Witherspoon hurled seven innings of one-run ball and allowed just three hits, while the offense was powered by RBI singles from freshman Kyle Branch and redshirt sophomore Sam Christiansen.
The first inning saw the Gophers (1-3) go up early on a leadoff home run to left from Josh Fitzgerald. After surrendering his first home run of the season, Witherspoon proceeded to retire the next 13 batters faced, snapping the streak with a single in the fifth inning.
OU (4-0) evened the score at the top of the fourth. After a leadoff hit by pitch drawn by junior Trey Gambill and a sacrifice bunt that moved him into scoring position, the freshman Branch laced an RBI single into left field that tied the game.
In the fifth, Christiansen gave OU a 2-1 lead with an RBI base hit to left center following a leadoff double from sophomore Jason Walk. OU loaded the bases in the top of the eighth and got one across on a balk by UM pitcher Will Whelan to push the lead to two runs.
The Gophers struck back in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single to center before senior righty Dylan Crooks induced a groundout to strand a pair. Crooks earned the save in the ninth, inducing a fly out to left field to strand the tying run at second and give OU the win.
Witherspoon (W, 2-0) finished with a line of: seven innings pitched, one run on three hits, zero walks and 12 strikeouts. Seniors James Hitt and Dylan Crooks, along with freshman Michael Catalano combined to close the game with Hitt and Crooks each fanning one. The pitching staff surrendered two runs on six hits as the OU offense scored three runs on five hits. Neither team had an error in the game.
At the plate, five Sooners registered a hit with Walk and sophomore Dasan Harris each hitting a double.
The Sooners continue their time in Round Rock with a 4 p.m. meeting with No. 7 Oregon State on Saturday. The game can be streamed via subscription on D1Baseball.com and heard on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF in Oklahoma and nationwide on The Varsity app.
For updates and more information on Oklahoma baseball, follow the Sooners on Twitter/X and Instagram (@OU_Baseball) and like Oklahoma Baseball on Facebook.
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