so sad to leave: OU star player announces his leaving after the match due to his….
NORMAN — OU baseball lives to fight another day.
The No. 9 overall NCAA Tournament seed Sooners triumphed over Connecticut 6-4 on Sunday night in Game 6 of the NCAA Norman Regional at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman.
Oklahoma (40-20) avenged their earlier loss to the Huskies on Friday night in Game 4, extending their season for at least one more game.
Right-handed pitcher Jett Lodes was the hero for the Sooners, pitching seven innings in relief, allowing just three hits and one run. He walked two and struck out seven on 101 pitches.
The innings, pitches, and strikeouts were all career highs for the senior from Yukon, who has been a career middle reliever and likely threw his last pitch at OU’s home field Sunday night.
“He’s been here for four years and has worked hard every step of the way,” OU coach Skip Johnson said of Lodes. “He’s improved every year. We’re really proud of him because in today’s game, some guys don’t get to pitch as much and they move on. But he never did that. He stayed with us and trusted the process, becoming a good leader in the process.”
A two-RBI double by right fielder Bryce Madron during a three-run eighth inning was the deciding factor in the game.
OU’s other runs came from a second-inning RBI single by catcher Scott Mudler, a third-inning two-run homer by infielder Michael Snyder, and another RBI single from Mudler in the eighth.
The Sooners will face UConn again in a winner-takes-all regional final at 8 p.m. Monday for a chance to advance to a super regional.
The atmosphere at “The Dale” has been electric all weekend in the first OU-hosted regional since 2010 and is expected to be lively again Monday night.
“Really proud of our fans,” Johnson said. “It was exciting to see their support, and hopefully tomorrow we’ll have so many fans they’ll need a fire marshal to check everything. I’m really proud of our team and the young men. This belongs to them, the players.”
Right-hander Brendan Girton started for the Sooners but quickly found himself in trouble.
On his fifth pitch, Caleb Shpur hit a solo home run to left field, putting the Huskies up 1-0.
Paul Tammarro singled, stole second on a wild pitch, and scored on Luke Broadhurst’s single, making it 2-0 UConn.
After a strikeout, walk, and hit by pitch, the bases were loaded. Girton escaped with a strikeout to end the inning but was done for the day after walking the leadoff hitter in the second.
Lodes then came in, issuing a walk between two strikeouts before Korey Morton’s RBI single increased the Huskies’ lead to 3-0.
Lodes ended the frame with a groundout to first base and then dominated, holding Connecticut scoreless for five straight innings and retiring 10 consecutive batters at one point.
