'He was himself': OU ace Jake Bennett stuck with routine as he dazzled in dominant win over Texas Tech

ARLINGTON, Texas — OU ace pitcher Jake Bennett was not about to change his approach.

He believed there was no need for that.

Not after Texas Tech scored four runs off him a week ago in Lubbock. Even in Thursday’s rematch, his routine should work.

And it did.

“I thought he was himself,” OU coach Skip Johnson said with his 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore sitting to his left.

Bennett smiled as he sat back in his chair.

He soaked in the moment, a career night in a huge situation.

Bennett dazzled with a career-high 12 strikeouts in the third-seeded Sooners’ 6-3 win over No. 2 Texas Tech in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament at Globe Life Field. The talented left-hander put his team one win from the title game.

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OU will face the winner of Friday night's late game between Kansas State and Texas Tech at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Either team will have to beat the Sooners twice to keep them from Sunday’s championship game.

Reaching that game could be massive for the red-hot squad. A win Saturday increases the chances of hosting a regional next weekend in Norman.

Johnson couldn’t have drawn the first two games up any better.

He opted to go with a bullpen game in the opening win over West Virginia to keep Bennett on his routine of starting every seven days.

Then Bennett delivered.

“Sometimes you have to take that chance,” Johnson said. “I thought our body of work going into this tournament was really good. That helped helped us to where we can make that decision.”

Bennett allowed just one run on two hits and two walks over 7 ⅔ innings. He threw 108 pitches, getting better results from his slider than a week before.

He really only faced trouble in one inning.

After OU freshman Jackson Nicklaus hit a three-run homer in the second, Texas Tech’s Hudson White opened the third with a single and scored on a sacrifice fly from Dillon Carter.

The Red Raiders immediately got a single from Easton Murrell but Bennett did not allow another hit.

“Just trying to go one pitch at a time and really attack hitters,” Bennett said.

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Bennett struck out nine of the last 18 batters he faced. He was pulled with a 6-1 lead and two outs in the eighth after walking Murrell.

“I really thought right from the get-go he kinda took advantage of our aggressiveness,” Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock said. “He might have a little bit better spin than we maybe thought at one time.”

Texas Tech did attempt to rally against OU closer Trevin Michael. Shortstop Kurt Wilson hit a two-run homer in the ninth.

By then, it was too late.

Bennett had proven enough. In three years, the Bixby graduate has grown so much physically. But he’s also improved talent-wise.

“I feel like I’ve come a long ways since high school, for sure,” Bennett said. “My mechanics have just continued to improve. Like Skip said, my body’s also gotten better. I credit that all to the coaching staff, the strength staff, really everybody.”

The routine is key.

That’s why Johnson insisted on giving Bennett the normal time to recover following a start in Lubbock on short rest.

And it’s why Johnson worked to fight back his emotions after the game when he talked about Bennett.

“I know the work that he put in,” Johnson said. “He’s like the poster child of our program for pitching.

“He came in, his body changed, he kept staying with it, was patient, kept working and stayed with his routines.”

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Big 12 tournament schedule

At Arlington, Texas

(*-if necessary)

Wednesday, May 25

Game 1: No. 5 Texas 4, No. 4 Oklahoma State 0

Game 2: No. 1 TCU 4, No. 8 Baylor 2 

Game 3: No. 2 Texas Tech 5, No. 7 Kansas State 3

Game 4: No. 3 Oklahoma 6, No. 6 West Virginia 4

Thursday, May 26

Game 5: Oklahoma State 11, Baylor 1 (7 innings)

Game 6: Kansas State 8, West Virginia 5

Game 7: Texas 5, TCU 3

Game 8: OU 6, Texas Tech 3

Friday, May 27

Game 9: TCU vs. Oklahoma State, 3:15 p.m.

Game 10: Texas Tech vs. Kansas State, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 28

Game 11: Texas vs. G9 winner, 9 a.m.

Game 12: OU vs. G10 winner, 12:30 p.m.

Game 13: G11 winner vs. G11 loser*, 4 p.m.

Game 14: G12 winner vs. G12 loser*, 4 p.m. or 7:30

Sunday, May 29

Game 15: Championship, 5 p.m.

More: Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Scores and Schedule from Globe Life Field in Arlington

Jacob Unruh covers college sports for The Oklahoman. You can send your story ideas to him at junruh@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU baseball beats Texas Tech to reach Big 12 tournament semifinals