Strong week for Sooners ends with ugly finish
NORMAN — The Oklahoma baseball team got its rivalry fix last week.
After besting then-No. 6 Oklahoma State on Tuesday, the Sooners traveled to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, for a weekend series against then-No. 10 Texas. OU won one of the three rivalry games.
Here are three takeaways from last week’s action:
Blake Robertson delivers against former team
Blake Robertson got into his stance and prepared for a battle against Oklahoma State closer Trevor Martin.
It was a battle Robertson needed to win.
OU trailed OSU 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday in Tulsa. The Sooners had a runner on third base with no outs, and Robertson was looking to bring his teammate home.
Now at a 2-2 count, Martin chose to go with a breaking ball.
It was the wrong choice. Robertson made direct contact with his bat and sent a line drive into right field for an RBI single, tying the game at 6-6.
OU went on to earn a 7-6 win via a bases-loaded walk later in the inning.
Robertson’s shining moment is as fitting as they come. The Edmond native began his career at Oklahoma State, where he redshirted his freshman season in 2020 before transferring to Cowley College.
Now a Sooner, Robertson has been on fire at the plate. He boasts a team-high batting average of .337, which has resulted in 31 hits and 11 RBIs.
Jake Bennett comes down to earth
Jake Bennett was in a bind. OU trailed 3-1 in the fourth inning of its series opener against Texas on Friday when the redshirt sophomore pitcher tried to retire Mitchell Daly with a breaking ball on a 1-2 count.
Daly instead made contact and sent a bullet up the heart of the Sooners’ defense. Peyton Graham tried to make a play on the ball, but it zipped past him
and landed in the outfield for an RBI single.
It was that kind of a day for Bennett, who allowed five runs in just under six innings on the mound.
The shaky showing is uncharacteristic for Bennett, who entered Big 12 play with a conference-best ERA of 0.90. He has since come down to earth, though.
Bennett recorded a season-worst ERA of 3.68 against Baylor on March 25, and he followed that up on Friday by posting an ERA of 6.35.
A hiccup was imminent for Bennett, who remains one of the better pitchers in the Big 12. The Bixby native still boasts a .205 ERA on the season, which ranks third in the conference, and OU will lean on him moving forward.
OU ends week with good wins, bad taste in its mouth
After a three-run home run from Graham gave OU a 7-1 lead in the sixth inning of Sunday’s rubber match against Texas, it looked as if the Sooners were on the verge of winning the rivalry series.
But the Longhorns had other plans. Dylan Campbell trimmed the deficit to 7-4 in the seventh inning with a three-run shot over the fence. Murphy Stehly tied the game later in the frame with a three-run homer of his own.
Texas then tacked on another five runs in the ninth inning to cap off an 11-0 run and secure a 12-8 win.
The blown lead is a shot to the gut for OU, which had its sights set on winning a three-game series against its Red River rival for the first time since 2019. Still, the Sooners came out of last week’s action with a foundation to build on.
OU earned a pair of Top 10 wins over Oklahoma State and Texas, and it boasts an RPI ranking of 20 after moving up by 11 spots.