Norman — When things are going right, opportunities are rarely missed. Oklahoma third baseman Garrett Buechele knows how that feels.
“I’m just getting pitches to hit,” he said Tuesday following the Sooners’ 4-3 victory over Texas-Arlington in the home opener at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
Buechele, a sophomore, keeps nailing those pitches.
Tuesday, he went 2-for-4 and drove in all four of the Sooners’ runs. The performance didn’t even raise his batting average. He’s hitting .500 through the first eight games.
Tuesday he carried the Sooners (7-1).
They trailed by a run heading into the bottom of the third inning. With Danny Black and Chris Ellison aboard, Buechele got one of those pitches he could hit. It was a first-pitch changed up from Mavericks starter Preston Beck. Buechele crushed it over the left-field wall.
“When you get your pitch, you have to hit it. That’s what he’s doing right now. When he’s getting the pitch out of five, he’s not missing it,” OU coach Sunny Golloway said of his hot-hitting third baseman. “He’s coming up clutch for us time after time already.”
He added an RBI single in the fifth inning to pad OU’s lead and lift his RBI total to 12.
It’s not a surprise Buechele is playing well. There was a reason he was the Big 12 Conference’s freshman of the year last season. He hit .353 with four home runs and drove in 40 runs.
It’s doubtful Buechele will keep hitting at a .500 pace, but he’s on his way to blowing past his freshman totals in the other offensive categories.
Opponents haven’t caught on yet.
“I’m getting pitches that are up and I’m hitting them. I’ve gotten stronger in the weight room, but my swing is still the same and my approach is still the same,” Buechele said.
Seizing the opportunity wasn’t the only thing happening at the plate for the Sooners Tuesday.
Freshman pitcher Ryan Gibson did pretty much the same thing on the mound.
Gibson, who made his second start of the season, held the Mavericks to two runs over seven innings to improve to 2-0.
“I felt pretty good. I was just trying to throw strikes. Let them put the ball in play and let my defense work for me,” the left-hander from Yukon said.
Gibson struck out four, but only issued one walk. The performance backed up everything he showed in his debut Feb. 20 against San Diego State. Gibson threw five scoreless inning and fanned nine in that game.
“What we’ve been trying to do is bring him along. He’s showing he’s ready for more,” Golloway said. “As long as he’s ready for more, we’ll keep giving him more.”
That will probably mean a spot in the Sooners’ weekend rotation. The pitching staff is going to be tested this week. Tuesday’s game was the first of five for the Sooners over six days.
They host the Sooner Classic starting Thursday when OU faces South Florida at 3 p.m. Western Illinois and Stephen F. Austin will be on hand for the event that runs Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
