Sooners on the Road to Face Kansas

Friday, April 22

Lawrence, Kan.

6 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Kansas

Photo by: Gerald Leong

April 21, 2022 | Baseball

Watch Listen Live Stats #LaunchPad

Oklahoma

Kansas

Friday-Sunday, April 22-24 / Lawrence, Kan. / Hoglund Ballpark

ESPN+ | Radio | Live Stats | Game Notes | Twitter

Matchups
Game Time	OU Projected Starters	KU Projected Starters
Friday, 6 p.m.	LHP Jake Bennett	LHP Daniel Hegarty
Saturday, 2 p.m.	RHP David Sandlin	RHP Cole Larsen
Sunday, 1 p.m.	RHP Cade Horton	RHP Ryan Vanderhei

First Pitch

• Oklahoma (22-13, 4-5 Big 12) returns to Big 12 conference play with a three-game road series at Kansas (16-20, 2-7 Big 12). Game times are scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan.
• The Sooners were on conference bye last weekend, and won two of three games against Pacific and Lamar. OU has won four of its last five games, including a neutral-site victory over Texas Tech on April 12 and a win over Wichita State at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Tuesday. Kansas has won six of its last nine, including two wins over Texas Southern this week.

Watch/Listen/Follow

• The games will be televised via Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and will be broadcast on the Sooner Radio Network (locally on Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF, Sportstalk1400.com and the Varsity Network app anywhere), and streamed live on SoonerSports.tv, with Taylor Maples on the call.
• Live stats will be available at OUStats.com.

Leading Off

• Through the first nine weeks of the season (35 games), the Sooners are 12-9 against the RPI top 100, including six top-50 wins (6-8) and five top-25 wins (5-5). OU's overall strength of schedule is ranked ninth in the country while its non-conference SOS is ranked 35th nationally.
• Oklahoma is hitting .289 as a team and averaging 6.7 runs, 9.3 hits and 2.7 extra base hits per game (62 doubles, 26 home runs). The pitching staff has compiled a 5.46 ERA, 310 strikeouts to 134 walks and 333 hits in 313.1 innings and has allowed a .272 opponent batting average.
• Kansas is hitting .266 as a team. The Jayhawks average 6.1 runs, 9.3 hits and 3.1 extra base hits per game (64 doubles, 34 home runs). The pitching staff has compiled a 6.83 ERA, 264 strikeouts to 151 walks and 355 hits in 309.2 innings and has allowed a .287 opponent batting average.
• Oklahoma is in its fifth season under the direction of head coach Skip Johnson (including the 2020 season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Johnson, who spent the 2017 season on staff as an assistant coach, has led the Sooners to a 134-93 record since taking over as head coach prior to the 2018 season.

Series History

• Oklahoma leads the overall series against Kansas 142-78-1, and holds a 51-35 advantage in Lawrence.
• The Sooners have won seven of the last eight against the Jayhawks, including all three meetings in 2019 and two of three last year in Norman.
• Kansas won two of three games during the 2018 series, the last time OU and KU met in Lawrence. The Jayhawks won three straight series between 2016 and 2018. Oklahoma won the final game of the 2018 series and the Big 12 tournament meeting that season.

#LaunchPad

• The #LaunchPad is back for 2022. For the second straight year, pledged donations to a customized dollar amount for every homer that OU baseball hits in 2022 will go towards the the stadium renovation project. For more information, visit TheSoonerClub.com/LaunchPad.
• All donations from the Pledge Per Home Run Campaign will be treated as charitable donations supporting either the OU Softball Stadium Project or the OU Baseball Stadium Renovation Project and are tax-deductible.

Noting the Sooners

• During the first 10 games of the season, Oklahoma scored a total of 35 runs (average of 3.5 per game) and did not score more than six runs in any game. The Sooners have scored 198 runs during the last 25 games (7.9 per game). OU has scored at least seven runs in 20 of those 25 games.
• OU is 63 for 81 on stolen base attempts in the last 25 games (average of 2.5 steals per game). Over the last 25 games, Peyton Graham leads the Sooners with 11 steals while Tanner Tredaway has nine steals.
• Blake Robertson leads the Sooners with a .357 batting average (45 for 126), 34 walks and 12 doubles. Graham has team bests of nine home runs and 35 runs scored while batting .311 (42 for 135) with 28 RBIs. Tredaway is batting .326 (45 for 138) with a team-high 31 RBIs, nine doubles, two homers and 25 runs scored and Jimmy Crooks is hitting .311 (37 for 119) with 26 walks, 20 RBIs and 21 runs scored.

Recapping the Last Week

• Oklahoma defeated Wichita State 9-5 on Tuesday after taking two of three last weekend (won vs. Pacific 7-3 and 10-2 and fell to Lamar 14-11).
• OU scored seven runs in the sixth inning to overcome a three-run deficit and defeat Wichita State 9-5 on Tuesday. Trailing 5-2, the Sooners strung together four hits, four walks and five stolen bases during the bottom half of the sixth to go ahead 9-5.
• Diego Muniz drove in three runs and Tanner Tredaway went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. Blake Robertson, Jimmy Crooks and Cade Horton also drove in runs for the Sooners. Jaret Godman earned the win with a relief inning and Trevin Michael got the final out with two runners on base to pick up his sixth save of the season. Colton Sundloff, Javier Ramos, Chazz Martinez, Nicholas Andrews and Jett Lodes combined for 6.0 scoreless relief innings.
• Cade Horton made his first career start in the weekend opener last Thursday, earning the victory. David Sandlin struck out five over 6.0 innings and earned the win vs. Pacific on Saturday.

Base Snatchers

• The Sooners have registered 85 stolen bases in 109 attempts through 35 games this season. OU surpassed its total from all of last year (46 steals) in the 18th game of this season. The last time Oklahoma completed a season with at least 80 steals was in 2010 (98).
• Oklahoma ranks sixth nationally in stolen bases (85) and steals per game (2.4). Both figures rank second in the Big 12, only to West Virginia's 115 steals and average of 3.4 steals per game.
OU's most steals over the last 12 seasons was 98, in 2010. Over the last 30 years (1993-2022), OU has finished a season with more than 80 steals nine times: 2010 (98), 2007 (96), 2006, (85), 2003 (91), 2000 (87), 1997 (86), 1996 (104), 1995 (93), 1993 (83).
• Peyton Graham leads OU with 14 stolen bases, while Tanner Tredaway and Kendall Pettis each have 13 steals. Blake Robertson has nine steals and catcher Jimmy Crooks has eight steals. The last time OU had at least one player with 13 steals at the end of a season was 2013 (16 by Craig Aikin and 13 by Matt Oberste). A total of 14 players have recorded at least one stolen base this season.
• Oklahoma has registered at least 10 steals in a game twice this season. OU went off for 11 steals against Wichita State on Feb. 22 and stole 10 bases on April 16 vs. Pacific.
• Three players — Graham, Pettis and Tredaway — each had three stolen bases in the Feb. 22 game vs. Wichita State. Graham notched three steals again vs. Texas on April 2. It was the fourth time a single player has registered three steals in a single game this season.
• Prior to Feb. 22, no single Sooner had stolen three bases in a game since Erik Ross against Hartford in 2012. Oklahoma (3-1) finished the Wichita State game one steal shy of the school record of 12, set in 1937 against East Central (Okla.) University.