Oklahoma baseball slides in polls

There was going to be a slide expected following a losing weekend in Athens, and that proved to be true on Monday in the latest round of college baseball polls for Oklahoma. 

Oklahoma slid to No. 21 in the D1Baseball.com and Baseball America Top 25. They check-in at No. 24, according to Perfect Game. With three conference weekends left in the regular season, Oklahoma sits in a tie for fifth place in the SEC standings with Auburn at 11-10. 

The Sooners (30-13, 11-10) return to L. Dale Mitchell Ballpark for a three-game series against Ole Miss (31-13, 12-9), starting on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The final midweek match-up of the year that was slated for Tuesday against Wichita State has been canceled due to inclement weather.

Sooners leave Athens with series loss 

Oklahoma exits its weekend series losing two of three to No. 9 Georgia. In each of the losses, Skip Johnson’s club had its chances in the late innings. 

The Sooners trailed 9-2 heading to the sixth on Friday and proceeded to score six unanswered runs, placing the tying run in scoring position in the seventh and eighth. They brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth, following a Dawson Willis two out single. 

On Saturday in the series finale, Oklahoma led 2-1 in the sixth before a Brennan Hudson three-run home run to dead center gave the Bulldogs a 4-2.

Tough luck for Sooners starter Malachi Witherspoon, who took the loss despite going six innings allowing just four hits, walking one and striking out seven. Only one of the runs Witherspoon allowed was earned, with the other three coming on the home run, following a Dawson Willis throwing error to start the frame. 

Tockey injury news signficant

First and foremost, you start with the loss of Dayton Tockey. The Sooners first baseman will be out for the rest of the regular season, after suffering a hairline fracture in his left ankle sliding into second base in the series opener. 

Tockey has been a key part of the Oklahoma offensive resurgence in recent weeks, leading the Sooners at the plate in a 8-6 series opening win before the injury in the eighth inning, going 4-for-4 with a career-high five RBIs, including a pair of two-run home runs. 

Sam Christiansen made the move from right field in the final two games of the series. Easton Carmichael has the ability to move from behind the dish to play first as well. 

The good news, if any, Tockey could return to the Oklahoma line up for postseason play. 

Bottom of line up carried Sooners

Much of Oklahoma’s offensive production over the weekend came from Tockey’s career night in the opener and the bottom of the Sooners line up.

Trey Gambill, Jaxon Willits, Easton Carmichael and Sam Christiansen combined to go 6-for-46 with 11 strikeouts in Athens. They walked 12 times and were hit by a pitch three times. But the foursome was responsible for leaving six runners on base in each of the three games. 

On the bottom end of the lineup, Kyle Branch, who is slowly digging himself out of a mid-season swoon, and Dawson Willis each collected five hits. Willis played a key role in the Sooners rally on Friday, driving in three runs on a career-high four hits, half of those hits going for extra-bases. 

Scott Mudler went 2-for-4 with three RBIs in the final game of the series. 

Witherspoon twins highlight weekend on bump

Kyson Witherspoon was who you thought he’d be in the opener. Johnson called his Thursday series opening performance ‘special’. And rightfully so. The Sooners ace was dominant against a tremendous Georgia offense, throwing seven innings of one-run ball, scattering five hits and striking out eight. 

On the weekend, it was a mixed bag. Cade Crossland was roughed up in the second game of the series. Malachi Witherspoon put his team in position to win the series finale.

Oklahoma will be able to live with that version of Malachi moving forward.

Over his last three starts against Vanderbilt, Missouri and Georgia, Witherspoon has thrown 16 innings with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 26 to 4. He allowed six runs to the Commodores on six hits and four runs, just one earned, to Georgia. There’s steady progression there that seems to be heading in the right direction. 

Sooners infield has to clean it up

Which leads us to the final item from the weekend, Dawson Willis had a pair of errors over the weekend. He’s now committed a team-leading nine errors on the season.

In Thursday’s opener it sparked Georgia to a four run eighth. Dylan Crooks was able to lock down the ninth, picking up his 10th save of the year, in a 8-6 win.

But on Saturday in the finale Willis’ throwing error to start the sixth, opening the door for Brennan Hudson go-ahead three run shot. 

It’s the little things that’ll cost you. Willis combined with infield mates Jaxon Willits (5) and Kyle Branch (7) have combined to commit 21 errors this season. That’s a lot. And as it did Saturday, it will- continue- to cost you games, possibly your season if Oklahoma can’t clean it up defensively.

With three weekends left every game matters, when you’re looking at the conference standings heading into the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. (May 20-25).