Baseball Home for Two in the Midweek

February 21-22 | Norman, Okla. | L. Dale Mitchell Park

Grambling State

Oklahoma

Tickets

FSSW (Tue.) // FSOK (Wed.)

KREF 1400

Live Stats

Notes

Twitter

Midweek Pitching Match-Ups
First Pitch	Oklahoma	Grambling State
Tuesday, 3 p.m.	RHP-Austin Hansen, So. (4-0, 2.93)	TBA
>>>Last Start	First Career Start	N/A
Wednesday, 3 p.m.	RHP-Ryan Madden, So. (1-3, 4.50)	TBA
>>>Last Start	at TCU (4/15/16): L, 3.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R	N/A

Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 2-1 (0-0 Big 12) Coach: Pete Hughes (4th Season) Career Record/Years: 619-469-3/21 Rank: NR

Grambling State Tigers
Record: 2-1 (0-0 SWAC) Coach: James Cooper (8th Season) Career Record/Years: 136-187/8 Rank: NR

On the Air
TV/Stream	FSSW (Tue.) FSOK (Wed.) FOXSportsGo Chad McKee George Frazier
Radio	KREF 1400 AM TuneIn Radio App Audio Simulcast from TV

Player to Watch
P-Austin Hansen, So. After posting a perfect 4-0 record in 17 relief appearances as a freshman in 2016, Hansen earns his first career start on the hill as a Sooner.

SOCIAL FEED

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FIRST PITCH

The University of Oklahoma baseball team welcomes Grambling State for its originally scheduled home opener on Tuesday, February 21 at 3 p.m. The Sooners and Tigers then face off for a second midweek game on Wednesday at the same time. This weekâ??s midweek contests will simulcast the television audio through the radio broadcast. Both games will be televised by Sooner Sports TV on FOX Sports Southwest Tuesday and FOX Sports Oklahoma Wednesday. Veteran OU broadcaster Chad McKee will handle the play-by-play along with former Sooner and 10-year MLB veteran George Frazier providing the color commentary.

All-Time Series
Year	Result	Location
1985	Win, 5-2	Austin, Texas

THE HISTORY

Keith Hamilton improved to 6-0 as Oklahoma moved past Grambling State at the 1985 NCAA Central Region on May 24 by a score of 5-2 in the only meeting all-time between the two programs. Shortstop Kevin Pearson and third baseman Jim Richardson each went 2-for-5 in the middle of the Sooner lineup.

ABOUT THE SOONERS

Oklahoma came away with two wins over No. 17 Long Beach State at L. Dale Mitchell Park on opening weekend. The Sooners opened the season with a 6-2 win on Friday before clinching the series on Sunday with a 4-2, come-from-behind decision. Sophomore right-hander Jake Irvin led the way with the game one win with seven-shutout innings on one-hit ball. For the series, senior third baseman Jack Flansburg hit .500 (5-for-10) with three runs scored. Senior catcher Renae Martinez started two of the three games behind the plate and went 3-for-7 with a solo home run and three RBI. As a team, Oklahoma outhit Long Beach, 25-19, while the OU pitching staff held the Dirtbags to a .192 batting average. This week, the Sooners turn to a pair of sophomores on the mound. Right-hander Austin Hansen takes the hill for his first career start at OU after going 4-0 with a 2.93 earned run average in 17 relief appearances as a freshman. Righty Ryan Madden made three starts in 2016, all in league play, and went 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA. Hansen gets the ball on Tuesday followed by Madden on Wednesday.

THE FORECAST

Projected Starters
OU Lineup	BA/OBP/SLG	Stats	Notes
CF-Ben Hollas	.111/.200/.111	1-for-9, R	Provided two walk-off knocks in 2016.
2B-Kyle Mendenhall	.100/.308/.200	2B, 2 HBP	Summer 2016 Texas Collegiate League All-Star.
LF-Steele Walker	.417/.429/.857	2B, 3B	Recorded two multi-hit games opening weekend.
1B-Austin O'Brien	.300/.333/.400	2 RBI, 2B	Entered season with 10 career HR, 59 RBI.
3B-Jack Flansburg	.500/.545/.700	3 R, 3B	Missed final eight games of 2016 (hamstring).
DH-Brady Lindsly	.200/.333/.300	2 R, 2B	Product of Keller (Texas) High School.
C-Renae Martinez	.429/.429/.857	HR, 3 RBI	Hit .423 in final nine games of 2016.
RF-Blake Brewster	.143/.250/.571	1-for-7, HR	Walk-off hits vs. Texas and West Virginia in 2016.
SS-Brandon Zaragoza	.200./200/.200	3 RBI	First Sooner to record RBI in first three games since 2010.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

Gambling State went 2-1 on opening weekend in the MLB Urban Invitational Tournament. The Tigers opened the season with victories against Alcorn State and Southern, before losing to University of Illinois-Chicago, 9-3, on Sunday. Grambling strung together 14 hits in its win over rival Southern on Saturday in New Orleans. Five players recorded a two-hit day with catcher Johan Mojica going 2-for-2 with a double and four RBI.

IRVIN Ks 10 AGAIN

Opening day starter Jake Irvin matched his career-high with 10 strikeouts in the Soonersâ?? win over Long Beach State (2/17). He struck out the side in the first. Irvin previously struck out 10 against No. 25 Oklahoma State (4/20/16); a game in which he struck out the side in the first and the first two batters of the second. His opening day total was the most by a Sooner in the first game of the year since Andrew Doyle fanned 10 vs. Western Illinois in 2009.

Next Home Game
19 Ways Invitational Game One \| February 24 The Sooners host Villanova, Northern Illinois and Boston College for the 19 Ways Invitational, February 24-26. One ticket for each day is good for all games scheduled on that day. TICKETS

FRESHMAN STARTING SHORTSTOP

In Fridayâ??s contest against Long Beach, Brandon Zaragoza became the first Sooner freshman to start at shortstop on opening day in a decade. Bryant Hernandez was the last to do so.

OPENING WEEKEND ATTENDANCE

This seasonâ??s home-opening series, originally scheduled to be played in California and moved only two days before first pitch, brought in the fifth largest opening weekend crowd on record (1988-present). In 2016, Oklahoma broke its own opening weekend attendance record with 4,466 passing through the gates at L. Dale Mitchell Park to see the Sooners face Northeastern. The single-game attendance record on opening day was set after the 1994 CWS National Championship team returned home to face Missouri Southern in front of a crowd of 2,183 in 1995.