OU baseball: Braden Davis, Reid Hensley combine to pitch no-hitter vs. West Virginia
Braden Davis, Reid Hensley combine to pitch no-hitter as Sooners blank West Virginia
Juniors Braden Davis and Reid Hensley pitched a combined no-hitter, totaling 15 strikeouts, as No. 17 Oklahoma shut out West Virginia 13-0 to open the teams’ Big 12 conference series Friday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
Davis (2-1) struck out a career-high 12 batters over seven innings, allowing only two walks, while Hensley tossed the final two frames, striking out three and walking one. The 15 total strikeouts tied a season high for the OU pitching staff.
Not outshone by the mound performance, Oklahoma’s bats were rolling from the get-go. The Sooners (14-7, 7-0 Big 12) scored a run in the bottom of the first inning on a rocket double by first baseman Michael Snyder, then poured on 12 runs from the third through fifth innings. Snyder went 2 for 3 and drove in three runs and left fielder Kendall Pettis notched four RBIs, including a bases-clearing double in the fifth inning.
The no-hitter was the program’s ninth all-time and the second combined effort. OU’s last no-hitter was a solo feat by Dane Acker against LSU on March 1, 2020. The last combined no-hitter was on March 9, 2005, against Arkansas-Pine Bluff by six pitchers (Kevin Duke, John Browenn, Daniel McCutchen, Ryan Mottern, Will Savage and P.J. Sandoval).
This was the second no-hitter recorded in Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson’s tenure.
“Braden was executing pitches,” Johnson said. “When he gets to where he can execute pitches and keep them off bay and off balance, we’re a good club. The offense helped, scoring those runs and giving (him) a bit of an easier time. You don’t have to be perfect so much. He kind of fed off their aggression at times, but they’re good and he executed pitches. Reid came in and did the job. I had to go in the last inning and tell him, hey man, you can’t strike somebody out if you don’t throw it to the target. He was trying to strike everybody out, but just had to throw it to the target. Just execute the pitch because that’s the most important thing.”
The Mountaineers (12-10, 2-2 Big 12) only managed four baserunners, none of which advanced past the first bag. Davis allowed only a two-out walk in the second inning and a one-out walk in the fifth. A fielding error in the third inning was erased when catcher Scott Mudler threw down to shortstop Anthony Mackenzie, who tagged the runner trying to steal.
Orioles send Jackson Holliday, MLB's No. 1 prospect, to minor leagues
In a moderate surprise, Major League Baseball's No. 1 prospect will not make his club's Opening Day roster.
The Baltimore Orioles on Friday reassigned infielder and former Stillwater High superstar Jackson Holliday to the minor leagues, ending the eye-opening spring training performance of the industry's consensus top young player.
Orioles general manager Mike Elias said over the winter that there was a strong chance Holliday, 20, would break camp with the big club after a dominant 2023 season in which Holliday swept every major minor league player of the year award.
Holliday backed that up in the Grapefruit League, with a .311/.354/.600 slash line and seven extra-base hits in 48 plate appearances. But the Orioles do not want for capable young players, and his reassignment means the club saves a 40-man roster spot for the time being.
Elias told reporters in Sarasota, Florida that Holliday's ascendance was so quick that he needs more reps against elite pitching, most notably left-handers, and that when he makes the major leagues, the club prefer it be permanent.
"He’s moved through the minors at a pace that we haven’t seen in a couple of decades, arguably," says Elias of Holliday, who started 2023 at low Class A and finished with 54 combined games and 255 at-bats at Class AA and AAA. "When we think about developing and completing the development of a player with his talent, and it’s something we have some experience doing…there’s a lot of considerations involved so that when they do start their major league career, you want them to be able to stay.
“Guys of that marquee caliber, you want them to be able to start their careers in full-time, full-blown roles. He’s not faced a ton of major league quality or even Triple-A quality left-handed pitching. That’s something that’s going to be thrust in his face when he’s in the American League East.”
Holliday's reassignment means second-year man Jordan Westburg and veterans Ramon Urias and Jorge Mateo will help man the infield around Gunnar Henderson, the reigning Rookie of the Year who occupied Holliday's top prospect spot just one year ago.
The Orioles also have veteran infielder Kolten Wong in camp, and adding him to the bench would give them a reserve left-handed bat while Holliday and the other young players receive full-time at-bats.
While top prospects' minor-league assignments often raise concerns that the club is engaging in service-time suppression, Holliday can still receive a full year of service time if he is recalled and finishes in the top two of American League Rookie of the Year voting. That stipulation was added to MLB's collective bargaining agreement in 2022, just in time for Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman - that year's Rookie of the Year runner-up - to take advantage of the clause.
Conversely, the Orioles will not gain the draft-pick reward had Holliday been on the roster from Opening Day and ended up winning Rookie of the Year, another hallmark of the 2022 CBA.
Langston advances to NAIA Elite Eight
Langston advanced to the Elite Eight of the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday, topping LSU Shreveport 78-61.
The Lions had five players score in double figures. Anthony Roy lead the way with 17. D'Monte Brown also scored 16. G'Quavious Lennox followed with 14, Toru Dean and Cortez Mosley added 13 and 10, respectively.
Langston awaits the winner of Arizona Christian and Indiana Wesleyan at 5 p.m. Saturday.
-Staff and wire reports
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball shuts out West Virginia with first no-hitter since 2005
