Baseball Opens 2021 Season Sunday

Sunday, February 21

Norman, Okla.

2:30 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Omaha

Photo by: Ty Russell

February 20, 2021 | Baseball

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²² Oklahoma

Nebraska Omaha

Sunday-Monday, Feb. 21-22 / L. Dale Mitchell Park / Norman, Okla.

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Pitching Matchups (*2020 stats)
First Pitch	Oklahoma	Omaha
Sunday, 2:30 p.m.	RHP Wyatt Olds (4-0, 1.89 ERA)*	RHP Joey Macahdo
Monday, Noon	LHP Jake Bennett (3-0, 0.75 ERA)*	RHP Richie Holetz

First Pitch:
• Oklahoma opens the 2021 season with a two-game set against Nebraska Omaha on Sunday and Monday, Feb. 21-22 at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Game times are 2:30 p.m. Sunday and noon Monday.
• With emphasis only on clearing the playing surface and team areas of snow and ice at L. Dale Mitchell Park, rather than the seating bowl and walkways, stadium entry for the games against Omaha on Sunday and Monday will be limited strictly to essential staff critical for game management. Fans, outside media and scouts will not be permitted to attend these games.
• When OU takes the field on Sunday, it will have been 348 days since its last baseball game (March 10, 2020).
• The Sooners were originally scheduled to open the 2021 season at home against Southern, Feb. 19-21, but the forecast of two winter storms and prolonged freezing temperatures forced the series to be canceled. Multiple other attempts were made to play this weekend, including scheduled series against Wichita State in Round Rock, Texas, and at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, but complications resulting from the extreme winter weather made those series unplayable. A tremendous effort on Friday to clear the field at L. Dale Mitchell Park allowed the Sooners and Mavericks to play baseball on opening weekend.
• OU is scheduled to play seven games in eight days to begin the season.

Leading Off:
• OU is in its fourth season under the direction of head coach Skip Johnson. Johnson has led the Sooners to an 85-52 record and an NCAA postseason appearance in 2018.
• Since 1962, Oklahoma is 39-20 on opening day and has won nine of its last 12 season openers. The Sooners are 29-3 in home season openers, including a 25-2 mark at L. Dale Mitchell Park, since 1962.
• OU Baseball last opened a season at home in 2019 when it swept a three-game series from Cal Poly.
• The Sooners returned 23 players and welcomed 19 newcomers for the 2021 season. The 42 players on OU's roster exceeds the usual mandated roster limit of 35. After the 2020 season was shortened by about two-thirds due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA issued a blanket eligibility waiver for student-athletes of spring sports and lifted the roster limit for the 2021 season.
• As a result, 24 of the 42 players on Oklahoma's roster are at least in their third year of college (including junior college) while eight others are in their second year of college.
• For the 2021 season, OU returned players who have made significant starts at all eight defensive positions (except pitcher), just two pitchers who started at least two games and eight pitchers who made at least four relief appearances over the 18-game 2020 season.

Watch/Listen/Follow:
• Toby Rowland will call both games locally on Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF. The broadcast will also be available through the TuneIn app.
• The games will be streamed live via SoonerSports.tv. Subscription is required.
• Live stats will be available at OUStats.com.

Series History:
• This will be the first meeting between Oklahoma and Nebraska Omaha, which moved to Division I beginning with the 2012-13 academic year.

About the Sooners:
• Under Skip Johnson's tutelage, OU's pitching staffs have posted a progressively lower ERA in each of the last three full seasons (since Johnson arrived as pitching coach for the 2017 season). OU's 3.92 team ERA in 2019 was only the seventh team ERA under 4.00 since 1980, and the first since 2015. OU pitchers combined for a 2.85 ERA through the 18 games played during the 2020 season.
• The Sooners are ranked as high as No. 22 in preseason national polls. OU is ranked No. 22 by the NCBWA and No. 23 by Baseball America.
• Oklahoma returns 12 position players who made at least four starts during the 2020 season: catcher Justin Mitchell (65 career starts); first baseman Tyler Hardman (111 career starts); second basemen Conor McKenna (68 career starts at OU) and Logan Kohler (six starts in 2020); third baseman Peyton Graham (18 starts in 2020); shortstop Brandon Zaragoza (193 career starts/182 consecutive); outfielders Tanner Tredaway (58 career starts at OU), Brady Harlan (51 career starts at OU), Diego Muniz (45 career starts), Kendall Pettis (seven starts in 2020), Trent Brown (five starts in 2020) and Connor Beichler (four starts in 2020)
• Pitchers returning for the 2021 season are: Wyatt Olds (36 career appearances/2 starts), Jake Bennett (3 starts in 2020), Ben Abram (19 career appearances/14 starts), Jason Ruffcorn (37 appearances at OU/16 saves), Jaret Godman (26 career app/2 starts), Ledgend Smith (43 career appearances), Aaron Brooks (33 career appearances), Braxton Webb (8 career appearances at OU), Brad Demco (5 appearances in 2020), Carson Carter (5 appearances in 2020) and Christian Ruebeck (4 appearances in 2020).

National Award Watch Lists:
• Peyton Graham was named on the Golden Spikes Award Watch List, awarded by USA Baseball.
• Jason Ruffcorn is on the Stopper of the Year Watch List, presented by the NCBWA.
• Graham, Tyler Hardman and Tanner Tredaway are named on the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award watch list.

Preseason All-Americans:
• Senior right-hander Jason Ruffcorn was named a first-team Preseason All-American by D1Baseball and the NCBWA.
• Redshirt freshman third infielder Peyton Graham was recognized as a third-team preseason All-American by D1Baseball, and redshirt junior outfielder Tanner Tredaway was honored as a third-team preseason All-American by the NCBWA.

Preseason Big 12 Honors:
• Jason Ruffcorn and Peyton Graham were named on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
• Oklahoma was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 by the league's head coaches.

Preseason Player Ratings:
• Five Sooners were listed among the top players in the nation at their respective positions by D1Baseball: No. 1 relief pitcher, Jason Ruffcorn; No. 3 third baseman, Peyton Graham; No. 21 catcher, Justin Mitchell; No. 51 outfielder, Tanner Tredaway; No. 64 starting pitcher, Wyatt Olds; No. 141 starting pitcher, Dalton Fowler
• Graham was also ranked No. 27 on Baseball America's list of the top 150 overall players in the nation.