Baseball.com.

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