Without one of their leaders, and facing a top 20 opponent, Oklahoma’s explosive bats were eerily dormant on Tuesday night.
The Sooners — new to the college baseball rankings this week at No. 14 — stumbled out of the gate and couldn’t rally in a 6-0 loss to No. 20 Dallas Baptist.
The Patriots beat OU 11-7 back on Feb. 20, the Sooners’ fourth game of the season. That one was in Dallas, though. Tuesday’s setback was at the friendly confines of L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman.
OU fell to 13-7 overall, while DBU improved to 17-3.
The Sooners came in on a four-game winning streak and had won eight of their last nine, which includes a 6-0 start in Big 12 Conference play.
OU was missing its center fielder after getting some bad news about John Spikerman, who suffered a broken bone in his hand over the weekend and required surgery. He’ll reportedly be out 4-6 weeks.
Spikerman started the first 18 games this season (he missed Sunday’s finale at TCU) after starting 59 of the 60 games he played in last year, all in center field. As a true freshman in 2022, he made 30 starts in the outfield.
Spikerman, a junior from Montgomery, TX, came into the week on an 11-game hitting streak and had a hit in 17 of his 18 games while reaching base safely in all 18 this season.
His .394 batting average leads the team (it was .500 on March 1), and his .535 slugging percentage (five doubles, one triple, one homer) ranks third among the OU lineup.
In addition to his defensive prowess and his skills with a bat, Spikerman led the Sooners with 27 stolen bases last year and was on pace to do so again this year, having swiped a team-leading 9-of-11 bases so far in 2024.
Spikerman’s replacement in center, freshman Jason Walk, singled in each of his first two at-bats and had two of the Sooners’ four hits. Walk’s first three collegiate hits have all come in the last two games replacing Spikerman.
Still, Spikerman’s absence goes beyond the batting order as he’s one of just three Sooners, along with second baseman Jackson Nicklaus and left fielder Kendall Pettis, who were key contributors during Skip Johnson’s 2022 College World Series runner-up.
Dallas Baptist jumped on top 3-0 early as Johnson ran out nine pitchers — none of whom reached even 30 pitches on Tuesday.
DBU’s Ethan Mann lifted a home run to left field to put the Patriots up 1-0 in the second inning, and Chayton Krauss brought Mann home with a two-run shot to right field in the fourth to give DBU a 3-0 lead.
The Patriots tacked on more insurance in the ninth inning with two singles and two walks, the last one an RBI when Will Carsten walked Grant Jay with the bases loaded to make it 4-0. Brad Pruett, OU’s ninth pitcher, skipped a wild pitch that pushed the lead to 5-0, and it quickly became 6-0 when Mann dribbled a slow roller in front of the plate to bring home another run.
OU’s offense had its chances early but stranded six baserunners, including two in the third and two more in the fourth.
The third inning was probably Oklahoma’s best opportunity to use the scoreboard as Jaxon Willits led off with a walk but was caught stealing. After a strikeout, Walk singled and Anthony Mackenzie doubled, but Bryce Madron grounded out with runners on second and third to quell the rally.
In the fourth, Nicklaus was plunked with one out, and Michael Snyder walked. But the inning died when Pettis struck out and Willits grounded out.
Down 6-0 in the ninth, Nicklaus reached on an infield single, but Snyder grounded into a double play.
Overall, OU managed just four hits, including 1-for-9 with runners on base, 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and 3-for-11 with two out. DBU pitchers retired 11 out of 12 OU batters between the fifth and eighth innings before Nicklaus’ leadoff single in the ninth.
The Sooners are back on the diamond this weekend when they host West Virginia for a three-game Big 12 Conference series in Norman.
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