Sooners play on
OU beat KU in the Big 12 baseball tournament and will face Baylor on Saturday.
Kyle Tyler was really good
Friday.
The Oklahoma bullpen came through in a big way as well.
The combination of Lane Ramsey, Braidyn Fink, Connor Berry and Austin Hansen threw three scoreless innings to seal the Sooners’ 4-2 win over Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
Hansen struck out the side in the ninth to end it.
For the tournament, the Sooners’ bullpen has allowed just two runs in 12 innings.
“Skip (Johnson, OU’s coach) did a great job of matching the bullpen against our hitters,” Kansas coach Ritch Price said. “Their bullpen was dominant. We had guys on base and an opportunity to get in it.”
OU keeps fighting through injuries
For the third consecutive game, the Sooners were without right fielder Steele Walker, who continues to battle through a strained oblique suffered in the last series of the regular season.
Walker is unlikely to return during the tournament but figures to be ready to play in next weekend’s expected NCAA regional.
Also expected back next weekend is pitcher Levi Prater.
Prater, a freshman, felt a twinge in his shoulder while warming up before an inning in Thursday’s game and was forced to exit.
“Levi played catch today,” Johnson said. “Weren’t going to press the issue until next week. He’ll be fine.”
A bit more concerning is the apparent hamstring injury to center fielder Kyler Murray. Murray was hurt stealing a base in the first inning of Thursday’s game and had a noticeable limp on the bench Friday.
“His progress is going to be dictated upon what (athletic trainer) Robert Fulton says we can do,” Johnson said.
Johnson described the strain as a grade one — the least severe of strains — and said Murray had undergone an MRI.
“You’ve just got to trust what they say and really how Kyler feels,” Johnson said. “That’s what you’re treating is how he feels more than anything.”
Perez gets the call for rematch vs. Baylor
Devon Perez has been a fixture in Oklahoma’s rotation the last two seasons.
But after a series of poor outings in April — including allowing six runs in 1 1/3 innings against Oklahoma State on April 28 — the senior was moved to the bullpen.
Perez made four appearances in relief, allowing two earned runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Saturday, he’ll get another crack at starting, when he gets the ball against Baylor at 9 a.m.
“If he goes out there and lays an egg, I’m not going to blame it on Devon,” Johnson said. “He’s an amateur athlete. All we want him to do is go pitch-to-pitch and throw the ball at the target. That’s all we can control.”
If the Sooners beat Baylor in the early game, they’ll need another arm.
The spot would seem fit for Dylan Grove, the junior from Moore, who has thrown 32 1/3 innings.
But Grove recently underwent a sinus surgery after repeated and prolonged sinus infections led to migraines.
Grove, who attended Friday’s game, could be available next weekend.
Instead, Johnson’s other alternative as a starter will be freshman Ledgend Smith, who has thrown just 5 1/3 innings all season.