Davis' shutout lifts Sooners over TCU in Big 12 tournament opener

There was no question Oklahoma starting pitcher Braden Davis was going to remain in the game to close out the Sooners’ Big 12 tournament opener.

In a matchup between two of the conference’s top pitchers — one widely considered the top pitcher in the Big 12, while the other is starting to build his own case for that title — it was the latter that remained standing after eight innings. TCU’s Payton Tolle had kept the Sooners’ offense quiet over the first three innings, but they started to gain the upper hand over his final three frames.

After eight innings the Sooners had put up four runs on eight hits, including two back-to-back home runs.

Meanwhile, Davis was on the verge of throwing the first complete-game shutout in a Big 12 tournament game since 2015.

The first batter hit a fly ball into the gap in center field that was chased down by John Spikerman and the next hit a single up the middle. Still, Davis’ calm demeanor never changed.

“It’s kind of just getting ahead and having the mentality that I’m going to be better than the hitter,” Davis said. “So just taking it one pitch at a time with a lot of confidence and a lot of conviction.”

Two batters later he punched out TCU’s Jack Arthur and finally let out a yell after moving his team on to the second round with a 4-0 win.

Davis pitched all nine innings and struck out nine batters with no walks and four hits allowed. The junior had never thrown more than seven innings before Wednesday, but never missed a beat despite throwing 120 pitches.

“It’s really unusual because it’s so late in the year,” OU head coach Skip Johnson said about Davis’ shutout. “Especially with the way college baseball is and the bats and it’s really about offense really.”

Tolle was taken out of the game with one out down in the sixth inning. The Big 12 Pitcher of the Year struck out four of the first six batters he faced and had nine in the game.

Anthony Mackenzie got the Sooners’ first hit in the bottom of the fourth and they would go on to score two runs before the end of the inning.

After going scoreless in the fifth, Mackenzie went back to the plate and hit a leadoff home run into left center. On the very next pitch, Nicklaus swung hard on an inside pitch for another solo homer.

“We knew what we were dealing with going into the game but we had a good plan with him,” Nicklaus said. “We know he likes to throw that fastball out over the plate, outer third.”

Tolle struck out the next batter before leaving the game after 5.1 innings pitched. The Sooners got six hits, including three for extra bases, and scored four earned runs.

He still struck out nine of the 24 batters he faced.

Davis picked up his seventh straight win to improve to 9-3 as a starter this season. Of his 120 pitches, 86 were strikes.

When the Horned Frogs got the ball in play, the athleticism of the Sooners’ defense really shined. TCU hit a double in the first inning with one out on the board and stepped up Kurtis Byrnes hit a ball hard down the left foul line.

Kendall Pettis was in a dead sprint towards the left field wall, but extended his body to make a diving grab with both his legs pointed toward home plate.

The play could’ve given the No. 9-seed Horned Frogs a run and some early momentum, but Pettis’ highlight reel catch set the tone for the Sooners’ defense for the rest of the game.

In the ninth inning a ball was hit into the gap in left center field. Pettis didn’t get a good read on the ball, but center fielder John Spikerman used his speed to track it down for the first out.

Playing at the home of the Texas Rangers, the outfielder is bigger, giving outfielders more ground that they have to cover.

To Pettis, that’s an advantage for the Sooners.

“That works in our favor because we’ve got some guys out there like Spike and (Jason) Walk and Bryce (Madron) when he’s healthy that can go get it,” he said. “We love playing in big ballparks because we can go take some balls from some hitters.”

Madron missed the final two games of the Cincinnati series due to injury and didn’t play again on Wednesday. Still, Johnson said he thinks the senior outfielder is progressing well and will “ready pretty soon.”

“He ran today which was really good to see,” he said about Madron. “He said he felt really good so we’ll see what tomorrow brings us and go from there. We’ll probably have him stand in on some bullpens and stuff like that and I think he’s hitting right now too.”

Up Next

The Sooners will play at the same time on Thursday, a 12:30 p.m. first pitch on ESPN+, and will face No. 7-seed Kansas. The Jayhawks (1-0) are coming off a day of rest after beating Kansas State, 2-1, on Tuesday.

The Wildcats (1-1) eliminated No. 4 West Virginia (0-2) in the loser’s bracket, setting up a meeting with TCU at 9 a.m. on Thursday.

If the Sooners beat Kansas, they’ll await their opponent in the semifinals, where they’ll have one opportunity to advance to the tournament final.