Norman — By John Shinn
Transcript Sports Writer
Casey Johnson winces every time he swings the bat. He has a nagging injury in his right hand that just won’t go away. A cold night like Wednesday only makes matters worse.
“I have to hit a ball square for it not to hurt,” Oklahoma’s junior left fielder said.
He was feeling no pain in the seventh inning when he jerked a pitch from Massachusetts’ Bryan Leigh just inside the right-field foul pole for two-run home run that proved to be the difference in the Sooners’ 8-4 victory over the Minutemen at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
The blast, Johnson’s second of the season, turned a one-run deficit into the lead the Sooners maintained to improve to 17-2.
It’s been that kind of season for OU. When it’s entered the late innings in tight games, something good usually happens.
In Johnson’s case, the good thing was ignoring the look on his face before he hit the two-run homer.
“He grimaced on one of those swings before he hit the home run,” OU coach Sunny Golloway said. “When he swings through and misses the ball, that hand injury still shows. We don’t budge and let him stay in the game and he connects on a huge home run for us.”
Wednesday night’s victory was one of those games where the confidence the Sooners have built throughout the first four weeks of the season was evident.
They trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Leigh (0-1) cruised through the first six innings and OU was on the ropes.
Sooner starting pitcher Drew Verhagen lasted just 42⁄3 innings and gave up four runs on six hits. OU wasn’t able to calm things down until Jack Mayfield, who was making just his third appearance of the season, entered to close out the fifth inning. His only blemish was allowing Massachusetts’ Cameron McMullen to score from third base on a pick-off play.
Mayfield, who’s also played seven games at second base, had never been in a rundown situation from a pitcher’s perspective.
“It just kind of cleared my mind,” Mayfield said.
He struck out three and only gave up two hits over 31⁄3 innings, Mayfield (1-0) didn’t get in line for the victory until OU batted in the seventh inning.
Johnson’s homer turned the tide and was part of a six-run barrage OU put up in its final two at-bats.
“We just battled and stayed in it,” Johnson said. “Our bats came through for us.”
With the victory, OU completed a two-game sweep of the Minutemen (0-6) and set the stage for the start of Big 12 Conference play. Baylor comes to L. Dale Mitchell Park Friday for the start of a three-game series.
