NORMAN, Okla. – Junior Zak Skinner went 5-for-5 at the plate to lead Lamar University to a 13-8 thumping of No. 25 Oklahoma Friday night from L. Dale Mitchell Park. The victory – LU's third consecutive win against the Sooners in Norman – moves Lamar to 21-5 (.807) on the season and secured the series victory for the Cardinals over the nationally ranked Sooners.
 
Skinner finished the night with two home runs, a double, six RBIs and three runs scored as the Cardinals pounded out 13 runs on 10 hits. Five different Cardinals recorded hits Friday as River Orsak joined Skinner in the multi-hit and home run column. Orsak was 2-for-2 with a homer, three RBIs and four runs scored.
 
The Cardinals scored in each of the first five innings opening the game with two in the first, one in the second, two in the third, three in the fourth and then put the exclamation point on the victory with a five-run fifth.
 
Oklahoma scored their eight runs on 10 hits as the two teams combined for seven home runs. Oklahoma scored four in the first, one in the third and sixth innings and closed out the scoring with a two-run ninth.
 
Senior Brooks Caple (4-2) gutted out a tough start to the game but regained his composure to go 6.1 innings with three strikeouts to get the win. He allowed six runs – five earned – but only two of those runs came after the first inning. He was relieved by Andres Perez in the seventh and he went the final 2.2 innings with a strike out. Perez allowed two runs on four hits but both runs came in the ninth when LU had already built a seven-run advantage.
 
Oklahoma went with Braden Davis who pitched 4.0 innings but was tagged for nine runs – eight earned – on seven hits with three strike outs and five walks. Davis was one of three Sooners to pitch Friday.
 
The Cardinals wasted little time with some two-out thunder in the top of the 1^st. River Orsak took the second pitch he saw over the left field wall to put Lamar on the board. Three pitches later, Zak Skinner followed suit with a solo shot of his own. The Cardinals took a 2-0 lead into the bottom half of the 1^st but Oklahoma answered with three homers in the frame – including back-to-back homers of their own – to take a 4-2 lead.
 
The Sooners threatened a larger lead in the first but were denied by Tanner Wilson who made a leaping grab at the wall preventing another home run and ending the inning.
 
Lamar got one of those runs back in the top half of the 2^nd with an RBI single through the left side off the bat of Austin Roccaforte. Big Red reclaimed the lead with two more in the third. After an Oklahoma scored a run in the third to tie the game at five, the Cardinals got a three-run shot to left from Skinner to give LU a three-run lead.
 
It was Skinner again in the top half of the fifth to help LU break the game open with five runs on two hits. With three Lamar runs already on the scoreboard in the inning, Skinner took a 1-2 pitch down the right field line scoring Orsak and Dodge to make it a 13-5 lead.
 
The Sooners scratched out a run in the sixth and two more in the bottom half of the ninth but never threatened the lead after Lamar's five-run fifth.
 
The two teams will return to L. Dale Mitchell Park Saturday to close out the series with a 2 p.m. first pitch. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.