Baseball Set for Series at Kennesaw State

March 16, 2017 | Baseball

By: Athletics Communications

March 17-19 | Kennesaw, Ga. | Stillwell Baseball Stadium

¹² Oklahoma

Kennesaw State

ESPN3

KREF 1400

Live Stats

Notes

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Weekend Pitching Match-Ups
First Pitch	Oklahoma	Kennesaw State
Friday, 5 p.m. CT	RHP-Jake Irvin (4-0, 1.08)	RHP-Tony Dibrell (1-1, 1.14)
>>>Last Start	vs. Buffalo (3/9): W, 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 5 K	vs. High Point (3/10): ND, 6.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 K
Saturday, 1 p.m. CT	RHP-AustinHansen (3-0, 0.43)	RHP-AJ Moore (2-1, 4.71)
>>>Last Start	vs. Buffalo (3/10): W, 7.0 IP, 0 R, 3 K	vs. High Point (3/11): ND, 6.0 IP, 2 R, 6 K
Sunday, 11 a.m. CT	TBA	LHP-Mason Ward (1-0, 2.08)
>>>Last Start	N/A	at Auburn (3/8): ND, 5.0 IP, 3 R, 2 K

Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 18-3 (0-0 Big 12) Coach: Pete Hughes (4th Season) Career Record/Years: 635-471-3/21 Rank: 12^CBN/20^NCBWA/21^USA

Kennesaw State Owls
Record: 7-8 (0-0 A-Sun) Coach: Mike Sansing (26th Season) Career Record/Years: 1,051-555/26 Rank: NR

On the Air
TV/Stream	ESPN3 WatchESPN App Watch: Friday Watch: Saturday Watch: Sunday Nathan McCreary Scott Whitlock
Radio	KREF 1400 AM TuneIn Radio App Toby Rowland

Player to Watch
CF-Ben Hollas, Sr. Hollas has hit leadoff in both games on the road this week. He went 2-for-4 with a RBI-double in Wednesday's win at Georgia State.

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FIRST PITCH

The No. 12 University of Oklahoma baseball team continues its five-game swing through the state of Georgia when it visits Kennesaw State for a three-game series. Game one is Friday, March 17 at 5 p.m. CT. The series continues Saturday at noon CT and Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. The entire series will air on the home of Sooner baseball, Sportstalk 1400 AM/99.3 FM. The voice of the Sooners Toby Rowland will handle all of the play-by-play action from the booth. All three games will also be streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Nathan McCreary (pbp) and Scott Whitlock (color) will be on the call.

ABOUT THE SOONERS

Oklahoma splits its midweek games in Atlanta with a 2-0 loss at Georgia Tech and a 5-4 win over Georgia State to move to 18-3 on the season. Despite just seven hits over the last two games, the Sooners still lead the Big 12 in hitting with a .311 batting average. All 10 OU hitters with 30 or more at-bats this season are hitting .273 or better, including eighth hitting over .300. Sophomore Brylie Ware leads the team with a .407 average. He has driven in 15 runs and scored 13. Sophomore outfielder Steele Walker is third on the team with a .349 average and a team-high seven doubles and 19 RBI. Senior catcher Renae Martinez is hitting .346 and has driven in 10 runs, including a two-run, pinch-hit double in the eighth at Georgia State that stood as the game-winning hit. Sophomore right-hander Jake Irvin gets the ball on the mound in Friday's opener. He is 4-0 in four starts with a 1.08 earned run average and a Big 12-leading 36 strikeouts. Sophomore right-hander Austin Hansen is second in the rotation for the Sooners on Saturday. He is second in the Big 12 with a 0.43 ERA and is 3-0 with 19 strikeouts in 21 innings through four starts.

SCOUTING THE OWLS

Kennesaw State is 7-8 entering a Thursday afternoon game against Western Carolina. The Owls defeated High Point, 5-4, in last weekend's series finale to snap a five-game losing streak. Right fielder Taylor Allum is hitting a team-high .429 with seven home runs and 19 RBI. First baseman Austin Upshaw has added four homer and 17 RBI on a .328 average. Right-hander Tony Dibrell toes the rubber in game one for Kennesaw. He is 1-1 with a 1.14 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 23.2 innings.

THE FORECAST

Projected Starters
OU Lineup	BA/OBP/SLG	Notes
CF-Ben Hollas	.292/.375/.417	Went 2-for-4 with a RBI-double at Georgia State (3/15).
2B-Kyle Mendenhall	.310/.405/.493	Homered in back-to-back games vs. NIU and Villanova.
LF-Steele Walker	.349/.393/.554	21-game hit-streak ended with a 0-for-4 on Saturday.
DH-Brylie Ware	.407/.471/.492	Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (3/13).
3B-Jack Flansburg	.309/.392/.412	Has started at all four infield positions for second year.
C-Brady Lindsly	.273/.385/.394	Has hit in all nine starts this season.
RF-Quin Walbergh	.353/.463/.706	Two doubles, triples and home runs this season.
1B-Lorin Archibald	.182/.357/.182	Made second start of the season at Georgia State.
SS-Brandon Zaragoza	.302/.433/.358	Score five runs in series vs. CCSU.

STARTERS PITCHING IN

Oklahoma pitchers have not allowed a run in the firth through sixth inning of the last five games. Austin Hansen was the trendsetter last Friday with seven-scoreless innings in a 1-0 shutout of Buffalo (3/10). Devon Perez followed with six-scoreless in an 11-0, run-rule win in seven innings and Ryan Madden held Buffalo (3/11) off the board in the first six innings last Saturday. In Atlanta this week, Dylan Grove and Nathan Wiles each tossed identical shutout innings through the sixth; their last inning worked, respectively. Overall, Sooner pitchers allowed just three runs over 44 innings between the seventh inning of the opener vs. Buffalo (3/9) and the seventh at Georgia State (3/15).

FRESH ARMS

The Sooners' first 17 games of the season were started by a sophomore until junior Devon Perez started game 18. Oklahoma has gotten nine wins from its sophomore class; the most in the league. In 2016, freshman pitchers from OU and Texas Tech tied for the league lead with 18 regular season wins. Thirteen of the Sooners' 18 wins have been claimed by underclassmen; ahead of TCU and TTU at 10.

Next Home Game
Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech March 31 \| Norman, Okla. The Sooners hit the road for nine-straight games away from home beginning next week. Oklahoma returns for its Big 12 home opener against Texas Tech on March 31.. TICKETS

STARTING STRONG

Despite having their 12-game win-streak snapped against Wichita State (3/7), the Sooners' 18-3 start is the best to begin as season since 2010. Oklahoma started that season 20-2. The Sooners' win-streak was the best under head coach Pete Hughes and the longest since a 13-game win-streak in 2013.

KEEPIN' IT 100

In national statistical rankings, Oklahoma peaks in the charts at third in the country with 215 hits. The Sooners' 158 runs scored are the sixth most in the country and the pitching staff ranks eighth in ERA at 2.23. Among individuals, Jake Irvin is one of 18 pitchers in the country with a NCAA-leading four wins. JB Olson is also top-10 in the nation in saves with five, which ranks fifth.