Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Texas A&M on March 13, 2026
Baseball
vs Texas A&M
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Tuesday, March 16
Fayetteville, Ark.
5 p.m.
University of Oklahoma
9-7
8
at
5
Arkansas
12-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Oklahoma
0
0
5
1
0
2
0
0
0
8
11
2
Arkansas
2
0
0
0
0
2
0
1
0
5
6
2
Photo by: Walt Beazley/Arkansas Athletics
Sooners Take Down Top-Ranked Arkansas
March 16, 2021 | Baseball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Braden Carmichael pitched six strong innings and Jason Ruffcorn slammed the door in the ninth as the Oklahoma baseball team defeated No. 1 Arkansas 8-5 Tuesday evening at Baum-Walker Stadium.
It was Oklahoma's first win over a top-ranked opponent since beating Virginia twice in the 2010 Charlottesville Super Regional.
The Sooners (9-7), playing their first true road game of the season and in front of a crowd of 5,735, scored five runs in the third inning to go ahead 5-2. OU then added a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth inning to open an 8-2 advantage. The Razorbacks (12-2) plated two runs in the first inning but went scoreless until hitting a two-run home run in the sixth and a solo homer in the eighth.
"Beating those guys here, they're a really good team," Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said. "It gave us a lot of confidence when we tied the game, and Carmichael had a lot of poise in a big environment. That shows you what type of pitcher he is. He's going to give you a chance to win. We separated the game and he kept throwing it in there and keeping those guys off balance. We separated the game just by situational hitting and running the bases aggressively. I thought that was really big for our team."
Carmichael (3-0) struck out seven batters over his six frames, retiring 12 straight Razorbacks at one point. Jaret Godman retired six of the seven batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, and Ruffcorn closed it out in the ninth to earn his first save of the season. The trio of OU pitchers registered 13 strikeouts in the game.
After putting five runners on base in the first two innings, Oklahoma strung together four straight hits to break through in the third. Left fielder Kendall Pettis singled in two runs to tie the game 2-all. Right fielder Breydon Daniel then gave OU the lead with a two-run opposite field home run – his first as a Sooner - and third baseman Peyton Graham singled home another run to make it 5-2.
OU added a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Tanner Tredaway, then extended the lead to six runs in the sixth inning. Catcher Jimmy Crooks led off with a base hit and came around to score on a wild pitch, and designated hitter Diego Muniz singled home McKenna to make it 8-2.
"We got into some hitter's counts in those innings," Johnson said. "Pettis singles up the middle, and it kind of calmed us down. Then Daniel hits a two-run homer and all of a sudden, we scored five in the inning with two outs. That was really, really big. What the coaches have been preaching, is just staying back up the middle. See the ball where you can just stay back up the middle and be aggressive, and not worry about the outcome. It was a great approach tonight."
Arkansas scored two runs in the first inning on a one-out base hit by first baseman Brady Slavens. Carmichael induced a ground out and a line out to end the inning, then turned away each of the next 10 batters. He notched all seven strikeouts during that stretch, punching out the side in the third.
Godman needed just five pitches to get through the seventh inning, then rebounded from a leadoff home run in the eighth to retire the next three batters with a pair of strikeouts. A single and an error to lead off the ninth put two runners in scoring position, but Ruffcorn turned it up a notch and struck out the next three hitters to close it out.
"Godman came in, and he was as good as he was against Auburn, which was really good to see," Johnson said. "Ruffcorn was really good. We had a little hiccup where they get a single and we don't get an out on time. He showed a lot of poise and showed a lot of leadership to get back in there and do what he did in the ninth inning in an environment like this."
Oklahoma returns home for a three-game series against Houston Friday through Sunday at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Game times are 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
It was Oklahoma's first win over a top-ranked opponent since beating Virginia twice in the 2010 Charlottesville Super Regional.
The Sooners (9-7), playing their first true road game of the season and in front of a crowd of 5,735, scored five runs in the third inning to go ahead 5-2. OU then added a run in the fourth and two more in the sixth inning to open an 8-2 advantage. The Razorbacks (12-2) plated two runs in the first inning but went scoreless until hitting a two-run home run in the sixth and a solo homer in the eighth.
"Beating those guys here, they're a really good team," Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said. "It gave us a lot of confidence when we tied the game, and Carmichael had a lot of poise in a big environment. That shows you what type of pitcher he is. He's going to give you a chance to win. We separated the game and he kept throwing it in there and keeping those guys off balance. We separated the game just by situational hitting and running the bases aggressively. I thought that was really big for our team."
Carmichael (3-0) struck out seven batters over his six frames, retiring 12 straight Razorbacks at one point. Jaret Godman retired six of the seven batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, and Ruffcorn closed it out in the ninth to earn his first save of the season. The trio of OU pitchers registered 13 strikeouts in the game.
After putting five runners on base in the first two innings, Oklahoma strung together four straight hits to break through in the third. Left fielder Kendall Pettis singled in two runs to tie the game 2-all. Right fielder Breydon Daniel then gave OU the lead with a two-run opposite field home run – his first as a Sooner - and third baseman Peyton Graham singled home another run to make it 5-2.
OU added a run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Tanner Tredaway, then extended the lead to six runs in the sixth inning. Catcher Jimmy Crooks led off with a base hit and came around to score on a wild pitch, and designated hitter Diego Muniz singled home McKenna to make it 8-2.
"We got into some hitter's counts in those innings," Johnson said. "Pettis singles up the middle, and it kind of calmed us down. Then Daniel hits a two-run homer and all of a sudden, we scored five in the inning with two outs. That was really, really big. What the coaches have been preaching, is just staying back up the middle. See the ball where you can just stay back up the middle and be aggressive, and not worry about the outcome. It was a great approach tonight."
Arkansas scored two runs in the first inning on a one-out base hit by first baseman Brady Slavens. Carmichael induced a ground out and a line out to end the inning, then turned away each of the next 10 batters. He notched all seven strikeouts during that stretch, punching out the side in the third.
Godman needed just five pitches to get through the seventh inning, then rebounded from a leadoff home run in the eighth to retire the next three batters with a pair of strikeouts. A single and an error to lead off the ninth put two runners in scoring position, but Ruffcorn turned it up a notch and struck out the next three hitters to close it out.
"Godman came in, and he was as good as he was against Auburn, which was really good to see," Johnson said. "Ruffcorn was really good. We had a little hiccup where they get a single and we don't get an out on time. He showed a lot of poise and showed a lot of leadership to get back in there and do what he did in the ninth inning in an environment like this."
Oklahoma returns home for a three-game series against Houston Friday through Sunday at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Game times are 6:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Carmichael, Braden (3-0)
L: Ramage (0-1)
S: Ruffcorn, Jason (1)
Batting:
2B: Hardman, Tyler 1
HR: Daniel, Breydon 1
RBI: Graham, Peyton 1 ; Tredaway, Tanner 1 ; Muniz, Diego 1 ; Pettis, Kendall 2 ; Daniel, Breydon 2
SH: Tredaway, Tanner 1
SF: Tredaway, Tanner 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Crooks, Jimmy 1 ; Hardman, Tyler 2 ; McKenna, Conor 2 ; Pettis, Kendall 1 ; Daniel, Breydon 1 ; Zaragoza, Brandon 1
CS: Graham, Peyton 1
HBP: Daniel, Breydon 1
Batting:
HR: Moore 1 ; Slavens 1
RBI: Moore 1 ; Slavens 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Moore 1 ; Franklin 1 ; Goodheart 1 ; Wallace 1 ; Slavens 1
HBP: Goodheart 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
6
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP/INF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballUTL
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ BaseballJohnson and Carmichael Postgame vs North Carolina
Monday, June 02
BB Highlights: OU 9, UNC 5
Monday, June 02
Johnson, Dickerson, Willits Postgame vs North Carolina
Sunday, June 01
BB Highlights: OU 17, Nebraska 1
Sunday, June 01
