Oklahoma (27-14, 9-5) Big 12 defeated Kansas State (21-21, 4-11) 22-10 in eight innings in Norman on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman right fielder John Spikerman went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs. After walking in the bottom of the second inning.
Additionally, redshirt sophomore shortstop Peyton Graham notched two infield singles, and redshirt sophomore first baseman Blake Robertson blasted a home run and finished with three RBIs and two walks.
“I thought our offense played really well,” head coach Skip Johnson said. “Separated balls and strikes all day long. And it was fun to watch.”
Redshirt sophomore David Sandlin pitched 5.1 innings for the Sooners. He allowed six runs and struck out six. Sophomore Carson Atwood pitched one inning, allowing four runs on two hits. Sophomore Carter Campbell added 1.2 innings, striking out two and allowing one hit. Freshman Colton Sundloff closed out the victory with an inning of work.
“I don't think he really got tired,” Johnson said of Sandlin. “I think it's more of a sittin’ (thing), I mean, you're throwing 95 miles an hour and you sit two 40 minute innings — I don't know how long they were, but I'd almost guess they were 40 minutes — and him running back and forth trying to play a little bit of catch in between, it gets tough at times.”
OU earned a majority of its runs through patience at the plate. KSU walked 13 Sooner batters and hit another, including 10 combined free passes issued in the third inning. Spikerman scored the lone run of the first inning before Oklahoma posted seven runs in the second inning and 11 in the third inning.
Freshman second baseman Jackson Nicklaus added a two-run homer to right field in the bottom of the sixth. In the bottom of the seventh, freshman infielder Wallace Clark reached on an error, allowing catcher Jimmy Crooks — who went 4-5 with two doubles — to score, concluding the Sooners’ outburst of runs.
Heading into the series finale, OU remains focused despite back-to-back 12-run wins, and redshirt freshman Cade Horton may have an opportunity to start.
“He's feeling good and I think he could throw maybe a couple innings,” Johnson said. “But we'll see what happens. If not, we'll wait till he throws a (bullpen) and see how that hip and back reacts to that. It hasn't reacted so far swinging the bat, which is a great thing.”
Oklahoma will look to sweep the series at 2 p.m. on Sunday in Norman.
