Sooners Host TCU in Big 12 Home Opener

Friday, April 2

Norman

6:30 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

TCU

Tickets

Photo by: Ty Russell

Sooners Host TCU in Big 12 Home Opener

April 01, 2021 | Baseball

Tickets Game Day Info Watch Listen Live Stats Twitter Home Run Pledge

Oklahoma

¹¹TCU

Friday-Sunday, April 2-4 / L. Dale Mitchell Park / Norman, Okla.

Pitching Matchups
First Pitch	Oklahoma	TCU
Friday, 6:30 p.m.	RHP Wyatt Olds	LHP Russell Smith
Saturday, 4 p.m.	LHP Jake Bennett	LHP Austin Krob
Sunday, 2 p.m.	LHP Braden Carmichael	RHP Johnny Ray

First Pitch:
•   Oklahoma (13-11, 1-2 Big 12) plays host to No. 11 TCU (17-7, 3-0 Big 12) in a Big 12 conference series this weekend at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Game times are 6:30 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
•   This is OU's Big 12 home opener and its first Big 12 home series since the 2019 season.
•   The Sooners have played eight contests against ranked opponents so far this season and are 3-5 in such games. One-third of OU's games have been against ranked opponents at the time they played.

Tickets:
• A limited number of tickets inside L. Dale Mitchell Park remain available for purchase to Sunday's series finale at 2 p.m. Open seating is available on the outfield berms.

Watch/Listen/Follow:
•   The Friday and Saturday games will be televised on Bally Sports Oklahoma Plus (Friday) and Bally Sports Oklahoma (Saturday) and streamed on the Fox Sports GO app. Sunday's contest will be broadcast on SoonerSports.tv. Chad McKee and George Frazier will provide commentary for all three games.
•   Toby Rowland and Blake Brewster 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.

Leading Off:
•   Oklahoma begins a nine-game homestand with the series against TCU. OU will then host Oral Roberts (April 6), Kansas (April 9-11) and Texas Southern (April 13-14).
•   OU has scored at least eight runs in 11 games this season (averaging 7.7 runs per game overall), and notched double-digit hits in 13 games.
•   Oklahoma's .305 team batting average ranks 12th nationally and leads the Big 12. OU also leads the nation in hits (260), and ranks 11th nationally in total runs scored (184), 13th in team OBP (.413) and 22nd in scoring (7.7 runs per game).
•   OU ranks fourth nationally and tops among Big 12 schools with its 55 doubles this season (2.3 per game), and has registered 48 doubles in its last 17 outings (average of 2.8 per game). The national leader in doubles per game (San Diego) averages 2.7 per game.
•   Thirty-one percent of Oklahoma's hits (81 of 260) have gone for extra bases. The Sooners have totaled 55 doubles, five triples and 21 home runs in 23 games, an average of 3.4 extra base hits per contest.
•   The Sooners rank third in the Big 12 in offensive walks (138; TCU leads the nation with 158) and second in the Big 12 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.49; 239 to 96) only to TCU (3.11; 249 to 80). The Frogs also lead the Big 12 in team ERA (3.17).

Series History:
•   Oklahoma and TCU have played 99 times. OU leads the series 62-37.
•   The Horned Frogs won three of four games during the 2019 season - two of three in Norman and one in the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.
•   The Sooners won two of three games from TCU in 2018 (in Fort Worth) and in 2017 (in Norman)
•   The series has been nearly even since 2017, as OU is 5-6 against TCU in that span.

About the Sooners:
•   Over the last two weekends (a span of six games), OU starting pitchers have totaled 33.0 innings, allowing just 24 hits and five walks (0.88 WHIP) and eight earned runs (2.18 ERA) while notching 37 strikeouts.
•   As a staff, the Sooners turned in a 3:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (27 to nine) in the series against Texas, after posting a 4.7 ratio (33 strikeouts to seven walks) in the Houston series. That is a combined 70 strikeouts to 16 walks (4.4 ratio) over the last two weekends.
•   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.
•   OU is in its fourth season under the direction of head coach Skip Johnson. Johnson has led the Sooners to an 98-63 record and an NCAA postseason appearance in 2018.
•   Oklahoma's first 23 games of the season were played against 15 different opponents. In that time, the Sooners faced only six teams – Omaha, UT Arlington, Arizona, Arkansas State, Houston and Texas – more than once this season.
•   In the series at Texas, Wyatt Olds struck out eight batters over 6.0 innings, allowing no walks in the game and no hits after the second inning. Jake Bennett walked none in his 5.0 innings and Braden Carmichael allowed just one run in 7.0 innings – the longest outing for a starter this season.
•   Tyler Hardman was named the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Player of the Week on March 30 after batting .533 (9 for 15), registering six RBIs, five extra base hits and four walks in four games last week (at Texas State and Texas). He reached in all five plate appearances last Sunday, going 3 for 3 with two intentional walks and homered twice last Saturday.
•   In 18 games since Feb. 28, Hardman is hitting .520 (38 for 73) with 18 RBIs, 24 runs scored, four home runs, eight doubles and two triples. He leads the nation with his 44 hits on the season, ranks fifth with his 68 total bases and 15th with 27 runs scored. He is also 12th nationally and second in the Big 12 with 21 walks (Elijah Nunez of TCU has 23 walks).
•   Jimmy Crooks ranks second nationally and firth in the Big 12 with his 11 doubles (national leader is Austin Knight of Charlotte with 15). Crooks is also eighth nationally and third in the Big 12 with his 30 runs scored (Dru Baker of Texas Tech has scored 32 runs).
•   Jason Ruffcorn leads OU pitchers with 10 appearances this season. He is 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA and one save, notching 20 strikeouts in 12.2 innings. Only one run has been scored against him this season (March 14 vs. Arkansas State). It was his first run allowed since May 5, 2019 vs. Texas Tech (a streak of 18.2 innings and 15 scoreless appearances [beginning with the ninth inning on 5/5/19; the run was scored in the eighth inning of that game]).
•   Peyton Graham has reached base safely in 20 consecutive games and has registered a hit in 12 of his last 13 contests.
•   Conor McKenna leads the Sooners with nine multiple RBI games, and with his 25 RBIs on the season. McKenna (1.04 RBIs per game), Hardman (22 RBI, 0.92 per game) and Brandon Zaragoza (22 RBIs, 0.92 per game) are all averaging around one RBI per team game played.
•   Zaragoza has already registered 22 RBIs in 24 games this season. His career high prior to this year was 30 RBIs in 2019.