College Baseball Roundup: Sooners, Cowboys Sweep Doubleheaders

OU Sweeps Doubleheader From Arkansas Pine Bluff

The No. 14 ranked University of Oklahoma baseball team defeated Arkansas Pine Bluff 4-2 in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday at L Dale Mitchel Park.

The Sooners scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning, which is all they needed. OU outhit UAPB 11-5 but committed four errors.

Redshirt freshman left-handed starting pitcher Adam Choplick put together a strong debut on the mound for the Sooners, striking out six over five innings.

Freshman left-handed reliever Jacob Evans earned his first career save tossing two shutout innings.

Junior infielder Matt Oberste, freshman infielder Kolbey Carpenter and freshman outfielder Hunter Haley each collected two hits for OU.

The second game wasn't even close as the Sooners drubbed the Lions 11-1.

Matt Oberste's three-run homerun headlined the scoring as OU crossed the plate early and often.

After committing four errors in the first game, OU committed no errors in the nightcap, marking the first completely clean game of the young season.

The Sooners finish the homestand with a 6-0 record and hit the road to compete in the Kleberg Bank College Classic against Iowa, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and New Mexico starting at 2 p.m. Friday in Corpus Christi.

OSU Sweeps Doubleheader From Alcorn State

Oklahoma State used a pair of strong performances out of its starting pitchers to propel it to a doubleheader sweep of Alcorn State Tuesday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium as the Cowboys claimed an 11-3 win in their 2013 home opener before an 8-1 triumph in the nightcap.

In the opener, sophomore Jon Perrin earned his first-career win as he worked 6.1 innings and allowed just one earned run while striking out five. Senior Kenton Bevacqua followed suit in game two with identical numbers for his first win of the season to help OSU improve to 4-1.

"What we did tonight was pitch good," said OSU head coach Josh Holliday. "Both Jon Perrin and Kenton Bevacqua pitched really well; we got two great starts, and that was big for us because we came off a week where our starts Saturday and Sunday weren't exactly what we were hoping for. So to get two great starts was a step in the right direction. And we got good relief pitching. The pitching was a bright spot, no doubt about it."

Junior Tanner Krietemeier continued his hot hitting as the reigning Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Week was 5-for-9 with four RBIs in the two games.

Asked for the key to his hot start to the season, Krietemeier, who is hitting a team high .550, replied, "All the work that we do. Getting in the (batting) cages, all the repetitions that we get, working with Josh (Holliday) and (Rob) Walton – they know what they're talking about and it's always good to have someone like that behind you to push you in the right direction."

The Cowboys return to action Friday at 4 p.m. when they open a three-game series against NJIT at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

Wichita State 5, ORU 4.

Chris Williams hit his second home run of the season on Tuesday, but it wasn't enough as the Oral Roberts baseball team fell to Wichita State, 5-4.

The contest was back and forth all game, with the Golden Eagles taking a 2-0 lead following Williams' solo shot in the in the bottom of the fourth inning, sending the first pitch of the at bat out of the park.

The Shockers answered when Casey Gillaspie led the sixth inning off with a triple into the right field corner, followed by a strikeout to Johnny Coy. However, Coy reached first as the ball got away from the catcher. Two batters later, both Gillaspie and Coy crossed the plate on a single by Erik Harbutz to take the lead, 3-2.

ORU answered back and took a 4-3 lead, but in the top of the eighth inning, the Shockers took the lead for good. With Tanner Dearman at first following a walk, Gillaspie ripped a double to score Dearman from first. Two batters later, Gillaspie scored for the second time in the ball game on a groundout to make it 5-4.

ORU opens a series at Louisiana Tech on Friday, Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m.