Sooners Host Red Raiders in Top-15 Series

March 31-April 2 | Norman, Okla. | L. Dale Mitchell Park

² Texas Tech

¹⁵ Oklahoma

Tickets

SoonerSports.tv

FSOK+ (Sat.) / FCSC (Sun.)

Sooner Sports Network

Live Stats

Notes

Twitter

Weekend Pitching Match-Ups
First Pitch	Oklahoma	Texas Tech
Friday, 6:30 p.m.	RHP-Dylan Grove (0-1, 3.22)	RHP-Davis Martin (4-1, 2.57)
>>>Last Start	at Baylor (3/24): ND, 3.0 IP, 2 R, 3 K	at Wichita State (3/24): W, 6.0 IP, 1 R, 5 K
Saturday, 2 p.m.	RHP-Devon Perez (4-1, 3.67)	LHP-Steven Gingery (5-0, 1.05)
>>>Last Start	at Baylor (3/25): L, 5.0 IP, 4 R, 9 K	at Wichita State (3/25): W, 6.0 IP, 0 R, 8 K
Sunday, 1 p.m.	TBA	RHP-Ryan Shetter (2-0, 3.09)
>>>Last Start	N/A	at Wichita State (3/26): ND, 4.2 IP, 1 R, 5 K

Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 23-5 (2-1 Big 12) Coach: Pete Hughes (4th Season) Career Record/Years: 640-473-3/21 Rank: 15^CBN/15^N/17^BA/18^USA/24^D1B

Texas Tech Red Raiders
Record: 24-4 (3-0 Big 12) Coach: Tim Tadlock (5th Season) Career Record/Years: 537-172/14 Rank: 2^USA/3^N/3^D1B/4^BA/4^CBN

On the Air
TV/Stream	FOXSportsGo SoonerSports.tv (Friday) FSOK+ (Saturday) FCSC (Sunday) Chad McKee George Frazier
Radio	KREF 1400 AM TuneIn Radio App Toby Rowland Mickey Tettleton

Player to Watch
SS-Brandon Zaragoza, Fr. Zaragoza is riding a seven-game hitting streak and batting .333 (11-for-33) over that stretch. He has hit leadoff, eighth and ninth, where he is a .320 (16-for-50) hitter.

SOCIAL FEED

Tweets by OU_Baseball

FIRST PITCH

The No. 15 University of Oklahoma baseball team welcomes No. 2 Texas Tech to L. Dale Mitchell Park for its Big 12 home opening series this weekend. Game one of three gets underway Friday, March 31 at 6:30 p.m. All three games will air across the Sooner Sports Network and can be heard locally 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. Games one and three will be television audio simulcast to the radio with no pregame show. Former MLB All-Star Mickey Tettleton will join Rowland in the booth on Saturday. Sooner Sports TV will broadcast all three games with game one being a SoonerSports.tv stream. Chad McKee will have the call on Saturday and former Sooner and MLB pitcher George Frazier will provide color commentary on all three games.

Promotions
Friday	Go Mitch Go Night Friday Night Fireworks BoomerBall Barbecue: Ribs & Fries Combo at the right field smokes. OU Baseball grill mitt for first 250 fans. Best Seat on the Berm: Couches, "Rowdy in Right" t-shirts and pizza for students on the right field berm.
Saturday	Strikeout Cancer Game $4 admission with proof of Relay for Life support card. Toss under the lights.
Sunday	Family Sunday Petting zoo at the kids zone. Sunday sundaes. $4 admission per person for familes up to four.

ABOUT THE SOONERS

Following a 2-1 series win at Baylor last weekend, Oklahoma is 23-5 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play. The Sooners lead the conference with a team batting average of .300 and a 2.66 earned run average. Sophomore first baseman Brylie Ware is hitting a team-high .373 with 22 runs and 16 RBI. Sophomore outfielder Steele Walker is second on the team with a .336 average to go with a .573 slugging percentage on eight doubles, three triples and four home runs. Walker is one of three Sooners with four home runs this season. As a team, OU leads the Big 12 with 25 home runs. Junior second baseman Kyle Mendenhall and sophomore outfielder Blake Brewster have also gone yard four times and each hit a game-winning home run in last weekend's series vs. the Bears. Mendenhall is hitting .287 with 22 runs, while Brewster is hitting .295 with 16 RBI. Sophomore right-hander Dylan Grove gets the ball in game one. He is 0-1 with a 3.22 ERA.

SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS

No. 2 Texas Tech is 24-4 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12 following a sweep of Texas two weeks ago. The Red Raiders top hitter is right fielder Ryan Long at .372 with a .513 slugging percentage. Left fielder Grant Little is second at .370 with 21 runs scored. Right-hander Davis Martin is Tech's Friday night starter and owns a 4-1 record and 2.57 ERA. LHP Steven Gingery gets the ball on Saturday and RHP Ryan Shetter on Sunday. Gingery is 5-0 with a 1.05 ERA, while Setter is 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA.

THE FORECAST

Projected Starters
OU Lineup	BA/OBP/SLG	Notes
LF-Kyler Murray	.18/.395/.188	Owns a .395 on-base percentage.
CF-Ben Hollas	.304/.443/.449	Three career walk-off hits, including one this season.
3B-Jack Flansburg	.278/.396/.356	Has started at all four infield positions for second year.
1B-Brylie Ware	.373/.470/.434	Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (3/13).
RF-Steele Walker	.336/.388/.573	Hit go-ahead grand slam at Kennesaw State (3/18).
C-Renae Martinez	.329/.386/.506	Drove in seven runs and homered twice in Georgia.
DH-Blake Brewster	.295/.415/.614	Go-ahead three-run home run at Baylor (3/24).
2B-Kyle Mendenhall	.287/.373/.457	Three-run, second-inning HR held up as game-winner at Baylor (3/26).
SS-Brandon Zaragoza	.314/.412/.349	Hitting .333 (11-for-33) over seven-game hit-streak.

Last 10 Meetings
Year	Result	Location
2016	Win, 17-4 (7)	OKC
	Loss, 7-13	Lubbock
	Loss, 1-6	Lubbock
	Loss, 0-5	Lubbock
2015	Win, 3-2	Norman
	Win, 5-2	Norman
	Loss, 1-6	Norman
2014	Win, 9-8	OKC
	Loss, 4-14 (7)	Lubbock
	Loss, 4-14	Lubbock

ALL-TIME VS. TECH

Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 45-35-1, including a 31-29-1 mark in Big 12 regular season games and a 24-11-1 record in Norman. In Pete Hughes' first three seasons, the Sooners went 4-7 against the Red Raiders, including a pair of wins to eliminate Tech at the 2014 and 2016 Big 12 Championships. Prior to the formation of the Big 12 in 1997, the two teams faced off nine times beginning in 1976 as OU led the series, 6-3.

LAST TIME THEY MET

Oklahoma defeated No. 5 Texas Tech, the Big 12 regular season champions, in an elimination game on day two of the 2016 Big 12 Championship. The Sooners routed the Red Raiders in a 17-4, run-rule victory. Right-hander Dylan Grove tossed a seven-inning complete game with six strikeouts. OU totaled 17 hits with eight of nine players recorded a multi-hit game, including right fielder Alex Wise, who drove in five runs. Stephen Gingery allowed eight runs, three earned, in 2.2 innings for Texas Tech. During the regular season, the Red Raiders swept the Sooners in Lubbock during the first conference series of the season.

Next Home Game
Oklahoma vs. Oral Roberts April 4 \| Norman, Okla. The Sooners remain at home for a midweek match-up with intrastate rival Oral Roberts on Tuesday, April 4 at 6:30 p.m. TICKETS

BY THE NUMBERS: SOONERS VS. TECH

In five career games against Texas Tech, Kyle Mendenhall is a .588 (10-for-17) hitter. He has scored eight runs and picked up three multi-hit games. Last season, Steele Walker hit .375 (6-for-16) in four games against the Red Raiders. Jake Irvin pitched one inning of relief at Tech last season and struck out the side.

SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST

JB Olson picked up his sixth save of the season last week; pushing his two-year career total to 10. He stands alone at seventh all-time at OU; trailing Bucky Buckles (1994) with 14. Olson passed a group of five pitchers tied with nine saves, including Garrett Richards (2007-09) and Ralph Garza (2013-15). In 42 career relief appearances, Olson has pitched two or more scoreless-inning 13 times.