No. 20 Sooners take down No. 7 Oregon State to remain undefeated

No. 20/25 Oklahoma remained unbeaten with an 8-4 win over No. 7 Oregon State Saturday night at the Round Rock Classic. OU improved to 5-0 on the season and earned their second win in as many games in Round Rock.

The Sooners handed Oregon State (5-1) their first loss of the season and the win was OU's first top-10 win since knocking off No. 9 Tennessee last year (2/17/24). The Sooners have a chance to bring home a pair of top-10 wins as the team closes the Round Rock Classic vs. No. 2 Virginia on Sunday.

The Beavers (5-1) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a two-run home run in the first inning from Aiva Arquette. OU starting right-handed pitcher Malachi Witherspoon (W, 2-0) bounced back by retiring three of his next four batters and didn't allow another run in his 4.1 innings pitched, striking out three.

Oklahoma put up four runs at the top of the fourth to pull ahead. After a hit by pitch drawn by junior Easton Carmichael and double from junior Trey Gambill, freshman Kyle Branch continued his tear at the plate with a two-run single to tie the game. The next at-bat, senior Scott Mudler launched a two-run, go-ahead home run to right center for his first blast of the season.

The Sooners extended their lead to six runs in the fifth and sixth innings with RBIs from Branch and sophomore Jaxon Willits before a two-run home run from Carmichael. It was Carmichael's team-leading third homer of the year and OU's seventh in the early season.

Oregon State pushed a pair across in the eighth on a two-out single to center from AJ Singer but OU sophomore right-handed reliever Jason Bodin got out of the inning with a pickoff at first base.

Bodin induced a groundout and struck out a pair in the ninth to secure the win.

Witherspoon got the win in 4.1 innings pitched, surrendering two runs on three hits to go with three strikeouts and four walks. Left-handed reliever Cade Crossland went three innings and allowed a pair of runs on one hit with four strikeouts and three walks. Bodin struck out two in his 1.2 innings of closing action.

At the plate, Branch paced OU with a 3-for-4, three RBI performance, while six Sooners combined for OU's eight hits. The OU pitching staff held Oregon State to its lowest run (4) and hit (5) totals of the season.

OU meets No. 2 Virginia at 4 p.m. CT Sunday to close the Round Rock Classic. The game can be seen via D1Baseball.com with a subscription and can be heard in Oklahoma on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF or nationwide on The Varsity network app.