Sooners Ready for Series at Kansas State

May 5-7 | Manhattan, Kan. | Tointon Family Stadium

Oklahoma

Kansas State

FCSC (Fri.) // ESPN3 (Sat.-Sun.)

KREF 1400

Live Stats

Notes

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Weekend Pitching Match-Ups
First Pitch	Oklahoma	Kansas State
Friday 6:35 p.m.	RHP-Jake Irvin (5-0, 2.14)	RHP-Justin Heskett (5-2, 3.14)
>>>Last Start	at WVU (4/28): ND, 4.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R	ACU (4/28): W, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R
Saturday 2 p.m.	RHP-Kyle Tyler (0-1, 3.27)	LHP-Parker Rigler (4-4, 3.03)
>>>Last Start	at WVU (4/29): ND, 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R	ACU (4/28): W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R
Sunday 1 p.m.	RHP-Devon Perez (4-2, 4.10)	RHP-Kasey Ford (2-0, 5.02)
>>>Last Start	at WVU (4/30): ND, 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R	ACU (4/30): W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R

Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 30-16 (8-7 Big 12) Coach: Pete Hughes (4th Season) Career Record/Years: 647-484-3/21 Rank: RV^USA/N

Kansas State Wildcats
Record: 25-20 (4-11 Big 12) Coach: Brad Hill (11th Season) Career Record/Years: 859-445-3/11 Rank: NR

On the Air
TV/Stream	FCS-Central (Fri.) Matt Walters Craig Wilson ESPN3 (Sat.-Sun.) Brian Smoller Mike Clark
Radio	KREF 1400 AM TuneIn Radio App Toby Rowland

Player to Watch
3B-Jack Flansburg, Sr. Flansburg, who has hit second for the Sooners in each of the last nine games, is batting just .234, but leads the team with 34 base on balls. He was a .280 hitter, including a 10-for-24 stretch, prior to pulling his hamstring against K-State in 2016.

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FIRST PITCH

The University of Oklahoma baseball team plays its final road series of the regular season with a three-game set at Kansas State this weekend. The action gets underway Friday, May 5 at 6:35 p.m. from Tointon Family Stadium. The entire series can be heard across the Sooner Sports Network and will air locally on Sportstalk 1400 AM/99.3 FM. Voice of the Sooners Toby Rowland will have the call for all three games. Friday's game will be telecast on FOX Sports College-Central and the following two will be streamed on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Brian Smoller (pbp) and Mike Clark (color commentary) will have the call.

ABOUT THE SOONERS

Oklahoma picked up its fourth top-20 RPI series win, second on the road, with two wins at No. 25 West Virginia last weekend. The Sooners head to Manhattan at 30-16 overall and 8-7 in Big 12 play. Senior catcher Renae Martinez and sophomore center fielder Steele Walker are tied for the team lead in hitting with a .345 batting average. Martinez has scored and driven in 28 runs with eight doubles and five home runs. Walker leads the team with a .552 slugging percentage with 12 doubles, six home runs and 41 runs scored and driven in. Sophomore designated hitter Brylie Ware is third with a .315 average and 29 runs scored. He hit his sixth double of the season and first career home run against the Mountaineers this past weekend. The Sooners will roll out the same rotation on back-to-back weekends with sophomore right-hander Jake Irvin in the Friday night role. Irvin, sophomore RHP Kyle Tyler and junior RHP Devon Perez all took no decision vs. WVU, but accounted for 15 innings with just four runs charged against them and 15 strikeouts to three walks. Irvin is 5-0 with a 2.14 earned run average, while Tyler is 0-01 with a 3.27 ERA and Perez is 4-2 with a 4.10 ERA.

THE FORECAST

Projected Starters
OU Lineup	BA/OBP/SLG	Notes
LF-Cade Harris	.205/.450/.256	Started the last four games in left field.
3B-Jack Flansburg	.234/.380/.290	10-for-24 in six games prior to '16 pulled hamstring vs. KS.
C-Renae Martinez	.345/.429/.511	Hit third in each of the last nine games.
CF-Steele Walker	.345/.419/.552	Team-leading 16 two-out RBI.
1B-Austin O'Brien	.294/.357/.508	Hit 15th career home run at WVU (4/30).
DH-Brylie Ware	.315/.401/.377	Hit first career home run at WVU (4/30).
RF-Ben Hollas	.307/.454/.425	Reached base in career-high 21 games in a row.
2B-Kyle Mendenhall	.258/.361/.409	Three-run double in the seventh to beat WVU (4/29).
SS-Brandon Zaragoza	.248/.331/.269	Started 35 consecutive games at shortstop.

Last 10 Meetings
Year	Result	Location
2016	Win, 13-7	OKC
	Win, 12-0 (7)	Norman
	Win, 10-1	Norman
	Loss, 3-9	Norman
2015	Win, 3-1	Tulsa
	Loss, 3-7	Tulsa
	Win, 4-3	Manhattan
	Win, 5-3	Manhattan
	Loss, 0-5	Manhattan
2014	Loss, 0-5	Norman

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

Kansas State is coming off four straight non-conference wins with a sweep of Abilene Christian over the weekend and a Tuesday victory over Wichita State. The Wildcats, who are 25-20 overall and 4-11 in the Big 12, previously claimed a home series over West Virginia two weekends ago. Left fielder Will Brennan is hitting a team-high .360 with 31 runs scored and seven stolen bases. Second baseman Cameron Thompson is second on the team at .322 with 34 runs, 11 steals and four triples. First baseman Jake Scudder provides the power with league-leading 13 home runs on a .308 average with 10 doubles, 52 RBI and a .598 slugging percentage. RHP Justin Heskett (5-2, 3.14), LHP Parker Rigler (4-4, 3.03) and RHP Kasey Ford (2-0, 5.02) make up the K-State rotation.

ALL-TIME VS. K-STATE

Oklahoma leads the series against Kansas State with a 156-69 all-time record, including a 53-31 advantage in Manhattan. The Sooners won the first six games of the series and own the series' longest win streak at 27 games. In the last four seasons, the two sides have met in the Big 12 Championship four times with OU winning three, including elimination games in 2015 and 2016.

Next Home Game
Oklahoma vs. TCU May 12-14 \| Norman, Okla. The Sooners play their final home series of the season against TCU on May 12-14. Oklahoma will celebrate its 1951 National Championship at the Friday opener with a '51 style hat giveaway. TICKETS

LAST TIME THEY MET

Eight Sooners recorded a multi-hit game and all nine players in the lineup had a hit as Oklahoma eliminated Kansas State, 13-7, at the 2016 Big 12 Championship in OKC. The Wildcats plated two in the first, but OU responded with four in the second and six in the third. Alex Wise was 2-for-4 with a three-run triple and a RBI-double. Alec Hansen got the win in six innings with seven strikeouts. During the regular season, Oklahoma won two out of three over K-State at home after the Wildcats claimed the opener. In game two, Jake Irvin went seven innings with five strikeouts in a 10-1 win. Hansen wrapped up the series win; taking a no-hitter into the sixth in what was his first start in over a month and his first win in nearly a year. He struck out nine in six innings as the Sooners won 12-0, in a seven-inning, run-rule victory.

A YEAR OLDER, STRONGER

At the 46-game mark of 2016, OU was 22-23-1 overall and 7-12 in the Big 12 following series-opening loss to K-State at home. The Sooners' current 30-16 record marks an eight-game improvement in wins from this same point one year ago. In 2016, Oklahoma was 4-14-1 against Top-100 RPI teams through 46 games vs. 11-14 this season; good enough for a 79-spot improvement in the RPI from 105 to 26.

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