OU Baseball at Michigan for Weekend Series

April 13-15 | Ann Arbor, Mich. | Ray Fisher Stadium

¹⁰ Oklahoma

¹³Michigan

BTN+ (Sat.)

Sooner Sports Network

Live Stats

Notes

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Weekend Pitching Match-Ups
First Pitch	Oklahoma	Michigan
Thursday, 3 p.m. CT	RHP-Dylan Grove (1-2, 2.38)	LHP-Oliver Jaskie (4-1, 4.19)
>>>Last Start	at Texas (4/7): L, 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 10 K	vs. Illinois (4/7): ND, 3.0 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 4 K
Friday, 3 p.m. CT	RHP-Nathan Wiles (4-1, 2.61)	RHP-Ryan Nutof (3-1, 5.02)
>>>Last Start	at Texas (4/9): ND, 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 K	vs. Illinois (4/8): W, 6.0, 1 H, 0 R, 2 K
Saturday, 1 p.m. CT	TBA	LHP-Michael Hendrickson (3-1, 4.25)
>>>Last Start	N/A	vs. Illinois (4/9): L, 2.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 2 K

Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 27-9 (5-4 Big 12) Coach: Pete Hughes (4th Season) Career Record/Years: 644-477-3/21 Rank: 10^N/11^BA/14^CBN/16^USA/18^D1B

Michigan Wolverines
Record: 26-7 (6-3 Big Ten) Coach: Erik Bakich (5th Season) Career Record/Years: 205-200-1/7 Rank: 13^D1B/17^USA/18^N/23^BA/25^CBN

On the Air
Stream	BTN+
Radio	KREF 1400 AM TuneIn Radio App Toby Rowland

Player to Watch
IF/DH-Brylie Ware, So. Ware is second on the Sooners with a .348 batting average. He spent the early part of the season as the OU DH before gaining time at first base during the month of March.

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FIRST PITCH

The No. 10 University of Oklahoma baseball team steps out of conference this weekend when it visits Michigan out of the Big Ten. The Sooners and Wolverines start their three-game series Thursday, April 13 at 3 p.m. CT. Games two and three follow at 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday. The entire series will be broadcast across the Sooners Sports Network; airing locally on the Sportstalk 1400 AM/99.3 FM. The voice of the Sooners Toby Rowland (play-by-play) will have the call. Video of Saturday's will be streamed on by BTN+; a student-run extension of the Big Ten Network.

ABOUT THE SOONERS

Oklahoma hits the road with a 27-9 overall record and it 5-4 with a pair of series wins, including one on the road, in Big 12 play. Senior catcher Renae Martinez is the Sooners top hitter with a .355 batting average and second in slugging at .561. Sophomore Brylie Ware, who splits his time between the corner infield spots and designated hitter, is second with a .348 batting average and first with a .439 on-base percentage. Sophomore outfielder Steele Walker, one of two Sooners to start all 36 games, is hitting .346 with a team-leading .574 slugging percentage. He has driven i na team-high 33 runs on 10 doubles, five home runs and three triples. Walker, Martinez and junior second baseman Kyle Mendenhall are tied for the team lead in home runs with five. The Oklahoma bullpen has matched a season-high by not allowing a run in its last 10 complete innings pitched. Redshirt-junior lefty Austin Kerns has appeared in a team-high 19 games of relief. He is 2-2 with a 3.26 earned run average in 19.1 innings. Sophomore right-hander Connor Berry boasts a team-best 0.93 ERA. He is holding opponents to a .118 average and has struck out 30 in 19.1 innings, while earning his first career win last Sunday at Texas.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES

The Wolverines began the ranked as high as No. 13 in the nation. Michigan comes into the series off a 2-1, 13-inning win on Tuesday against Eastern Michigan. The Wolverines also entered the week ranked fourth in the NCAA, first among Power 5 conferences, with 73 stolen bases. The offense is led by second baseman Ako Thomas, who is hitting a team-high .346 with 18 RBI, and a .465 OBP. The sophomore has also swiped 18 bases in 21 attempts for the Wolverines. Third baseman Drew Lugbauer is hitting .289 with a team-leading nine home runs and 42 RBI. Lefty Oliver Jaskie is expected to start the opener. He is 4-1 with a 4.19 ERA in eight starts.

THE FORECAST

Projected Starters
OU Lineup	BA/OBP/SLG	Notes
CF-Ben Hollas	.295/.438/.411	Game-winning RBI on SUnday to beat Texas (4/9).
3B-Jack Flansburg	.259/.414/.330	Has reached base in career-best 16 straight games.
DH-Brylie Ware	.348/.439/.393	Named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week (3/13).
LF-Steele Walker	.346/.419/.574	First Sooner to hit home run at Texas since 2011.
1B-Austin O'Brien	.314/.381/.523	Missed 12 games from 3/11 to 4/2 with torn left UCL.
C-Renae Martinez	.355/.407/.561	Seven-game hit-streak snapped at Oral Roberts (4/11).
2B-Kyle Mendenhall	.261/.356/.426	Hit walk-off home run to beat No. 2 Texas Tech (4/2).
RF-Blake Brewster	.267/.380/.533	Go-ahead three-run home run at Baylor (3/24).
SS-Brandon Zaragoza	.274/.366/.301	Started 25 consecutive games at shortstop.

All-Time Meetings
Year	Result	Location
2007	Loss, 5-8	San Diego
2003	Win, 5-4	Norman
	Win, 5-2	Norman
	Loss, 12-16	Norman
1998	Win, 21-11	Norman
1996	Win, 13-8	Norman
	Win, 7-4	Norman
	Win, 14-2	Norman
1993	Win, 18-9	Norman
	Win, 9-2	Norman
	Win, 10-4	Norman
1990	Win, 9-4	Las Vegas
1987	Win, 8-0	Edingburg
1977	Loss, 2-5	Norman
	Win, 3-1	Norman

ALL-TIME VS. MICHIGAN

Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Michigan, 12-3. The Sooners had won back-to-back games over the Wolverines prior to an 8-5 loss in the most recent matchup a decade ago. The first meeting between the two schools, a 3-1 win in Norman, occurred in the 1977 NCAA Central Regional. UM eliminated OU later in the regional, 2-5, to end the Sooners run of five CWS appearances in a row. Beginning in 1987, Oklahoma run nine in a row against Michigan, including home series wins in 1993, 1996 and 2003.

LAST TIME THEY MET

In March 2007, the Sooners squared off with the Wolverines at the Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego. The Sooners jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, before dropping the contest, 8-5. In the game, Michigan leadoff hitter Jason Christian would hit for the cycle, while driving in two runs. The Sooners' offense was led by Aljay Davis (3-for-5) and Aaron Baker (2-for-5). Baker would also extend his reached bases-streak to a team-best 18 games. The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for the Sooners. Five OU players would be named to the All-Tournament Team, including future big leaguer Jackson Williams.

Next Home Game
Oklahoma vs. Kansas April 21 \| Norman, Okla. The Sooners are on the road for eight in a row before returning to face Kansas in a Big 12 series. April 22 will be round two of OU's Bark in the Park. TICKETS

AGAINST THE BIG TEN

Oklahoma last faced a Big Ten opponent in 2015; a three-game series against Purdue at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Sooners are 4-3 against Big Ten foes under Pete Hughes, including series wins over Rutgers (2014), Purdue (2015) and a loss to Ohio State (2014) at the UCF Tournament. All-time, Oklahoma is 36-12 against the Big Ten. Michigan is the Sooners' most common opponent from the league. In postseason play, Oklahoma is 4-2 against the Big Ten with wins over Ohio State (1951) and Penn State (1973) in Omaha.

BOUNCING BACK

The Sooners lost back-to-back games for the first time this season in the 33rd and 34th games of the season to open their series at Texas (4/7-8). Following a loss this year, Oklahoma is 7-1 after a bounceback 2-1 win in the finale against the Longhorns (4/9). In those eight games, OU averages 6.13 runs and a run differential of 2.00 runs per game. Oklahoma pitchers have allowed four runs or less in six of the team's seven wins following a loss. During the 2016 season, the Sooners went 10-14-1 following a loss, including a 5-5 tie against No. 20 Mississippi State (3/6/16) at Dodger Stadium.

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