OU baseball (14-2) defeated Santa Clara (5-9) 8-6 in a back-and-forth matchup at Kimrey Family Stadium on Sunday.
The Sooners played three games against Santa Clara and completed the series sweep. A fourth game was originally scheduled for Friday but was canceled due to weather concerns.
OU baseball defeated Santa Clara 2-1, 8-0 and 8-6 across the three games, with sophomore outfielder Drew Dickerson leading the series with four runs and freshman outfielder Alec Blair leading with four runs batted in.
Here are three takeaways:
Sooners’ timely hitting secures sweep
The Sooners did not hit a home run during the game, but that didn’t stop them from generating enough offense to secure the win.
OU scored eight runs on seven hits and drew six walks, including three doubles and two triples.
Dickerson, junior infielder Jaxon Willits and junior catcher Deiten LaChance led the game with two runs each. Blair led the way with three runs batted in, with LaChance coming close behind with two.
“Offense is trying to get to first base, touch second base, touch third base and touch home plate,” OU coach Skip Johnson said. “You gotta take your walks, you gotta take your hits… and you gotta get hits.”
Pair of triples set scoring momentum
OU set the pace early on with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, where Santa Clara would respond with two runs of their own to cut the deficit to one.
In the bottom of the third inning, Blair hit a triple to left-center field, setting up LaChance to score and extend the Sooners’ lead.
“It felt good. You never know how many triples you’re gonna hit in a year,” Blair said.
Later in the bottom of the fifth inning, Dickerson hit a triple to right field to secure the Sooners' first game with two or more triples in a game since their 7-3 loss to Mississippi last season.
Jason Bodin's career day
Junior right-handed pitcher Jason Bodin delivered a strong relief outing for the Sooners.
Bodin came in for graduate student Reid Hensley at the top of the fifth inning and never looked back. Bodin pitched a career-high three innings with a career-high six strikeouts, while only giving up one hit and one walk.
“Bodin was really good, I mean, probably the best he’s ever been here,” said Johnson.
Next, the Sooners will take on UT Arlington at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Kimrey Family Stadium on SEC Network+.
This story was edited by Laurie Jones.
