Sooners Set for Bedlam Big 12 Opener

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship / Wednesday, May 26 / Oklahoma City, Okla. / Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark

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Matchups
Game Time	OU Projected Starter	OSU Projected Starter
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.	RHP Jason Ruffcorn	RHP Justin Campbell

First Pitch:
•   Oklahoma (27-26, 11-13 Big 12) will face Oklahoma State (32-16-1, 12-12 Big 12) in a primetime Bedlam matchup to begin the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.
•   Tickets are available at Big12Sports.com/BuyTickets.
•   No. 5-seed Oklahoma is matched in the bracket with No. 4-seed Oklahoma State, No. 1-seed Texas, No. 8-seed West Virginia and No. 9-seed Kansas. OU, which finished in fifth place in the league standings, was picked to finish fifth in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll.
•   The winner of Wednesday night's OU-OSU game will face the winner of Texas and WVU/KU on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., while the losing teams on Wednesday night will face off at 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
•   When Oklahoma and Oklahoma State take the field Wednesday night, it will be the sixth contest between the rivals during the 2021 season, and the fifth meeting in the last 27 days. OU won the season Big 12 series, two games to one, but OSU has won three of five games in the season series.

Watch/Listen/Follow:
•   Wednesday's game will be televised via Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Clay Matvick and Mike Rooney calling the action. All games in the Big 12 Championship will be broadcast on Big 12 Now, with the excpetion of Thursday's first session (ESPNU) and the championship game (ESPN2).
•   The radio broadcast will be carried on the Sooner Sports Radio Network (locally on SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF and via the TuneIn app anywhere) with Toby Rowland on the call.
•   Live stats will be available via Big12Sports.com

Leading Off:
•   Oklahoma enters the Big 12 Championship having won three of its final four conference series to end the season (won two of three games against OSU and on the road at West Virginia and Baylor). OU was victorious in five of its last seven road games to end the regular season. Over the span of those 12 conference games, the Sooners have produced an average of 10.2 runs and 3.7 extra base hits per contest with 20 home runs and 22 doubles.
•   The Sooners have registered a total of 12 wins away from home this season (eight true road wins and four neutral-site wins). OU's eight road victories are tied as the fourth-most in the Big 12.
•   OU has recorded five victories against opponents ranked in the NCAA RPI top 25, eight victories against the RPI top 50 and 15 wins against top-100 teams. Oklahoma is rated 55th with a strength of schedule ranked 22nd nationally (as of May 25). Of those eight top-50 wins, six were away from home (five road wins and one neutral-site. The Sooners have defeated No. 1 Arkansas (road), No. 3 Texas (road), No. 8 Texas Tech (home), No. 16 Oklahoma State (once each on the road and at home.
•   Oklahoma's 63 home runs this season are the most by a Sooners squad since the 2010 team hit 105 homers (most in the BBCOR era). OU has totaled 50 home runs only one other time since 2010 (51 in 2017). The 2010 season was also the last time four OU players have totaled 10 home runs in a single season (more details on page 2).

Series History:
•   This will be the 307th meeting between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in baseball. OSU leads the series 162-144.
•   Oklahoma claimed the Big 12 conference Bedlam series over Oklahoma State with 16-2 and 5-3 wins on April 30 and May 1. It was OU's first conference series win over OSU since 2016, and the first time it had won the initial two games of the conference series since 2009.
•   OSU won 5-4 in Stillwater on March 30 and 7-3 in the most recent contest, which was held at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Okla., on May 11.
•   Oklahoma and Oklahoma State last met in the Big 12 Championship during the 2015 season (played in Tulsa). OSU won that game 5-1.
•   The last season in which the Sooners and Cowboys played at least six times was in 2014, when the schools also met five times during the regular season and played twice in the Big 12 tournament. OSU won both postseason matchups.
•   Prior to 2014, the last time OU and OSU met during the Big 12 tournament was in 2007, a 9-8 win by the Sooners.
•   Going back to the initial Big 12 Championship in 1997, Oklahoma is 8-3 in 11 postseason conference tournament meetings against Oklahoma State.

About the Sooners:
•   Oklahoma ranks among the top 45 nationally in nine team statistical categories: hits (539; 7th), doubles (110; 9th), walks (258; 15th), runs scored (371; 24th), home runs (63; 30th), doubles per game (2.08; 31st), slugging (.467; 33rd), batting average (.292; 38th), scoring (7.0 runs per game; 42nd) and OBP (.388; 43rd).
•   OU leads the Big 12 in hits, doubles and doubles per game and ranks second in batting average and third in runs, triples and strikeouts per nine innings.
•   Thirty-five percent of Oklahoma's hits (186 of 539) have gone for extra bases. The Sooners have totaled 113 doubles, 13 triples and 63 home runs in 53 games, an average of 3.5 extra base hits per contest.
•   OU has scored at least seven runs in 25 games this season (averaging 7.0 runs per game overall), and notched double-digit hits in 26 games.
•   Oklahoma's 45 stolen bases are the most by an OU team since the 2016 squad totaled 56 steals.
•   Oklahoma has outscored opponents in the last seven innings of games (innings three through nine) this season by a total of 308 runs to 224 (average of 5.8 to 4.2). In the first two innings of games, OU has been outscored by opponents 111 runs to 59 (average of 2.1 to 1.1). OU has allowed 2.8 runs in the first three innings of games, and just 3.5 runs across the last six innings of games.
•   The Sooners are 22-1 this season when leading after six innings, and are 21-12 when hitting at least one home run.
•   Oklahoma played non-conference games against three Big 12 rivals this season, including Baylor. Typically, OU will only play Oklahoma State outside of the conference schedule. This year, in addition to a pair of contests against the Cowboys, the Sooners faced Texas Tech and Baylor. Three of those games were played at neutral sites (Baylor at the Round Rock Classic on Feb. 28, Tech in Amarillo on May 4 and OSU in Tulsa on May 11).
•   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 112-78 record and an NCAA postseason appearance in 2018.

Key Player Trends:
•   Tyler Hardman (12), Conor McKenna (12), Peyton Graham (11) and Jimmy Crooks (10) have each hit more than 10 home runs this season. The last season in which OU had three or more players with at least 10 home runs was 2010 (first time in the BBCOR era). The 2010 team had seven players with double-digit homers: Garrett Buechele (17), Cameron Seitzer (16), Max White (15), Tyler Ogle (11) and Cody Reine (10).
•   Hardman ranks second nationally in hits (87; East Carolina's Connor Norby has 89 hits) and leads the nation in total bases (146). He also ranks 12th in doubles (19), 17th in batting average (.403), 41st in OBP (.488) and 45th in slugging (.676).
•   Hardman has notched multiple hits in 28 of OU's 50 games this season and has at least one hit in 46 contests (a hit in all but seven games).
•   Hardman is on the cusp of a .400 batting average for the season (currently holds a .403 average). Fifteen players in OU history have batted .400 or higher in a single season; the last to do it was Greg Dobbs, who batted .428 in 2001. The school record is held by Dale Mitchell, who batted .507 in 1946.
•   The fourth-year junior from Corona, Calif., is 12 for 19 (.632) at the plate over the last five games, registering six doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and six runs scored. He doubled three times on May 16 vs. Texas Tech, becoming the first Sooner in 12 years with three doubles in a single game (J.T. Wise vs. Texas A&M in 2009).
•   McKenna hit three home runs in the series at Baylor, including two in back-to-back innings during Saturday's series-clinching finale. He batted .538 (7 for 13) in the series. In OU's last 12 weekend conference games, he hit .400 (18 for 45) with eight extra base hits (five homers, three doubles), 11 RBIs and 11 runs scored.
•   For the fourth straight week Jason Ruffcorn pitched an outing of at least 6.0 innings. He has tossed 6.0 frames in each of his two starts (last two outings; first career collegiate starts). He also pitched 6.2 innings in relief against Oklahoma State and 7.1 relief innings at West Virginia, earning the victory in both. He is 4-1 with 66 strikeouts in 49.2 innings and a .198 opponent batting average this season.
•   Hardman and McKenna both lead the Sooners with 15 multiple RBI games while Crooks has 11 multiple RBI contests. Crooks also has 20 multiple-hit games, while McKenna has 18 games and Graham has 16 games with multiple hits this season.

Career Milestones:
•   Brandon Zaragoza has played more games in an Oklahoma baseball uniform than any other player in program history. The super senior from Moore, Okla., broke the school record by playing in his 240th and 241st games on May 8. He has played in 248 career games, breaking the previous record of 239 games was held by Max White (2010-13).
•   Zaragoza has started in 246 career contests, also the most in program history (no official program records for games started exists), including 235 starts in a row, dating back to the 2017 season. He has also broken the OU career record for at bats (875; previous record was 869 by Rich Hills [1992-95] and Max White).
•   Zaragoza ranks second in program history with 608 career assists (record is 728 by Rich Hills), seventh with 121 career walks, 17th with 230 career hits and 20th with his 148 career runs scored.
•   Jason Ruffcorn ranks third at OU with his 19 career saves (trailing Jeff Bajenaru [28; 1999-00]) and Ryan Duke [35; 2008-11]).
•   Tyler Hardman ranks 14th in OU history with his 45 doubles and is tied for 18th with 24 home runs.

Oklahoma Big 12 Championship History:
•   Oklahoma has won the Big 12 Championship twice: the league's first championship in 1997, and again in 2013.
•   The Sooners have a 38-39 overall record in the Big 12 Championship, and have competed in all 24 Big 12 postseason tournaments that have been held. OU is one of only two schools to qualify for all 24 postseason championships in the league's history (no tournament was held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
•   In its history, OU is 76-73 overall in postseason conference tournaments, encompassing the Big 12 and Big 8 conferences. In addition to its two Big 12 Championships, the Sooners won Big 8 tournament titles in 1977 and 1979.