OU Baseball: Oklahoma Takes Down Familiar Foe Texas Tech

Walk smacked his fifth home run of the year to left-center field to lead off the first inning. Willits blasted an opposite field, solo shot to left, his team-leading seventh, for a 6-1 lead. And after Tech stole some momentum with a pair of runs that cut it to 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Carmichael smashed his sixth bomb of the year to left field for two more runs and a 8-3 lead.

Walk also had two doubles and two RBIs and reached base twice via walk. Carmichael had three hits and three RBIs. Willits and Drew Dickerson each had two hits, and Dasan Harris had three hits.

OU was 8-of-17 with runners on base and 9-of-17 with two out, while Tech was 2-of-14 with runners on base and 0-for-7 with two out. 

Despite stranding 12 baserunners, OU produced enough offense to win it — at least on the strength of the Sooner bullpen.

After Johnson got just one out in the first inning — he faced five batters, walked three and hit a batter — Jaden Barfield, Michael Catalano, Beau Sampson, Reid Hensley, Gavyn Jones, Jackson Kircher and Dylan Crooks were effective in relief.

Leading 8-3, Kircher gave up two runs, including one in the ninth on a fly ball that dropped in between Walk and Harris in left-center for an RBI triple by 9-hole hitter Antonelli Savaterre.

Crooks, who came into the week tied as the national leader with eight saves, relieved Kircher and got two quick outs before an infield single made it 8-6.

With the tying run at the plate, Crooks induced a groundout to Willits at shortstop to end it with his ninth save.

OU is back on the diamond on Thursday when the Sooners host LSU in a Southeastern Conference series. That three-game set, with games scheduled Friday and Saturday, is under threat of bad weather, however.