'It's pretty nice here': OU's Peyton Graham loves Globe Life Field. He showed it in Big 12 opener win
ARLINGTON, Texas — Count OU shortstop Peyton Graham as a fan of Globe Life Field.
Though the Texas Rangers’ stadium is spacious, Graham sure enjoys hitting in the roof-covered venue.
The lighting is bright. The backdrop behind the center-field wall is advantageous.
As a result, he hits home runs.
“The ball is pretty easy to see here,” Graham said. “You can see a ball a long time, especially with the big dropback in the background.
“It’s pretty nice here.”
And he does it in big moments, like late Wednesday night.
The Sooners’ star sophomore connected for his fourth homer in the ballpark this spring, crushing a grand slam to the deepest part of the park near the 410-foot marker in the second inning to lead the way in a 6-4 victory over West Virginia in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.
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The win is the Sooners’ first in the conference tournament since 2018. OU had lost both games in 2019 and 2021, with no tournament being played in 2020.
That sets up a big rematch with second-seeded Texas Tech at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The third-seeded Sooners have beaten the Red Raiders in three of their four meetings, including wins in 2 of 3 last weekend in Lubbock.
Another win only bolsters their hopes of a late-season push to host a regional tournament.
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For the Sooners, the second inning was huge.
Behind Graham’s homer, they scored five runs before adding another in the fourth on a run-scoring single by Tanner Tredaway, who had four hits.
That gave OU room to work coach Skip Johnson’s pitching gameplan to near perfection.
All relievers. No starting pitcher.
“We needed to give the starting rotation a week’s rest,” Johnson said. “That was huge for us to do that.”
So, five relievers pitched to allow starter Jake Bennett to pitch Thursday. And a trio — Carson Atwood, Carter Campbell and Chazz Martinez — allowed just one run on a wild pitch over the first innings.
The plan only hit a slight snag when Grant Hussey and J.J. Wetherholt homered off Nicholas Andrews and Trevin Michael in the ninth.
The handful of relievers did not walk a batter.
West Virginia coach Randy Mazey certainly noticed as he looked at the printed box score during his opening statement.
“We walked 11,” he said, “and they didn’t walk any.”
For an OU offense that has been red hot since April behind its aggressiveness, that meant trouble for the Mountaineers.
“I think every part of the offense is starting to hit on all cylinders now,” Graham said. “So, it’s opening up a lot of options for us at the plate.”
And it’s leading to big moments like Graham’s second-inning blast.
It was the knockout blow for West Virginia starter Jacob Watters. But it was also a big turning point for Graham.
He had struck out in the first, chasing a bad pitch. He adjusted this time.
Graham saw the ball as well if not better in that moment than he had in the previous 10 games inside the park, and he attacked.
“It paid off pretty well,” he said. “So, I’ll take it.”
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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 vs. Baylor, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Kansas State vs. West Virginia, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Texas vs. TCU, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Texas Tech vs. OU, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 27
Game 9: G7 loser vs. G5 winner, 3:15 p.m.
Game 10: G8 loser vs. G6 winner, 7p.m.
Saturday, May 28
Game 11: G7 winner vs. G9 winner, 9 a.m.
Game 12: G8 winner 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.
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 Sooners beat West Virginia in Big 12 baseball tournament opener
