GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Peyton Graham hit the first grand slam of this season’s NCAA Tournament and No. 9 overall seed Oklahoma beat Liberty 16-3 on Friday in the Gainesville Regional.
Graham’s shot highlighted and capped an eight-run fifth inning for a 14-3 lead. The first eight batters of the inning scored as Oklahoma (38-20) took control.
Graham was 2 for 6 with four RBIs. His 17th homer of the season was also his third grand slam. John Spikerman also had four RBIs after going 4 for 5 with a homer. Oklahoma tallied 17 hits, including Kendall Pettis’ two-run homer.
Jake Bennett (8-3) struck out nine while allowing nine hits and three earned runs.
Dylan Cumming (5-5) was pulled after four innings of work. He allowed five runs and eight hits.
Liberty (37-22) scored all three runs in the first before Spikerman and Pettis hit back-to-back shots to take the lead for good.
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