OU baseball needs to recover lost momentum from mixed bag of combined no-hitter, 1-3 week
NORMAN — To say last week was a disappointment for Skip Johnson’s OU baseball club would be an understatement.
The Sooners entered the week undefeated in the Big 12 and atop the conference’s standings coming off a sweep of then-No. 12 TCU. Oklahoma was ranked for the first time — No. 20 by USA Today — but recorded a 1-3 record and dropped out of this week’s poll on Monday.
OU was shut out at home 6-0 by Dallas Baptist during a midweek game last Tuesday night before surrendering two of three to West Virginia in a weekend series at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
Last week wasn’t all bad for the Sooners, however, as juniors Braden Davis and Reid Hensley pitched a combined no-hitter, totaling 15 strikeouts, as Oklahoma eviscerated the Mountaineers 13-0 on Friday night. Davis and Hensley’s combined no-no was OU’s ninth all-time and its second combined effort. Dane Acker tossed the Sooners’ last no-hitter against LSU on March 1, 2020.
The Sooners’ last combined no-hitter came in 2005 with six pitchers vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Despite the historic performance, OU’s momentum was cut short by the series loss. West Virginia’s offense was dominant, scoring eight unanswered runs in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday and took a 6-0 early lead in the series finale.
Here’s a look back at the week:
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Oklahoma
Overall record: 14-9, 7-2 Big 12 (second)
Last week: 1-3 (lost to Dallas Baptist 6-0; beat West Virginia 13-0; lost to West Virginia 9-5, 8-3)
This week: vs. Oral Roberts, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN+); vs. Lamar, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN+), 6:30 p.m. Friday (ESPN+), 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+)
Top Sooners baseball player last week
Braden Davis, LHP: Davis was phenomenal in the Sooners’ win over the Mountaineers. Not only did he not allow a hit, the Sam Houston State transfer struck out a career-high 12 batters and walked just two in seven innings. Davis looked to be in trouble after walking one in the fifth, but ended the frame with two strikeouts and was brilliant the rest of the way. He had no trouble locating his pitches throughout the contest and ended his outing with eight consecutive strikeouts.
OU baseball player on the rise
Reid Hensley, RHP: Hensley, the Tyler Junior College transfer, was inserted into one of the most pressured situations in sports. Davis had thrown seven hitless innings and it was up to the junior to finish off the no-no. Hensley finished the eighth and ninth innings, striking out three and walking one en route to capping the combined no-hitter. The 15 total strikeouts between Davis and Hensley tied a season high for the Sooners’ pitching staff.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball needs to recover lost momentum from mixed bag of 1-3 week
