OU Baseball: Sooners Shut Out Alcorn State

The No. 23 Oklahoma baseball team grabbed an 8-0 win over Alcorn State Wednesday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park. It was the second win in as many nights for the Sooners, who improve to 28-16 on the year.

"It is a day that you can get better and I thought our team did that,” head coach Pete Hughes said. “Overall, it was a good couple of nights. I like the fact that we got to play a lot of kids and got some more guys on the mound so we can start building depth and reliability in the bullpen."

Oklahoma cruised to victory on the back of dominant pitching performances from both redshirt-junior left-handed starter Adam Choplick and the Sooners' bullpen. Choplick threw six-scoreless innings, giving up just five hits, while striking out five and walking just one as he improved to 3-1 on the season.

“Once he got through that first hitter he settled in,” Hughes said. “I thought that he was pretty good for us. I thought that all of our staff was good. Yeah, we may have played an undermanned team, but we still have to throw a lot of strikes. We go nine innings with one walk and get a bunt down. Good fundamental team-win.”

Three Sooner relievers, junior RHPs Thomas McIlraith and Blake Rogers and freshman LHP Kenny Saenz, pitched an inning of scoreless-relief each to give the Sooners their fourth shutout of the season. Saenz made his collegiate debut, throwing a perfect ninth inning.

Oklahoma jumped on the Braves early with three runs in the bottom of the first. Junior second baseman Kolbey Carpenter and redshirt-senior right fielder Taylor Alspaugh both reached to lead off of the inning before junior center fielder Craig Aikin ripped a double down the right field line to plate both runs. Aikin later scored on sacrifice-fly to deep left from sophomore shortstop Sheldon Neuse to give OU an early 3-0 lead.

The Sooners extended their lead in the fourth when senior third baseman Joshua Ake drew a two-out walk before Carpenter picked up his second hit of the game with an RBI single to left.

OU tacked on four more in a messy sixth. Ake reached on a lead-off single down the left field line and Carpenter made it two on with no outs with a walk. Alspaugh laid a bunt down the third base line, but the throw to first was wide and Ake scored on the error. Aikin then picked up his third RBI of the night with a sacrifice-fly to left that scored Alspaugh. Junior catcher Anthony Hermelyn picked up a base hit and later scored on a RBI-single by first baseman Robert Tasin to stretch the Sooners' lead to 8-0.

Carpenter finished the night 2-for-2 with a pair of singles to left field for his 20th multi-hit game of the season and his fifth in a row. The junior also walked twice and batted in a run.

Aikin recorded three RBI on the night. The Big 12 leader in hits plated two with a double down the right field line in the first and added another with a sacrifice-fly in the sixth.

Oklahoma also got a multi-RBI game from Tasin. The redshirt senior plated a pair of runs with a hard hit grounder up the middle in the sixth. Tasin finished 2-for-3 and reached base three times.

The Sooners are back at L. Dale Mitchell this weekend as they host Sam Houston State in a three-game home stand. First pitch Friday night is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Notes:

· Robert Tasin made his first career start at first base and went 2-for-3 with two RBI. He previously made three appearances at first base off the bench.

· The Sooners used their 28th different lineup of the season.

· Oklahoma played error-free baseball for the 17th time this season.

· Kolbey Carpenter went 2-for-4 for his fifth-straight multi-hit game and team-leading 20th of the year.

· OU starting pitchers have lasted six or more innings in 23 out of 44 starts this season. Adam Choplick pitched through the sixth for the fourth time this season.

· Kenny Saenz pitched the ninth inning in his first career appearance.

· Craig Aikin hit his team-leading 12th double of the season and sixth in the last 13 games.