ARLINGTON, Texas - For the first time in nine years, the Big 12 trophy trophy is in Norman.
After surviving Kansas State on Saturday and moving on to the title game, Oklahoma looked to end a perfect week in Arlington against rivals Texas in the Big 12 championship game on Sunday night.
The 3rd seed Sooners would really do it in an explicit way, beating the 5th Longhorns seed 8-1 at the Globe Life Field and winning their first crown of the conference tournament since 2013.
Cade Horton he got the ball for Oklahoma and was one of the main stories of the day for the Sooners.
Making only the seventh start to his career, Horton blinded over 5.1 innings, allowing just two goals and one race, while knocking out nine Longhorns.
“Since last week at Texas Tech, I’ve felt like I’m out of control,” Horton said after the game. “That’s why I told myself this week that I will be what I am. I’ll keep my emotions under control and treat them like a pencil. And I just hit targets, and whatever happens. That’s how I went. That’s where it is.”
Horton’s lone race came in the first goal, with a Texas hit Ivan Melendez throwing a solo home run to the right center to give UT a quick 1-0 lead.
But while in the Oklahoma attack their first six hitters would be withdrawn to start the game, OU bats would explode in the third.
In the inning, Sooners fans may not soon forget, Skip JohnsonThe club robbed eight series without noticing a single out.
The first followed a beautifully performed hit-and-run game, with Kendall Pettis hitting one through the left side to achieve a run Jackson Nicklaus from another base.
After the OU took the lead Brett Squires getting home on a turnaround, John Spikerman would have added a smoky RBI double down the right field line and scored 3-1.
Hot Tanner Tredavai and then inserted two runs two hitters later, a single with filled bases to make the game 5-1.
“Everyone needs a lot of pressure, especially when he (Treadway) is playing the way he is,” Graham said. “I think it gives everyone in the lineup and on the bench, the initial throw, it gives them a lot of confidence to go out and do what they do.
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The biggest momentum followed with the next attacker, with the catcher Jimmy Crooks smashing a 3-run home run to the right-hand field to make it 8-1 Sooners.
“I think the biggest thing for us, in any game, is to try to gain momentum as early as possible,” Johnson said.
“It’s worn and it continues. We kept it on our side (tonight).”
Although the Sooners’ attack didn’t add more runs after their huge third inning - they didn’t need it.
After Horton left in the sixth, left-handed Chazz Martinez entered the game scoring the next eight outs without allowing a single goal to send things in the ninth.
“I thought he (Martinez) was outstanding when it came to playing the field, for sure,” said Johnson. “There is no doubt about that.
Here, OU closer Trevin Michael did the job working without results in the ninth inning to conclude a win-win deal.
“I love this team,” Michael said. “I’m only going to be here this year, but this was a lot of fun. These guys definitely showed me how to play Sooner baseball.”
The win moved Oklahoma to 37-20 at next week’s NCAA tournament, continuing the series as one of the hottest teams in college baseball
“That’s exactly what we’ve been working on all season,” Treadway said. “I think that returning from the place where we were at the beginning (season) and finishing as we did, really made everything complete for us. I’m so excited about these guys and we’re all so excited about each of them. other.”
The Sooners are now waiting for their destiny in the selection show on Monday, where their regional label and schedule will be revealed.
Although we don’t know Oklahoma’s opponents yet, we know that OU will not host the regional competition and play away next week, as 16 host teams were previously announced earlier on Sunday night.
“I’m not upset that I wasn’t the host,” Johnson said. “We can’t control it. All we can do is go out and play good baseball.”
“Wherever we land, we land there. We are proud to have had the opportunity to go out and play with whoever it is, it doesn’t really matter. “
The NCAA baseball election show is scheduled for Monday at 11:00 a.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN2.