Oklahoma Baseball: Sooners blank Rice, win weekend series

After dropping the series opener on Friday and winning big on Saturday, the Oklahoma Sooners (13-3) capped off the weekend with a 6-0 victory to clinch the weekend series vs. Rice (7-10).

Levi Prater (3-1) was the star of the day for OU, going a career-long 8.0 innings while allowing zero runs and three hits, striking out nine batters in the process. With the standout performance, Prater’s season ERA is down to 1.09 through four starts.

At the plate, the Sooners had solid contributions from a number of sources, including Brylie Ware, Cade Cavalli and Brady Lindsly. Ware, who went 4-6 on Saturday, put forth a 3-5 performance to close out the series and boost his average to .322. Cavalli also went 2-4 with a 2-RBI double, while Brady Lindsly went 1-4 with a three-run HR (his second of the season). In total, the Sooners recorded 11 hits on the afternoon.

Oklahoma got things going in the top of the first with a leadoff walk from Justin Vujovich and a single for Brylie Ware. With two outs, Cade Cavalli delivered with a double down the line in left to bring both runners home and make it 2-0.

OU threatened on a few occasions during the middle inning, but the Sooners were finally able to widen the gap in the top of the eighth. After singles from Ware and Cavalli, Brady Lindsly went deep to right center for his second homer of the season, making it 5-0. In the top of the ninth, OU added to the lead when Blake Brewster scored on Brendan Zaragoza’s sac fly.

In spite of Rice’s record (which is largely the result of a very difficult early-season schedule), the is a fantastic series win for an Oklahoma team that has been a bit better than expected in the early stages of the season. The fact that they were able to regroup after such a disheartening Friday performance also speaks to the leadership of this team’s veterans.

The Sooners will be back in action on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. CT for a matchup in Norman against Texas-Arlington.