NORMAN — No. 25 Oklahoma fell 13-8 Friday night to Lamar at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
On a windy Oklahoma evening, the teams combined for seven home runs, including five in the first inning.
After the Sooners (15-11, 7-2 Big 12) took a 4-2 lead through the first, the Cardinals (21-5, 3-0 Southland) responded with runs in each of the next four innings to go up 13-5 after five. OU pushed one across in the sixth and two in the ninth for the final score of 13-8.
At the top of the first, the Cardinals hit a pair of home runs before OU answered with three of its own in the bottom half, including back-to-back jacks from freshman Jason Walk and senior Bryce Madron. It was Walk’s first collegiate home run and Madron’s fourth of the season and second in as many games. Junior Jackson Nicklaus hit OU’s other round-tripper, also good for his second straight game with a homer.
Lamar got a combined three runs back in the second and third innings via RBI singles to take the lead. OU scored a run in the bottom of the third on a wild pitch before a three-run blast in the fourth and another five runs in the fifth from the Cardinals put the game out of reach.
OU pushed across three runs throughout the final four innings with Walk bringing in Nicklaus in the sixth on a fielder’s choice and redshirt senior Kendall Pettis hitting a two-run homer in the ninth for his third of the year. At the bottom of the fifth, Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson was ejected from the contest after arguing a strike call with the home plate umpire. It marked Johnson’s first ejection in seven years as head coach at OU.
Nicklaus continued to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-2 with a home run and two runs batted in, while Madron and Pettis went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs each.
OU starting LHP Braden Davis (2-2) took the loss, surrendering eight earned runs on seven hits and five walks with three strikeouts in four innings. Relievers Malachi Witherspoon (0.2 IP) and Jett Lodes (4.1 IP) combined to finish the contest, striking out two and four, respectively. Lodes went 4.1 scoreless innings with just one hit and two walks.
The teams meet for the series finale Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. The game can be seen via SoonerVision on ESPN+ and heard locally in Oklahoma on SportsTalk 1400 AM/99.3 FM or nationwide on The Varsity app. Live stats can be found at OUStats.com.
Pregame Saturday will be a Kids Club Easter egg hunt beginning at noon featuring golden eggs, a prize wheel, snow cones and more.
Single game tickets and mini-plan options are available via SoonerSports.com/tickets.
For updates and more information on Oklahoma baseball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Baseball) and like Oklahoma Baseball on Facebook.