May 29—ARLINGTON, Texas — As David Sandlin looked to guide Oklahoma to an appearance in the Big 12 Tournament final Saturday afternoon, the sophomore pitcher was inspiring his teammates with every pitch.

Sandlin threw the first seven innings of the Sooners’ semifinal against Kansas State, and allowed five hits and one earned run. While Oklahoma’s offense was held to just one run through the first five innings, Sandlin kept the Wildcats’ offense on their heels with 10 strikeouts and just one walked batter.

Oklahoma scored three runs in the sixth and seventh innings to hold on for a 4-3 win at Globe Life Field, advancing to the Big 12 Championship game Sunday.

Sandlin got the nod to start on the mound for the Sooners days after learning that his sister had passed away. But the sophomore worked to focus as much as he could on the game.

“I just tried to treat it like any other game,” Sandlin said. “(My sister) hasn’t gotten to make it to a game all season with all the treatments she had to do. I knew that she’d be watching today and be able to finally see that, so I had to go out there and give it everything I’ve got, just win for the team, for her, for everybody back home.”

The Sooners trailed for the first time during the tournament when the Wildcats came away with two hits and had a batter hit by a pitch in the top of the fifth. Cash Rugely got a ball to drop into shallow centerfield to score the go-ahead run.

Despite getting two runners into scoring position, Oklahoma couldn’t tie the game up in the bottom of the inning. When Sandlin came back out in the sixth, he struck out all three batters in order.

“He pitched with his heart,” OU head coach Skip Johnson said about Sandlin. “I get kind of emotional, because my dad passed away during the (2020) season. I’m really proud of him for that. I think the kids rallied around that and didn’t want him to lose.”

Blake Robertson singled and Tanner Tredaway doubled to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning. Jimmy Crooks drove them both in on the next pitch and the Sooners found themselves leading 3-2 with nine outs left.

When Oklahoma’s offense came back out, Peyton Graham hit a home run over the left field wall to extend the lead to two runs. It was Graham’s fifth home run at Globe Life Field this season and his second of the tournament.

“We just really wanted to get the win for him,” Graham said about Sandlin. “He’s pitching his heart out out there. I think, as an offense, collectively we just tried to piece some stuff together and get some runs for him.”

Carter Campbell took over in the eighth inning and gave up a single and a walk before being replaced by Trevin Michael. Michael has closed all three games for the Sooners during the tournament.

The Wildcats drove in a run to enter the final inning trailing 4-3, but Michael struck out the last two batters to secure the win.

Oklahoma’s offense came away with five hits and three runs to take the lead after trailing in the fifth inning.

“We’ve been really resilient the last month and a half of the season, and I’m really proud of them,” Johnson said. “I can’t say enough about what they do, and how hard they work at it and how much they believe in themselves.”

The Sooners tallied 10 hits in the game, while the Wildcats finished with seven. Tredaway and Crooks each went 2-for-4 on the day.

Oklahoma will play Texas at 5 p.m. Sunday for the Big 12 Tournament Championship. It would be the program’s first tournament title since 2014.

Norman native Cade Horton is expected to get his seventh start of the season on the mound.