Baseball Opens Series vs. Illinois State with Two Wins

Friday, February 21

Norman

3 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

5-1

Illinois State

1-3

Illinois State

Oklahoma

Photo by: Ty Russell

Baseball Opens Series vs. Illinois State with Two Wins

February 21, 2020 | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1 Box Score Game 2 Box Score Game 1 Highlights Game 2 Highlights Photo Gallery

NORMAN – The No. 16 Oklahoma baseball team rode stellar pitching and relied on some timely hits to win both games of its doubleheader against Illinois State Friday at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The Sooners (6-1) and Redbirds (1-4) will play a doubleheader again on Saturday beginning at noon.

Junior Cade Cavalli (1-1) struck out nine batters over 7.0 innings and allowed one run and one walk while scattering six hits. Sophomore Wyatt Olds (2-0) also struck out nine batters over 6.0 innings, allowing just one hit and a run. Senior Jason Ruffcorn earned the save in both games to increase hit total to three on the season.

"That's the best I've seen Cade early," Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said. "He kind of got into some jams, and they did a good job of battling with two strikes and just putting balls where people weren't. Wyatt was overthrowing a little in the first inning, then he settled in and started really attacking the mitt and just played a good game of catch. That's what was so beautiful."

Junior outfielder Tanner Tredaway went 4 for 8 with two RBIs and three runs scored in the doubleheader. All four of his hits went for extra bases, including a two-run home run in the second game. Freshman third baseman Peyton Graham totaled three hits, two RBIs and two runs.

"The biggest thing (offensively) is trying to separate balls from strikes, battling with two strikes and moving guys over, and trying to get them in from third with less than two outs," Johnson said. "I thought we did a great job of that. We can get better at it. We left about three or four runs out there that could've really separated the game. That happens when you have a long day. They struggle and they lose focus and it's hard for them to stay in the moment pitch to pitch. I think that's the biggest thing they did last Saturday, and today."

Game 1: Oklahoma 2, Illinois State 1

Oklahoma scored two runs in the sixth inning and defeated Illinois State 2-1 in the series opener Friday afternoon.

The game played out as a pitcher's duel between Cavalli and Illinois State starter Colton Johnson until the sixth inning when Tredaway led off with a triple and scored on Graham's RBI fielder's choice. Sophomore designated hitter Trent Brown then doubled home Graham to make it a 2-0 game.

Both starters pitched seven complete innings. Johnson (0-2) allowed two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts in the loss. Illinois State scored in the top of the seventh when shortstop Joe Butler doubled and scored on a base hit by first baseman Jake McCaw.

Four of OU's five hits in the opener went for extra bases. Sophomore left fielder Diego Muniz doubled in the third inning and Graham added a double in the eighth. Junior catcher Justin Mitchell singled in the second inning and caught a runner stealing in the sixth inning, his third of the season. He also picked a runner off of first base in the seventh.

Game 2: Oklahoma 4, Illinois State 1

Tredaway hit his second home run this week, a two-run blast to left center as part of a three-run third inning that gave the Sooners a 4-1 lead in the nightcap. Olds stymied the Redbirds lineup, retiring the final 10 batters he faced after an RBI single in the top of the third inning.

The scoring started much earlier than in the first contest. Tredaway led off the second inning with a double and scored when the throw from short to first base on senior right fielder Brady Harlan's infield single sailed into the dugout.

After Illinois State tied the game with an RBI single by left fielder Braedon Blackford in the top of the third, the Sooners responded with three runs in the bottom half. Junior designated hitter Jordan Vujovich led off with a triple off the right center field wall and scored on Graham's base hit through the left side of the infield. Tredaway homered two batters later.

OU totaled four more extra base hits in the second game and finished with eight on the day: four doubles, three triples and a home run. The Sooners also recorded four steals, including three in the second game. Graham stole a base in each contest and has a team-high four steals so far this season.