NORMAN, Okla. – Oklahoma jumped out to early leads twice as the Sooners earned a pair of victories to spoil the Columbia baseball team's opening day Friday. OU took game one, 12-3, and earned a 9-1 victory in the nightcap.
Sophomore
Jack Chernow posted hits in both contests to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, dating back to the end of the 2018 season.
The Lions and Sooners meet up again on Saturday, March 2 for another doubleheader. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. eastern time with game two to follow approximately 30 minutes following the opener.
GAME ONE
The Sooners racked up 13 hits off of three Columbia pitchers and Cade Cavalli held the Lions to just two hits over six shutout innings to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Josh Simpson made his first start since 2017 after missing last season due to injury. The senior lefthander lasted 3.1 innings, surrendering six runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.
Chernow went 2-for-4 in the contest to lead the offense.
Oklahoma's Brylie Ware opened the scoring with a two-run blast in the bottom of the first.
The Lions had an opportunity to break through in the top of the third, putting runners on first and second with no outs after a
Josh Nicoloff single and
Julian Bury walk. However, the Sooners wiggled out of the jam with a pop up before Columbia was doubled off on a line out.
In the bottom of the inning, Oklahoma took advantage, scoring four more to make it 6-0. A leadoff walk and passed ball led to a sacrifice bunt and Ware was plunked to put runners on the corners. Justin Mitchell registered a sac fly and the three straight Sooners recorded hits to extend their lead.
Oklahoma put the game out of reach in the sixth, registering three runs on a two-run single from Brandon Zaragoza and a RBI knock from Tyler Hardman, bringing the score up to 9-0.
Billy Black ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh after issuing a pair of walks and a hit to load the bases. A wild pitch to bring in Diego Muniz, forcing the Lions to call on
Dane Miller out of the bullpen came on to get three ground outs, but the two inherited runners scored to add even more insurance.
The ninth inning rally came with two outs in the frame. It started with
AJ DiFillipo being hit by a pitch and Chernow singling. Nicoloff walked to fill the base paths for Bury, who roped a base hit to right-center to break up the shutout to make it 12-2. A wild pitch brought in Nicoloff from third before the Sooners notched the final out.
GAME TWO
Seniors
Chandler Bengtson and
Joe Engel each went 2-for-4 in the nightcap.
Jimmy Smiley worked two innings of scoreless relief in his Columbia debut.
Jordan Chriss (0-1) started and was charged for seven runs on five hits in three innings.
Nathan Wiles gave up seven hits in his six frames, but held the Lions to one run and struck out four to improve to 3-0. Hardman knocked in four runs and was 3-for-4 in the nightcap for Oklahoma.
The Sooners grabbed a quick 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Oklahoma's first two batters worked deep counts and worked a walk and single to set up and Ware plated a pair with a double. Hardman followed with a two-run shot to double the cushion.
Hardman and Brady Lindsly posted back-to-back homers in the third to stretch the margin to seven after three innings of play. Jordan Vujovich led the fourth off with a triple and came around off a Zaragoza knock to center, making it 8-0.
The Lions and Sooners traded runs in the sixth to cap the scoring. Bengtson and
Joe Engel each singled and Chernow found some space up the middle to get Columbia on the board. In the bottom of the inning and runners on the corners, Conor McKenna doubled down the leftfield line to restore the eight-run advantage.
