
Mountain Hawks Drop Season Opening Doubleheader At Oklahoma
2/14/2025 11:51:00 PM | Baseball
Starter Kyson Witherspoon picked up the win for the Sooners (2-0) in game one, striking out nine batters while allowing two hits and two earned runs in 5.0 innings of action. Senior Marcus Danchision received the loss for the Mountain Hawks (0-2), allowing three earned runs in 3.0 innings.
Both pitchers had strong starts to game one, as Witherspoon and Danchision traded 1-2-3 innings to start the game. After Witherspoon retired the side again in the second, Oklahoma capitalized with a three-run bottom half of the inning to give themselves the lead. Two more scoreless innings ensued, including another 1-2-3 from Danchision in the third. The score remained 3-0 in favor of the Sooners entering the fifth inning with senior Jack Hamilton now on the mound for Lehigh. Oklahoma extended their lead to nine in the bottom of the fifth with a six-run inning, highlighted by a Kyle Branch inside-the-park home run.
The Mountain Hawks produced their first hit of game one off the bat of junior Ryan Davis, who singled up the middle to begin the top of the sixth. After senior Jake Whitlinger reached on a fielder's choice, junior Dom Patrizi singled Davis home for Lehigh's first run of the 2025 season. On the next at bat, junior Ryan Cochran doubled down the right field line to send Whitlinger past home plate. A Trystan Crawford RBI groundout scored Patrizi to put a cap on a three-run sixth for the Mountain Hawks.
Jaxson Willits responded with a solo home run to start the bottom of the sixth off of first-year Cole Kochanowicz, who struck out two batters in his collegiate debut. The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the eighth inning when an Easton Carmichael sac-fly set the score at 11-3. OU's Michael Catalano retired the side 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth to seal the game one victory for the Sooners.
In game two, LSU transfer Cameron Johnson earned the win in his first start for the Sooners, striking out three batters while walking five with two hits and two earned runs in 5.0 innings. Sophomore Julio Ermigiotti started on the mound for Lehigh, allowing seven runs in 2.0 innings to take the loss.
Johnson made quick work of the Mountain Hawks to start the game, retiring the side 1-2-3 to start the game. After Ermigiotti struck out his first batter of the game, the Sooners then scored four runs after three hits and two Lehigh errors in the frame. A Carmichael three-run shot in the bottom of the second extended the Oklahoma lead to seven after two innings.
In the top of the third, the Lehigh was able to generate some offense. Andrew Kohl singled to start the frame followed by an Owen Walewander single. Johnson then walked Jack Frankovic to load the bases, and after Whitlinger advanced on a fielder's choice, walks to Patrizi and Cochran scored two runs for the Mountain Hawks to set the score at 7-2.
Sophomore Liam O'Hearen entered the game for Ermigiotti in the bottom of the third, striking out his first batter swinging. Scott Mudler added another run for Oklahoma with an RBI single, setting the score at 8-2. The score remained 8-2 until the bottom of the seventh when another Carmichael RBI double added an additional run for Oklahoma. The Mountain Hawks would get another run back in the in the eighth inning on Edwin Betances' first career RBI, but a four-piece by the Sooners in the bottom of the frame put them ahead by ten put the run rule in effect.
The Mountain Hawks will conclude the series against the Sooners on Saturday at 3 p.m.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, C. (1-0)
L: Ermigiotti, Julio (0-1)

Batting:
2B: Betances, Edwin 1
RBI: Patrizi, Dom 1 ; Cochran, Ryan 1 ; Betances, Edwin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Whitlinger, Jake 1 ; Walewander, Owen 1 ; Frankovic, Jack 1
CS: Whitlinger, Jake 1

Batting:
2B: Carmichael,E 1 ; Hoffman, C. 1 ; Gambill, T. 1
HR: Carmichael,E 1
RBI: Walk, J. 1 ; Carmichael,E 5 ; Hoffman, C. 1 ; Willis, D. 1 ; Tockey, D. 1 ; Mudler, S. 1
SF: Tockey, D. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walk, J. 2 ; Harris, Das. 1 ; Willits, J. 2 ; Hamlin, M. 1 ; Carmichael,E 2 ; Christiansen 1 ; Willis, D. 1 ; Gambill, T. 1 ; Mudler, S. 1 ; Branch, K. 1
SB: Walk, J. 2 ; Willits, J. 1 ; Carmichael,E 1 ; Christiansen 1 ; Willis, D. 1 ; Gambill, T. 2 ; Branch, K. 1
HBP: Branch, K. 1