Sooners baseball holds on for 11-9 win

Midweek games certainly serve a purpose for Sooners baseball. Most nights? It allows some guys to get run that perhaps won’t over the course of a conference weekend.

In short, it’s about development. But there’s also games that become ‘must win’ when getting back at it after a weekend like Oklahoma had in Stillwater against Oklahoma State.  

And unfortunately for Oklahoma baseball, Tuesday night was much more in the form of the latter ahead of this weekend’s series versus Kansas State. 

Consider that mission accomplished. I think? Oklahoma scored four runs in the first and five in the third but eventually had to hold off a late UT-Arlington surge in a 11-9 win. 

A lot to process, huh? 

THE GOOD

For Mavericks starter, Aaron Calhoun, it wasn’t the kind of homecoming the former Sooner would have liked to envision for himself. Four of the first five Sooners batters reached base without putting the ball in play. Anthony Mackenzie was hit by the second pitch of the game. Bryce Madron, Michael Snyder and Jackson Nicklaus walked. Jaxon Willits extended his hitting streak to five games with a two-run single to drive in a pair of runs to extend the Sooners lead to 4-0. 

“That’s what we try to do is mix and match those guys and get some at bats in case somebody gets hurt,” said head coach Skip Johnson. “That’s the hardest thing about a Tuesday game when you’re trying to develop those guys for the future. Sometimes it’s harder than the outside world sees.” 

The Oklahoma third inning was highlighted by a two-out hit parade. Freshman Isaiah Lane started the rally with the first of his three hits on the night followed by Rocco Garza-Gongora, Anthony Mackenzie, Bryce Madron and an Easton Carmichael two-run double. Oklahoma led 9-0 after four innings. 

“When you’ve got it rolling like that, it’s easy to have quality at bats because what you’re doing then is just trying to have good at bats. All of the sudden you get a hit. You get a hit. You get a hit. (Anthony) Mackenzie’s night was really good,” Johnson said. “He hit some balls hard. 

“You’re just trying to keep the train rolling. Trying to sustain a rally by having a good at bat. You’re not worried about if you are going to get a hit or not. And all of the sudden, you end up getting a hit because you had some good at bats.” 

Mackenzie ended the night 3-for-4 with a triple, two RBIs and three runs scored.

A NIGHT FOR DEVELOPMENT

Oklahoma threw 11 different pitchers on Tuesday night. 

There’s good and bad that comes with that, and it came to the forefront in the late innings. A nine-run lead quickly evaporated and perhaps a little PTSD went through Sooners fans minds as the tying run came to the plate in the ninth.

Jason Bollman made his second career appearance and allowed two runs in 0.2 innings. Freshman Jacob Gholston made his first home appearance in the ninth and allowed three runs after walking three batters and recording just a single out. 

“It’s about development. College baseball is about development. This guy (Gholston) walks out here and was one of the best pitchers in high school and you’ve got to get him out there,” Johnson said. “When we brought him in against Dallas Baptist, he burns his redshirt. You don’t get four games and get a grayshirt. You throw one pitch and your year is burned. So how do we develop that guy? Throw his ass out there with a lead.

“That guy is going to be good one day.” 

WALKING THE TIGHTROPE WITH THE ROOK

It’s a tightrope of development versus winning games in the midweek. Obviously winning games is of utmost importance, but how else are you going to get someone like Jacob Gholston work on the mound in a live game? 

“You leave him out there and let him work through it. That’s what you do. And in Division I baseball, you can’t do that,” said Johnson. “My last five years at Navarro Junior College I would throw a guy on a Monday and tell him he’s got 15 outs. It’s was totally up to them on many pitches they want to throw, how many runs they want to give up because it wasn’t conference, I’d say go out there and do it. That’s the difficult thing with RPI. It’s hard to develop those guys. You’ve got to throw those guys out there and say get after it.” 

UTA scored five runs in the final frame, bringing the tying run to the plate in the ninth but Braden Girton was able to get out of the inning and close the game.