OU Baseball: Oklahoma Endures First-Inning Onslaught in Bedlam Loss

It was a somber Tuesday night in Norman.

Oklahoma lost 14-5 to rival Oklahoma State in front of a crowd of 4,177 at L. Dale Mitchell Park, the second largest crowd in program history. Tuesday’s game was the last scheduled Bedlam in Norman this season  and, with OU’s move into the Big 12 next year, potentially ever.

The Cowboys sparked their non-conference win with a 7-run first inning. Senior right hander Will Carsten started for the Sooners and gave up five hits, a three-run home run and a double. He was retired before the end of the inning for senior Carter Campbell.

“When you walk out there and you give them seven runs in the first inning, you start trying. The game wants you to try hard,” OU head coach Skip Johnson said. “I thought the bats in the first inning were really good. We came back and it just didn’t happen. From that point on, the bullpen was OK.

“You can’t regret throwing Will Carsten out there. He gave you everything he could, got a little out of hand and that’s baseball,” Johnson said.

Michael Snyder’s single in the bottom of the first scored both Bryce Madron and John Spikerman to salvage some of the Sooners’ comeback hopes. The Cowboys scored once in the second inning on an Aiden Meaola single, then three runs in the fourth inning, two from a Tyler Wulfurt home run, all the while holding the deflated Sooners scoreless in the second, third and fourth innings.

The Sooners trailed 11-2 until bases-loaded walks sent Jaxon Willits and Madron home in the fifth inning.

Oklahoma pitched six players, all of whom but Dylan Crooks gave up at least a run. The Sooners committed four errors. The loss killed Oklahoma’s four-game winning streak.

“I think they’ll [players] handle it fine, I mean, it’s a game, just like I told them, it was their [OSU] night. It wasn’t our night, and that’s baseball,” Johnson said. “The game wants you to feel sorry for yourself. That’s what it wants you to do. It’s a game of opportunity. . . It’s all about your attitude. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Regarding Bedlam’s future, Johnson said “we’ll find out.” The Sooners play a conference series in Stillwater on April 5, 6 and 7.

“I don’t control that. That’s the biggest thing. I’m just the baseball coach, that’s for higher people to do, but I think the biggest thing that I like about it moreso than anything, I think the kids are going to be fired up to play [in Stillwater].”

The Sooners play at UT-Arlington on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and a conference series at TCU on Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. OU has to “play good catch, hit [their] targets and score runs,” to close the week on a successful Texas trip.

“It’s good. We want to play baseball every day if we can,” Johnson said.

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