Mar. 17—Oklahoma was not supposed to be leading No. 1 Arkansas 8-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville Tuesday evening.

That’s why when OU first baseman Tyler Hardman threw wide to second base, putting Razorbacks on the corners with nobody out, any Sooner fan watching on the SEC Network could imagine the undoing of a huge win.

Jason Ruffcorn, however, was having none of it. The Sooner closer struck out Cullen Smith swinging, Ethan Bates swinging and Zack Gregory swinging and that was that.

The game was over. It was still 8-5. Offering mound dominance was a fitting way to finish off OU’s biggest win of the season.

Though his fastball may have been 10 miles per hour slower than Ruffcorn’s, the Sooners were staked to their lead in large part the result of starter Braden Carmichael’s performance. Jaret Godman was pretty good in middle relief, too.

Pitching has not been OU’s strength this season, but after allowing two first-inning runs, Carmichael found his rhythm.

Dominant into the sixth inning, he retired 16 of 17 Arkansas batters before Cayden Wallace lashed a twoout single to left field.

Perhaps Sooner coach Skip Johnson left him on the mound a few pitches too long, because the next Razorback, Brady Slavens, smashed a home run to right field, bringing Arkansas within 8-4.

Still, after coming back to get the final out of the frame, Carmichael left the Sooners in a winning position, possibly making his case as to be a weekend starter along the way.

“Carmichael had a lot of poise in a big environment,” Johnson said. “That shows you what type of pitcher he is. He’s going to give you a chance to win.”

Godman threw the next two frames, retiring 6 of 7 Razorbacks (12-2). The one he didn’t retire, Robert Moore, led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a home run.

But that was it. By the fourth inning, OU had already scored all the runs it would need, the first five of them with two outs.

But that was it. five on base the first two innings and were in position to leave two more when Kendall Pettis came to the plate in the third inning.

He came through with a two-run single, after which Breydon Daniel lifted a tworun home run over left field, after which singles from Brandon Zaragoza and Peyton Graham and a couple wild pitches made for a five-run frame.

“That was really, really big,” Johnson said. “What the coaches have been preaching, is [seeing] the ball where you can just stay back up the middle and be aggressive, and not worry about the outcome.”

In the fourth inning, after Hardman walked and reached third base on a wild pick-off attempt from Opitz, Arkansas’ catcher, Tanner Tredaway’s sacrifice fly plated OU’s sixth run.

The Sooners added two more in the sixth inning when Diego Muniz’s single brought home Jimmy Crooks and Conor McKenna.

The sixth inning was notable for something else, too: Hardman made an out, grounding to first base.

It sounds like nothing, but prior to it, the Sooner twohole hitter had hit safely in

13 of 14 at bats and reached base on 19 of 20 plate appearances.

Hardman punched a single to right field in the first inning, began OU’s five-run third-inning with a lead-off double and drew a walk to lead off the fourth.

Striking out in the eighth inning, Hardman finished 2 for 4 and with a .492 batting average over 63 at bats.

The Sooners beat the Razorbacks despite a quick hook from Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn, who used an astounding 10 pitchers.

Carmichael moved to 3-0, allowing four hits, striking out seven and walking one. It was Ruffcorn’s first save, yet also his first save opportunity, almost a month into the season.

OU allowed seven baserunners, total, six hits and a walk. Arkansas allowed 20, 11 hits, eight walks and a hit batter.

The Sooners will take a three-game winning streak into a three-game series with Houston, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

Mar. 17—Oklahoma was not supposed to be leading No. 1 Arkansas 8-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville Tuesday evening.