Oklahoma Opens Big 12 Play at Texas

Oklahoma

⁹Texas

Friday-Sunday, March 26-28 / UFCU Disch-Falk Field / Austin, Texas

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Pitching Matchups
First Pitch	Oklahoma	Texas
Friday, 7 p.m.	RHP Wyatt Olds	RHP Ty Madden
Saturday, 5:30 p.m.	LHP Jake Bennett	RHP Tristan Stevens
Sunday, 1 p.m.	LHP Braden Carmichael	RHP Kolby Kubichek

First Pitch:
• Oklahoma opens Big 12 conference play this weekend with the Red River Rivalry at No. 9 Texas. Game times are 7 p.m. Friday, 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas.
• OU is preparing to play against Big 12 opponents for the first time since the 2019 season. The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic before conference competition began.
• The Sooners are in the midst of a four-game road trip. OU played at Texas State in San Marcos, Texas, Wednesday night (a 5-2 loss) before busing up to Austin for the series against Texas. Oklahoma will return home before playing a non-conference road game at Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in the last of five straight road games.

Leading Off:
• Texas will be Oklahoma's 15th different opponent faced this season. OU's 20 games thus far have been played against 14 different opponents. The Sooners have faced only five teams – Omaha, UT Arlington, Arizona, Arkansas State and Houston – more than once this season.
• Oklahoma has totaled 98 runs in its last nine contests, an average of 10.9 runs per game. During that stretch, the Sooners have also averaged 13.6 hits per outing and tallied 48 extra base hits (5.3 XBH per game). Thirty of OU's 48 doubles this season and 14 of its 19 home runs have been hit in the last nine games.
• Oklahoma ranks third nationally in total runs scored (168), second nationally in hits (228), fourth in doubles (48), fifth in OBP (.429), eighth in batting average (.321), 16th in scoring (8.4 runs per game) and 18th in slugging percentage (.482).
• OU has scored at least nine runs in nine of its 20 games this season (all in the last 13 outings, and in six of the last 10), and notched double-digit hits in 13 games (eight of the last nine contests).
• The Sooners have batted .353 (181 for 513) while averaging 10.0 runs and 12.9 hits in 14 games since Feb. 28 (a 9-3 win over Baylor).
• Oklahoma's .322 team batting average ranks eighth nationally and second in the Big 12 Conference only to Baylor's .325 average.
• OU ranks fourth nationally and tops among Big 12 schools with its 48 doubles this season (2.4 per game), but has registered 41 doubles in its last 13 outings (average of 3.2 per game) and 30 doubles in its last nine contests (3.3 average). The national leader in doubles per game (San Diego) averages 2.9 per game.

Watch/Listen/Follow:
• The series will be televised on Longhorn Network with Keith Moreland and Greg Swindell on the call.
• Toby Rowland will call the games on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (locally on Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF). The radio broadcast will also be available for free via the TuneIn app.
• Live stats will be available at OUStats.com.

Series History:
• Oklahoma and Texas have played 191 times in their history. Texas leads the series 133-56-2.
• The Sooners won two of three the last time the teams played, which was 2019 in Austin. OU won the first two games of that series, 4-2 and 13-0 (7 innings) before dropping the third game 6-4. The final two games of the series were played as a doubleheader.
• OU also won two of three during the regular season series in 2015 in Austin, and in 2016 in Norman.

About the Sooners:
• Tyler Hardman ranks second nationally in hits (37; [Logan Eickhoff of Eastern Illinois has 38 hits]) and ranks 21st nationally in total bases (53). He and Jimmy Crooks are tied for eighth nationally in runs scored (25). Braden Carmichael is tied for sixth nationally with his four wins.
• In the three-game series against Houston last weekend, the Sooners totaled 38 runs, 42 hits, 21 extra base hits, 14 doubles and six home runs, hitting .416/.512/.752 as a team.
• Perhaps just as impressive as the offensive output, the OU pitching staff limited the Cougars to five runs on 18 hits, striking out 33 batters against just seven walks, and posting a 1.08 team ERA. The three starters combined to allow one run in 15.0 total innings.
• Sixteen of Oklahoma's 22 scheduled games between March 9 and April 14 will be played at the friendly confines of L. Dale Mitchell Park, but six of the Sooners' nine contests from March 16-30 will be played on the road.
• OU is in its fourth season under the direction of head coach Skip Johnson. Johnson has led the Sooners to an 97-60 record and an NCAA postseason appearance in 2018.
• In his last nine games, Hardman is hitting .600 (21 for 35) with nine extra base hits (five doubles, two triples, two home runs), nine walks, eight RBIs and 18 runs scored.
• Tanner Tredaway has hit safely in 17 consecutive games and reached base in 18 straight contests. In his last 13 games, Tredaway is hitting .434 (23 for 53) with 15 RBIs and 13 runs scored with five doubles and a home run.
• Peyton Graham has a hit in his last nine games and has reached base in 16 straight games. In his last nine contests, Graham has hit .357 (15 for 42) with three home runs, three doubles, six RBIs and 11 runs scored.
• Conor McKenna also carries a nine-game hitting streak, and in that span has batted .382 (13 for 34) with four doubles, two homers, a team-high 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
• Brandon Zaragoza has notched 21 RBIs through OU's 20 games, and 12 in his last seven outings. His career high for a single season is 30 RBIs (2019). He is batting .296 on the season (21 for 71) with five doubles (career high is eight), and hitting .342 with four doubles in his last nine games.
• Jimmy Crooks hit .615 (8 for 13) in the Houston series with two home runs, three doubles, seven runs scored and four RBIs (1.308 slugging, .643 OBP).
• Carmichael earned two wins in his two starts last week, improving to 4-0 on the season. He notched seven strikeouts over 6.0 innings, retiring 12 straight at one point, and left the game with an 8-4 lead. He tossed three shutout innings on Sunday, striking out four and scattering three hits.
• Wyatt Olds turned in a career outing Friday night, striking out 10 batters over 6.0 innings. It tied for his longest start and set a personal best for strikeouts (he had nine K's in 6.0 innings in a start against Illinois State last season). He allowed one run, one walk and four hits in OU's 7-2 series-opening victory.
• Jake Bennett pitched a career-high 6.0 innings, allowing no runs, no walks and only two hits, and struck out six batters in OU's 19-1 victory on Saturday. He pitched 5.0 innings in three of his previous four starts this season.

Fan Cutouts at L. Dale Mitchell Park:
• This season, the OU Athletics Department is offering fans an opportunity to join the Sooners at L. Dale Mitchell Park even if you can't physically be at the games. For $50, you can get a cutout of yourself placed in open seat areas around the stadium. Cutout opportunities are limited and served on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here to order. The deadline to order a fan cutout for the 2021 season is March 31.
• Proceeds from the fan cutouts will benefit the Sooner Relief Fund, which directly impacts the OU student-athlete experience.