Oklahoma Opens Big 12 Play Friday in Norman

March 23-25 | Norman, Okla. | L. Dale Mitchell Park

West Virginia

Oklahoma

Tickets

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

KREF 99.3/1400

Live Stats

Notes

Twitter

Weekend Pitching Match-Ups
First Pitch	Oklahoma	West Virginia
Fri. 6:30 p.m.	RHP-Jake Irvin (3-0, 2.83)	RHP-BJ Myers (0-0, 5.55)
>>>Last Start	vs. KSU (3/16): W, 6.1 IP, 0 ER, 5 K	vs. Canisius (3/16): ND, 3.0 IP, 8 R, 4 ER
Sat. 4 p.m.	RHP-Devon Perez (2-0, 2.22)	RHP-Alek Manoah (1-2, 3.68)
>>>Last Start	vs. KSU (3/17): W, 7.0 IP, 0 ER, 7 K	vs. Canisius (3/17): W, 7.0 IP, 0 R, 7 K
Sun. 11 a.m.	TBA	RHP-Kade Strowd (2-2, 3.68)
>>>Last Start	N/A	vs. Canisius (3/18): L, 2.1 IP, 1 H, 5 BB

Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 14-9 (0-0 Big 12) Coach: Skip Johnson (1st Season) Career Record/Years: 14-9/1 Rank: NR

West Virginia Mountaneers
Record: 9-9 (0-0 Big 12) Coach: Randy Mazey (6th Season) Career Record/Years: 348-291-1/12 Rank: NR

On the Air
TV/Stream	FCSC (Fri.) FSOK (Sat.) FSOK+ (Sun.) FOXSportsGO Chad McKee Ross Hubbard
Radio	KREF 1400 AM TuneIn Radio App Toby Rowland

Player to Watch
P-Devon Perez Perez has won each of his last two outings. Against Kennesaw State last week,he matched his career-high with seven innings of work, struck out seven and retired 16 batters in a row from the second through seventh.

FIRST PITCH

A seven-game homestand closes out the month of march for the Oklahoma baseball team beginning with the Big 12 opener. The Sooners host West Virginia for a three-game series at L. Dale Mitchell Park this weekend. Game one is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 23. Voice of the Sooners Toby Rowland will call the series across the Sooner Sports Network, which will air the game locally on Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM. The games can also be streamed online at Sportstalk1400.com or on the TuneIn mobile app. Sooner Sports TV will broadcast all three games on the FOX Sports family of networks. Veteran OU broadcaster Chad McKee (play-by-play) and former Sooner Ross Hubbard (color analyst) will be in the booth on the TV side of the broadcast.

ABOUT THE SOONERS

Oklahoma, which won its third series in a row last week, is coming off a 2-1 loss at No. 26 Wichita State on Tuesday. The Sooners are 14-9 overall entering the Big 12 season after finishing third in the conference last year. Sophomore catcher Brady Lindsly leads the team in hitting at .362 with 14 RBI. Senior second baseman Kyle Mendenhall has driven in a team-high 23 runs and is second on the team with a .345 average. Junior right fielder Steele Walker is third in hitting at .326 with 16 RBI. On the mound, OU turns to junior right-hander Jake Irvin as its Friday night starter for the sixth week in a row. Irvin is 3-0 with a 2.83 earned run average and 34 strikeouts in 28.2 innings of work. Sooner pitchers have combined to average a Big 12-leading 9.97 strikeouts-per-nine innings. Irvin ranks second in the league in total strikeouts and fourth in strikeouts per game. Senior RHP Devon Perez (2-0) gets the ball in game two after winning his last two starts.

PROMOTIONS

Friday night fireworks return for the series opener and will take place immediately following the game. Friday will also be "Superhero Night"; honoring local EMS, fire and police. The series wraps up with "Sunday Funday", including a postgame kids run the bases and selfies and autographs with the team.

THE FORECAST

Projected Starters
OU Lineup	BA/OBP/SLG	Notes
LF-Cade Harris	.306/.473/.471	Second in the NCAA in walks (26) and doubles (10).
SS-Brandon Zaragoza	.295/.344/.330	Made 71 consecutive start at shortstop.
RF-Steele Walker	.326/.425/.461	Sitting on 99 career RBI and 98 career runs.
CF-Kyler Murray	.242/.316/.439	Grand slam vs. TAMCC first for OU since April 4, 2017.
C-Brady Lindsly	.362/.443/.483	First LHH catcher at OU since Ross Hubbard ('10).
3B-Brylie Ware	.310/.371/.414	Reached base in creer-best 20 consecutive games.
2B-Kyle Mendenhall	.345/.394/.494	Second in the Big 12 in runs batted in (23).
DH-Cade Cavalli	.233/.382/.333	First to pitch or hit in start at OU since Robert Tasin ('15).
1B-Tyler Hardman	.186/.229/.326	Went 3-for-6 with two doubles vs. Texas Southern.

BIG 12 OPENERS

The Sooners are 10-11 in the first Big 12 match-up of the season after an 11-3 win at Baylor (3/24/17). Oklahoma won the series over the Bears to mark the fourth series win in the first Big 12 weekend in the last five seasons. OU won its first Big 12 game in the league opener vs. Iowa State (3/7/97), 7-4.

WINNING COMPARISON

In 33 games, including 27 starts, Jake Irvin owns a 15-5 record. His career 15 wins passed Robert Tasin for the fifth most by a Sooner pitcher to take the mound in the last 10 years. Michael Rocha (2008-11) won the most games over that period with 27 followed by Dillon Overton (2011-13) with 23. Overton won his 15th in the 46th game and 24th start of his career, while Rocha's 15th win came in his 50th game as a Sooner.

CHASE FOR THE 100-100 CLUB

Steele Walker sits at 99 RBI and 98 runs scored in his career. He is in the hunt to become the first OU player to reach 100 in each category since Sheldon Neuse (2014-16). Beginning with Jackson Williams (2005-07), seven Sooners reached the milestone over the next seven years. Walker would be just the second to do so playing his entire career in the BBCOR era. ALl-time, 39 players have reached the 100-run, 100-RBI mark as a Sooner. The first to do so was Keith Drumright (1974-76) with 147 runs and 114 RBI. Walker's former teammates Austin O'Brien (2014-17) and Hunter Haley (2013-16) were the most recent Sooners to approach the mark. O'Brien finished his career with 98 RBI and 95 runs, while Haley finished with 99 RBI and 98 runs. Both O'Brien (UCL) and Haley (wrist) suffered major injuries during their senior season.

Next Home Game
Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State March 27 \| Norman, Okla. The Sooners host a non-conference Bedlam match-up vs. the Cowboys for the first time since 2016. TICKETS

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

West Virginia is 9-9 overall and coming off a series win over Canisius at home last weekend. The Mountaineers have mashed 25 home runs, including a team-high six by designated hitter Kevin Brophy. Shortstop Jimmy Galusky and second baseman Kyle Gray have each hit five home runs. Galusky has driven in a team-high 13 runs and stolen six bases. Leftfielder Braden Zarbnisky is hitting a team-high .405 with six stolen bases. WVU has totaled 27 steals as a team. RHP BJ Myers has no record in the Friday role. He sports a 5.55 ERA and has struck out 17 in 24.1 innings.

ALL-TIME VS. WEST VIRGINIA

Last 10 Meetings
Year	Result	Location
2017	Win, 7-4 (10)	Granville
	Win, 3-1	Granville
	Loss, 2-4	Granville
2016	Loss, 1-11 (7)	OKC
	Loss, 0-6	OKC
	Loss, 7-12	Norman
	Win, 12-7	Norman
	Win, 1-0 (10)	Norman
2015	Win, 6-1	Tulsa
	Win, 10-2	Granville

Oklahoma gained a one-game advantage in the all-time series vs. West Virginia, 10-9, by winning the 2017 series on the road. The Sooners lead the series, 8-7, in Big 12 conference games. The two sides met five times in 2016 as OU claimed the series, but the Mountaineers beat the Sooners twice in the Big 12 Championship. Oklahoma won the first-ever meeting on March 10, 2012 in Eugene, Ore. at the NIKE Showcase; a season before WVU joined the Big 12. No. 16 Oklahoma beat West Virginia, 6-2, behind a complete-game from Dillon Overton.

LAST TIME THEY MET

The Sooners escaped Morgantown with a series win over No. 25 West Virginia last season by claiming the finale, 7-4, in 10 innings on April 30, 2017. Due to a travel curfew, it was pre-determined that no inning could start after 2:45 p.m. local time. The bottom of the ninth came to a close at 2:44 with the game tied, 4-4. OU loaded the bases with one down before Ben Hollas fought off a 1-2 pitch into shallow left to score the go-ahead run. Connor Berry retired all five batters faced in the ninth and 10th to earn the win. West Virginia won the opener, 4-2, in a game that began on Friday and finished on Saturday due to rain. Oklahoma evened the series with a 3-1 win in game two; rallying for three runs in the seventh on a bases-clearing double from Kyle Mendenhall.