Bedlam Baseball on Deck

Friday, April 30

Stillwater, Okla.

6 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Photo by: Joshua R. Gateley

April 29, 2021 | Baseball

Game Day Info ESPN+ (Fri.)Bally Sports OK (Sat.)ESPNU (Sun.)Listen #LaunchPad

Oklahoma

¹⁹Oklahoma State

Friday-Sunday, April 30-May 2 / O'Brate Stadium (Stillwater, Okla.) / L. Dale Mitchell Park (Norman, Okla.)

Watch | Radio | Live Stats | Game Notes | Twitter

Matchups
Game Time	TV	OU Projected Starters	OSU Projected Starters
Friday, 6 p.m.	Big 12 Now on ESPN+	RHP Wyatt Olds	RHP Bryce Osmond
Saturday, 3 p.m.	Bally Sports Oklahoma	LHP Jake Bennett	RHP Justin Campbell
Sunday, 4 p.m.	ESPNU	LHP Braden Carmichael	TBA

First Pitch:
•   Oklahoma (20-19, 4-8 Big 12) and Oklahoma State (24-12-1, 7-8 Big 12) face off in a three-game Big 12 Bedlam series this weekend. The series opener on Friday is set for 6 p.m. at O'Brate Stadium in Stillwater. Games on Saturday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (4 p.m.) will be played at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman.
•   This will be the first Bedlam conference series played entirely on campus since the 1989 season (all four games were played in Stillwater). From 1993-2017, the conference series between the minor league ballparks in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The games on Saturday and Sunday will represent just the second and third Bedlam conference games played in Norman since 1992 (also the 2019 series finale).
•   OU and OSU are scheduled for five games during the 2021 season. The Cowboys won the first meeting 5-4 in Stillwater on March 30. The teams will meet again at ONEOK Field in Tulsa on May 11.

Tickets:
• The limited tickets inside L. Dale Mitchell Park for the games on Saturday and Sunday are sold out. Open seating is available on the outfield berms.

Watch/Listen/Follow:
•   The series opener in Stillwater will be broadcast via Big 12 Now on ESPN+ via OSU, with Dave Hunziker and Tom Holliday on the call.
•   Saturday's contest at L. Dale Mitchell Park will be televised on Bally Sports Oklahoma, with Toby Rowland and George Frazier calling the action.
•   The Sunday series finale will air on ESPNU, with Chris Cotter and Mike Rooney on the call.
•   All three games will be broadcast on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (locally on SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF and via the TuneIn app anywhere). Toby Rowland will have Friday's call from Stillwater, Taylor Maples and Blake Brewster will be on the call Saturday in Norman, and Rowland will be joined by Brewster for Sunday's finale from L. Dale Mitchell Park.
•   Live stats will be available at OUStats.com.

Leading Off:
•   Oklahoma ranks third nationally in doubles (87), fifth in hits (397), ninth in walks (201), 12th in doubles per game (2.23), 14th in runs scored (284), 21st in OBP (.398), 26th in batting average (.296), 28th in slugging (.465), 35th in scoring (7.3 runs per game) and 33rd in strikeouts per nine innings (10.1).
•   Thirty-five percent of Oklahoma's hits (137 of 397) have gone for extra bases. The Sooners have totaled 87 doubles, nine triples and 41 home runs in 39 games, an average of 3.5 extra base hits per contest.
•   OU leads the Big 12 in doubles and doubles per game, ranks second in hits, sacrifice flies (19) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.55), and ranks third in batting average and OBP.
•   First baseman Tyler Hardman was named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List and recognized as a midseason All-American by D1Baseball. The fourth-year junior leads the nation in hits (67) and ranks third nationally in total bases (111), fifth in batting average (.432) and hits per game (1.72), and sixth in on-base percentage (.524). He is the 43rd Sooner to register at least 100 hits (180), 100 runs (111) and 100 RBIs (104) in his career.

Series History:
•   Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have met 303 times. OSU leads the series 160-142.
•   The Cowboys won 5-4 in Stillwater on March 30.
•   The Sooners won the Saturday game during the 2019 series, 3-2 in 10 innings at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.
•   OU is seeking its first victory in Stillwater since 2014 (a 12-9 win in 18 innings), and is aiming for a series win over OSU for the first time since 2016.

About the Sooners:
•   Over the last 10 games, the Oklahoma pitching staff has produced a 3.30 team ERA with 96 strikeouts and 39 walks in 84.2 innings.
•   OU ranks fourth nationally and first among Big 12 schools with its 87 doubles this season (2.2 per game; first in the Big 12), and has registered 26 doubles in its last 10 outings (average of 2.6 per game). The national leader in doubles per game (San Diego) averages 2.5 per contest. The Sooners registered a season-high nine doubles against Houston on March 20.
•   OU has scored at least seven runs in 19 games this season (averaging 7.3 runs per game overall), and notched double-digit hits in 18 games.
•   The Sooners are 3-5 in eight games against ranked opponents so far this season.
•   Oklahoma has outscored opponents in the last two-thirds of games (innings four through nine) this season by a total of 183 to 133. In the first three innings of games, OU has outscored opponents 100 to 99.
•   All of Oklahoma's remaining scheduled games are against Big 12 opponents, including two non-conference midweek contests against Texas Tech (May 4) and Oklahoma State (May 11).
•   Oklahoma's first 24 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.
•   OU is in its fourth season under the direction of head coach Skip Johnson (third full year; the 2019 season ended after 18 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Johnson has led the Sooners to a 105-71 record and an NCAA postseason appearance in 2018.

Key Player Trends:
•   Tyler Hardman continues to lead the nation in hits (67). He ranks third in total bases (111), fifth in batting average (.432) and hits per game (1.72), eighth in OBP (.524), 23rd in runs (40) and slugging (.716), 29th in doubles (13) and 43rd in walks (28).
•   Hardman has notched multiple hits in 22 of OU's 39 games this season, and has at least one hit in 35 contests (a hit in all but four games). His batting average (.432) has been higher than .400 since March 14 (first game of the Arkansas State doubleheader when he hit for the cycle with five hits). He maintained an average of .458 or better for 20 games (from March 14 through April 14), and his average was .460 or better for all but one game in that stretch (following the March 26 series opener at Texas).
•   In 27 games since March 14, he has batted .454 (49 for 108) with all nine of his home runs, both of his triples and 12 of his 13 doubles on the season. In the first 12 games of the season from Feb. 21 through March 9, he batted .383 (18 for 47).
•   Peyton Graham has reached base in 35 consecutive games. The last game in which he did not reach base was Feb. 23 vs. Stephen F. Austin – OU's third game of the season. Over the last six contests, he has batted .435 (10 for 24) with a home run, four doubles, six runs scored and two RBIs.
•   Brett Squires has registered 27 hits in 22 starts this season. Seventeen of those hits have gone for extra bases (12 doubles, two triples, three home runs). He has a hit in 11 of his last 14 games. In that span since April 3, he has batted .347 (17 for 49) with 12 of his 17 extra base hits (eight doubles, one triple, three home runs).
•   Brandon Zaragoza led OU with four RBIs during the three-game series against Georgia Southern. He hit two doubles, including the game-ender on Sunday and batted .400 (4 for 10) on the weekend.
•   Breydon Daniel has 13 RBIs on 10 hits, including two home runs and two doubles, in his 13 starts this season. He went 2 for 3 with an RBI and scored a run after entering the game as a pinch hitter on Sunday against Georgia Southern.
•   Jake Bennett has started the last series openers (at Kansas State and vs. Georgia Southern) and turned in two of his sharpest outings of the season. In those two starts, he recorded 11 strikeouts in 9.1 innings and posted a 3.86 ERA.
•   In his last three outings, Wyatt Olds has posted a 2.76 ERA and struck out 19 batters over 16.1 frames (his appearance at Kansas State was a 5.1-inning relief outing) while surrendering just 12 hits and two extra base hits.
•   Jason Ruffcorn pitched a season-high 3.2 innings in relief on Sunday, retiring all 11 batters he faced, and earned the victory. He entered with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning and ended the threat with a strikeout and a groundout.
•   Hardman and Conor McKenna lead the Sooners with 11 multiple RBI games apiece while Jimmy Crooks has eight multiple RBI contests. Hardman has registered a team-high 36 RBIs, while McKenna has 35 RBIs.
•   Zaragoza has already registered 30 RBIs on the season, tying a career high. His career high prior to this year was 30 RBIs in 2019.
•   Zaragoza ranks third in program history with his 234 games played (record is 239 by Max White [2010-13]), second with 579 career assists (record is 728 by Rich Hills [1992-95]), sixth with 827 career at bats, seventh with 115 career walks and tied for 19th with 219 career hits.
•   Ruffcorn ranks third at OU with his 19 career saves (trailing Jeff Bajenaru [28; 1999-00]) and Ryan Duke [35; 2008-11]).