OU to Host Rider at L. Dale Mitchell Park

First Pitch

• Oklahoma (2-3) concludes a busy week to begin the 2023 season by hosting Rider (3-1) in a three-game series at L. Dale Mitchell Park this weekend. Game times are 3 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
• The Sooners are playing eight games in 10 days to begin the season. The Broncs played four games last weekend and did not have a midweek contest.
• Rider, which is located in Lawrence Township, N.J., is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Broncs won three straight games against Gardner-Webb last weekend after dropping the season opener to the Bulldogs.
• Oklahoma is celebrating its 125th anniversary season in 2023. The program was established in 1898, and OU has competed in 118 seasons since (including 2023).

Tickets/Promotions

• Tickets are available via SoonerSports.com. This is the final weekend to take advantage of $5 February. Mini plans and flex packages are available for remaining home games.
• The L. Dale Mitchell Park ticket office and entrance gates will open two hours prior to the scheduled game time. The ticket office and will call windows are located behind home plate, along W. Imhoff Rd.
• Kids can run the bases on the field after the conclusion Sunday's game as part of "Sunday Runday."

Watch/Listen/Follow

• All three games will be streamed via SoonerVision on ESPN+ and broadcast locally on Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF. Taylor Maples will have the play-by-play call on Friday and Saturday, and Toby Rowland will be on the call Sunday, while former Sooner Blake Brewster will serve as color analyst for all three games.
• Live stats will be available at OUStats.com.

Leading Off

• Oklahoma is in its sixth 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 159-107 record, two NCAA Tournament appearances, the 2022 Big 12 tournament championship and the 2022 College World Series finals since taking over as head coach prior to the 2018 season.
• Oklahoma drew 4,301 fans for its season-opening series against California Baptist last weekend and 5,551 for its four-game homestand that included Monday's contest against Air Force. The Sooners had not drawn more than 4,300 fans for a season-opener since 2016.
• Through five games, junior transfer first baseman Anthony Mackenzie leads the Sooners with a .444 batting average (8 of 18), while junior college transfer shortstop Dakota Harris paces OU with seven RBIs and two doubles. Sophomore third baseman Wallace Clark is hitting .333 (5 of 15) with six walks.
• The Sooners returned 12 letterwinners from the 2022 squad and brought in 25 newcomers for the 2023 season. Ten of the newcomers are freshmen, eight of the 25 newcomers are position players and 17 are pitchers.
• Sixteen of the newcomers have already seen action this season (six position players and 10 pitchers).
• Entering the 2023 season, the Sooners had to replace significant production from the 2022 squad that saw 11 players drafted (seven in the first 10 rounds). OU lost 69% of its RBI production, 67% of its hits and 65% of runs scored on offense, and 79% of its innings pitched and 83% of pitching strikeouts from last year.
• Wednesday's game against Abilene Christian was OU's 16th at Globe Life Field since the ballpark opened in 2021 (two in 2021 and 13 in 2022). The Sooners are 10-6 at the ballpark.

Series History

• This will be the first meeting between Oklahoma and Rider.