Sooners Exceeding Expectations Early

Big 12 Conference play has arrived and the Oklahoma baseball team is 18-4.

This wasn't supposed to happen, was it?

After all, the Sooners lost nine draft choices, their entire starting outfield and three starting pitchers off last year's team. They even lost a Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 9 overall pick in last June's amateur draft in uber-gifted quarterback/outfielder Kyler Murray. In this year's Big 12 preseason poll, OU was picked to finish seventh in the nine-team league with a roster that consists of 10 freshmen, 10 sophomores, 10 juniors and four seniors.

So how on earth do the Sooners own a current winning percentage of .818? It's a mark so shiny, D1Baseball and Collegiate Baseball have OU at No. 25 in this week's rankings.

Are the Sooners truly this good or is this fool's gold?

“I don't know how many people outside of the team did, but I definitely saw this coming,” OU junior right-hander Nathan Wiles said with authority.

"We're a team, and that's pretty much all I can say about it. Our team is truly a team. That's how we've acted so far and it's shown on the field."
- Nathan Wiles

The Sooners begin conference play with a three-game series against Kansas (13-7) at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Friday (6:30 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.).

Second-year head coach Skip Johnson was hired three years ago as OU's pitching coach and before that spent 10 seasons as pitching coach and associate head coach at Texas, which means he's about to embark on his 13^th season in the Big 12.

“You don't ever know if you're ready or not ready (for conference play),” Johnson said. “That's the thing with amateur baseball. Have we played good at times? Sure. There have been times we've been really, really good, played at a high level. The next day, we get an early lead and then don't take care of the baseball. You're dealing with amateurs. You're not dealing with professionals, so you can't have an expectation.”

As a coach Johnson is never completely satisfied, but he likes his team's mindset right now.

“Why shouldn't they have confidence in themselves?” Johnson said. “They're at the University of Oklahoma. They should have confidence. What we fight for every day is confidence. Our continuous battle is, ?How are we going to get this guy to feel confident in himself?' ”

Thus far, Johnson believes in the Sooners' four-man starting rotation, which has a combined ERA of 1.93 with 119 strikeouts and 28 walks.

“I think they've done a magnificent job of controlling what they can control,” Johnson said of a staff that has excelled despite season-ending Tommy John surgery to junior left-hander Braidyn Fink (1.71 ERA in 28 relief appearances last season). “I've been really proud of them. They've learned a lot. They've been a little bit out of their environment at times, but those kids have held themselves accountable. They give you effort every day. They have the right attitude and if they have the right attitude, they'll be there. You can have the 10 best pitchers in the world, but if they don't have the right attitude, they're not going to be worth a flip.”

OU has won all five games so far this season with the battery of Nathan Wiles and Brady Lindsly. The Sooners hope to continue the trend when Big 12 play opens Friday night..

No argument from Wiles, the staff's lone returning starter, who led OU in victories last season with a 7-3 record and 3.54 ERA. Also starting are sophomore left-hander Levi Prater (4-1, 1.14), freshman right-hander Ben Abram (5-0, 1.61) and sophomore right-hander Cade Cavalli (2-1, 2.05). Freshman right-hander Jaret Godman (2-0, 2.77) has made two weekday starts.

“Our pitching staff has been unbelievable,” said Wiles, who stands 4-0 this season with a 2.97 ERA. “Our hitters have been amazing so far. We're a team, and that's pretty much all I can say about it. Our team is truly a team. That's how we've acted so far and it's shown on the field.”

Though Johnson is the ringleader, he said the entire pitching staff feeds off each other.

“When you're connected with your peers and your camaraderie is strong and your culture is strong in your clubhouse, that's a great thing,” Johnson said. “They're helping each other. I think Nathan can relay my mindset to them. They respond to me with all those little simple things. When the wheel really gets rolling with a pitching staff, it's when the pitchers teach each other.”

Wiles, who excelled at Blue Valley West High School in Overland Park, Kan., roughly 35 miles from the KU campus, will start Saturday's game against the Jayhawks. He salvaged last year's regular season series at KU with a 14-6 victory in Lawrence.

Johnson said Wiles' mental makeup has been his greatest improvement.

“He's very competitive,” Johnson said of Wiles. “He grew into that. He understands his routine, his work. He's an atypical pitcher where he understands, this is exactly what we have to do. I have to continue to grow in these areas. That's what's really been fun to watch. Did I envision him growing into what he's become? Absolutely. He's like a diesel engine. It might not be like a Ferrari ? quick and fast ? but it's going to be like a diesel engine. He's going to keep going at you. He's just there, you know.”

While maintaining their non-conference winning percentage in Big 12 play may be unrealistic, can the Sooners at least sustain their success?

“I think we can,” Wiles said. “We are focused on each and every pitch and if we do that the whole year, we're going to do exactly what we have been doing (winning). That's what I think will happen and that's what I expect out of everyone. If we do that, we're going to be just fine.”

Players Mentioned

Ben Abram

Cade Cavalli

Braidyn Fink

Jaret Godman

Brady Lindsly

Kyler Murray

Levi Prater

Nathan Wiles

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics