Sooners Win Series against Illinois State, Split Doubleheader

Saturday, February 22

Norman

Noon

University of Oklahoma

7-1

Illinois State

1-5

Illinois State

Oklahoma

Photo by: Ty Russell

Sooners Win Series against Illinois State, Split Doubleheader

February 22, 2020 | Baseball

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

NORMAN – The No. 16 Oklahoma baseball team split a doubleheader Saturday against Illinois State, winning 3-2 before the Redbirds won the final game of the series 7-5 at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The Sooners (7-2) won three of four games this weekend against Illinois State (2-5) and five of its six contests played over a five-day span this week at Mitchell Park. The defeat in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader stopped a seven-game winning streak for OU.

"(We played) 54 innings in five days. If you go out and have a hiccup in one inning out of 54, I think you can deal with that," Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said. "Just like I told those guys, if you were to look at the week and went 5-1, would you want that? You have a day off tomorrow, we'll continue to work and try to grow as a team on Monday and do some things (where) we need to get better."

Game 1: Oklahoma 3, Illinois State 2

Oklahoma scored in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 3-2 lead and defeat Illinois State in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader. Freshman Peyton Graham drove a sacrifice fly to score junior center fielder Tanner Tredaway in the eighth inning and put the Sooners back in front, 3-2. Tredaway, who went 2 for 4, doubled to lead off the inning. Graham finished the game 2 for 3 and scored a run.

Junior first baseman Tyler Hardman smashed a solo home run in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie. It was his second homer of the season. Illinois State tied it with a run in the top of the seventh.

Junior Levi Prater struck out seven and scattered six hits over 6.1 innings. Junior Aaron Brooks (1-0) retired all five batters he faced, with four strikeouts, to earn his second career win. Sophomore Jaret Godman got the final out and earned his first career save.

Oklahoma struck first in the second inning when junior catcher Justin Mitchell doubled home Graham for a 1-0 lead. The Redbirds tied the game 1-all in the fifth when center fielder Jeremy Gaines tripled and scored on a base hit by second baseman Aidan Huggins, who also drove in a run in the seventh to make it 2-2. Erik Kubiatowicz (0-1) took the loss in relief for Illinois State.

Game 2: Illinois State 7, Oklahoma 5

Oklahoma fought back from a 5-0 deficit after the third inning but fell short in the final game of the series to Illinois State, 7-5.

Senior catcher Brady Lindsly hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning to cut it to 5-3. The Sooners pulled within 5-4 in the fifth when senior second baseman Conor McKenna doubled and scored on a wild pitch. Trailing 7-4 in the ninth inning, McKenna doubled home Lindsly to make it 7-5 with two outs. OU continued threatening, putting runners on the corners, before a fly out ended the game.

Illinois State scored five runs in the third inning on a grand slam by shortstop Joe Butler followed by a solo home run from left fielder Braedon Blackford. A sacrifice fly by Huggins and a wild pitch added two more runs in the eighth inning to make it a 7-4 score.

Junior Dane Acker (0-1) rebounded from the third inning to hold the Redbirds to just two baserunners over his last four frames. He finished with eight strikeouts and six hits allowed, but only two hits outside of the third stanza. Junior Carson Carter pitched the final 1.1 innings for OU, striking out three batters.

ISU reliever Michael Sebby (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win. Jackson Bronke got the final out to earn the save.

The Sooners are back in action next weekend at the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston. OU plays Arkansas at 3 p.m. Friday, Missouri at 11 a.m. Saturday and LSU at 11 a.m. Sunday.