HOOVER, Ala. – In their SEC Tournament debut, No. 12 seed Oklahoma defeated No. 13 seed Kentucky 5-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The Sooners used a three-run third inning and a dominant bullpen effort to advance before 6,525 fans on an 86-degree day with cloudy skies.
Oklahoma right-hander Jaden Barfield worked four innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits while striking out three. James Hitt earned the win with four shutout innings of relief, and Dylan Crooks closed the door with a clean ninth.
It marked Oklahoma’s first appearance in the SEC Tournament after moving from the Big 12, where they won the 2024 conference title. Head coach Skip Johnson’s squad improved to 34-19 overall and 14-16 in league play.
Kentucky dropped to 29-24 overall and 13-18 in the SEC. The Wildcats fell to 12-19 against RPI Top 50 opponents and left six men on base. Their postseason hopes now rest on an at-large bid, with their No. 8 strength of schedule among the nation’s best.
Kentucky broke through first in the third inning when Luke Lawrence scored on a throwing error by Oklahoma third baseman Patrick Herrera. The Sooners responded quickly in the bottom half, as Jason Walk crushed a two-run home run to right-center off starter Scott Rouse to give Oklahoma a 2-1 lead.
go-ahead blast for our first homer in Hoover 💣
B3 | OU 2, UK 1 // 📺 SECN pic.twitter.com/2S9FEhOBF1
— Oklahoma Baseball (@OU_Baseball) May 20, 2025
Three batters later, catcher Easton Carmichael lined an RBI single to left, scoring Tyler Gambill to extend the lead to 3-1.
“I was just trying to compete,” Walk said. “We preach chaos—doing whatever we can to score a run. I think he left a fastball there, and you’ve got to be able to hit a fastball to get to the next level.”
Oklahoma padded the lead in the sixth when Kyle Branch grounded out to bring home Jaxon Willits, and again in the eighth when Willits lifted a sacrifice fly to score Carmichael.
Barfield allowed one unearned run over four innings, working around early pressure with a key double play to end the first inning. Hitt was dominant in relief, scattering two hits and striking out three.
“I had every one of my pitches today,” Hitt said. “I was just hitting my spots and getting outs.”
Kentucky scored its lone run in the third when Luke Lawrence came home on a throwing error by Oklahoma’s Patrick Herrera. The Wildcats grounded into three double plays and managed just six hits.
“They made pitches when it mattered most,” said Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione. “It was really hard for us today to string together quality at-bats. I give Oklahoma a lot of credit.”
Despite the loss, Kentucky catcher Devin Burkes remained optimistic.
“We’re ready,” said Burkes. “We’ve been through the best league in America. We’re anticipating what’s next.”
Burkes and James McCoy are part of a Kentucky senior class on the verge of becoming the program’s winningest. With an RPI top-50 record of 12-19 and the eighth-best strength of schedule in the nation, the Wildcats will now wait for Selection Monday to see if they return to the NCAA Tournament.
The Sooners improved to 34-19 overall and 14-16 in the SEC. Johnson praised his pitchers for executing and his defense for erasing Kentucky threats, especially with the three twin killings.
“Getting Jamie [Hitt] through the first inning and the last inning was really big,” Johnson said. “Bell is one of the best players, and if anybody can tell me how to get Luke Lawrence out, please call me.”
Oklahoma will face No. 5 seed Tennessee on Wednesday, May 21, at 1:30 p.m. EDT in the second round. The game will air on SEC Network.
2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Schedule
Tuesday-Sunday, May 20-25. Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, Hoover, Ala.
All Game Start Times Are Eastern Daylight Time
*Second Game Of Each Session Will Begin Approximately 30 Minutes After The Conclusion Of First Game
Tuesday, May 20 – First Round
Game 1: No. 9 Alabama 4, No. 16 Missouri 1
*Game 2: No. 12 Oklahoma 5, No. 13 Kentucky 1
Game 3: No. 10 Florida 11 vs. No. 15 South Carolina 3 – 5:30 p.m. – SECN
*Game 4: No. 11 Mississippi State vs. No. 14 Texas A&M – Moved to May 21
Wednesday, May 21 – Second Round
Game 4: No. 11 Mississippi State vs. No. 14 Texas A&M – 9:30 a.m. – SECN
*Game 5: No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 8 Tennessee – 12:30 p.m. – SECN
Game 6: No. 12 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Georgia – 4:30 p.m. – SECN
*Game 7: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 7 Ole Miss – 7:30 p.m. – SECN
Thursday, May 22 – Quarterfinals
Game 8: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 6 Auburn – 11 a.m. – SECN
*Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. No. 1 Texas – 3 p.m. – SECN
Game 10: Winner Game 6 vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt – 7 p.m. – SECN
Friday, May 23 – Quarterfinals
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. No. 2 Arkansas – 4 p.m. – SECN
*Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. No. 3 LSU – 7 p.m. – SECN
Saturday, May 24 – Semifinals
Game 13: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 – 1 p.m. – SECN
*Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12 – 4 p.m. – SECN
Sunday, May 25 – Championship Game
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 14 – 3 p.m. – ESPN2
SEC MLBPipeline.com Top 150 Draft Prospects
No. 7 – OF – Jace LaViolette – Texas A&M
No. 8 – RHP – Kyson Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 9 – LHP – Kade Anderson – Louisiana State
No. 10 – LHP – Liam Doyle – Tennessee
No. 16 – 2B – Gavin Kilen – Tennessee
No. 20 – OF/C – Ike Irish – Auburn
No. 24 – SS – Wehiwa Aloy – Arkansas
No. 28 – OF – Max Belyeu – Texas
No. 33 – RHP – Riley Quick – Alabama
No. 35 – 1B/3B – Andrew Fischer – Tennessee
No. 36 – OF/3B – Ethan Petry – South Carolina
No. 44 – LHP – Zach Root – Arkansas
No. 54 – SS/3B – Dean Curley – Tennessee
No. 55 – RHP – A.J. Russell – Tennessee
No. 60 – OF – Charles Davalan – Arkansas
No. 66 – 2B – Daniel Dickinson – Louisiana State
No. 69 – RHP – Marcus Phillips – Tennessee
No. 72 – LHP – J.D. Thompson – Vanderbilt
No. 78 – RHP – Chase Shores – Louisiana State
No. 79 – LHP- Jared Spencer – Texas
No. 90 – 1B – Jared Jones – Louisiana State
No. 99 – LHP – Justin Lamkin – Texas A&M
No. 100 – OF – RJ Austin – Vanderbilt
No. 101 – C – Easton Carmichael – Oklahoma
No. 102 – LHP – Pico Kohn – Mississippi State
No. 113 – RHP – Nate Snead – Tennessee
No. 116 – RHP – Mason Morris – Mississippi
No. 117 – SS – Jalin Morris – Texas
No. 123 – OF/1B – Tre Phelps – Georgia
No. 131 – SS – Colby Shelton – Florida
No. 133 – RHP – Malachi Witherspoon – Oklahoma
No. 141 – 3B – Brent Iredale – Arkansas
