Oklahoma Baseball Drops Series Finale To California Baptist

Junior right fielder Bryce Madron homered and junior shortstop Dakota Harris went 2 for 4 with an RBI, but the Oklahoma baseball team fell 6-3 to California Baptist Sunday afternoon at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The Sooners (1-2) host Air Force for a single game at 3 p.m. Monday at Mitchell Park.

Madron's first home run of the season pulled OU within 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning. OU tied the game 3-all in the sixth on an RBI triple by sophomore second baseman Jackson Nicklaus and a base hit by Harris. The Lancers (2-1) took the lead again on a three-run home run in the eighth inning by designated hitter Julian Alvarez.

It was the third straight game in which CBU scored first, and OU fought back to tie or take the lead in each contest. The Sooners won 5-2 on Friday and the Lancers won 5-2 on Saturday.

"I think the biggest thing for us is being in control of ourselves one pitch at a time and understanding what 'one pitch at a time' is all about," Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson said. "It's opening weekend, everybody's here. We had great fan support – incredible fan support – and that's what I took out of it as much as anything. Our fans got into it. I think that's going to be like a relief pitcher or a pinch hitter for us. That game (today) was just all about execution. We didn't execute and they executed, and they got a big hit."

After two scoreless frames to start the game, the Lancers took the lead in the third inning on a two-run double by first baseman Jake Skipworth. A sacrifice fly in the fourth inning made it 3-1, CBU.

Junior first baseman Anthony Mackenzie started the bottom of the sixth with a walk and Nicklaus laced a fly ball to the wall in straightaway center that ricocheted off the fielder's glove for a triple. Harris bounded a single over the third baseman to bring in Nicklaus and tie the game, 3-3. Freshman designated hitter Rocco Garza-Gongora also located a bouncing single through the infield with one out, but the Sooners left the bases loaded in the sixth and again in the seventh inning.

Junior Carter Campbell pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in relief of senior Braxton Douthit, who went four frames in his first start for Oklahoma. Campbell, who recorded three strikeouts in 2.0 innings on Friday, retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced on Sunday. Junior Carson Atwood got the final two outs of the eighth inning and sophomore Aaron Weber retired the side in order in the ninth.

CBU reliever Jacob Wilson (1-0) was credited with the win and Ryan Delgado earned a save while OU reliver Aaron Calhoun (0-1) took the loss.