OU Begins Frisco Classic Friday

First Pitch

• Oklahoma (4-4) travels to Frisco, Texas, for the Frisco College Baseball Classic this weekend at Riders Field. The Sooners will open the tournament against California (6-1) at 2 p.m. Friday, then play Mississippi State (5-3) at 1 p.m. Saturday and Ohio State (3-5) at 3 p.m. Sunday.
• This is Oklahoma's second appearance in the Frisco Classic. The Sooners played in the 2021 edition against Arizona, Missouri and Dallas Baptist, going 1-3 in the event with a win over Missouri.
• The Sooners last played on Sunday, concluding a stretch of eight games in 10 days to begin the season. OU's midweek contest at UT Arlington scheduled for Wednesday was canceled due to weather and field conditions.
• 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).

Watch/Listen/Follow

• All three games will be televised via D1Baseball.com. OU fans can receive a discount on the weekend subscription by using code OUFC. Mike Ferrin and Mike Rooney will have the call on Friday and Saturday, and Chris Mycoskie and Mike Hardge will be on the call for Sunday's finale.
• The games will also be broadcast locally on Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF with Taylor Maples on the call.
• Live stats will be available at FriscoClassic.com.

Series History

• Oklahoma leads the all-time series against California, 4-1. The teams last met in 2011, a 5-3 OU win in San Diego, Calif. Oklahoma also won 9-6 in Norman in 2009. The Sooners took two of three games from the Golden Bears in Norman in 1990, winning 9-5 and 9-8 before falling 16-14.
• Oklahoma and Mississippi State have met seven times. The series is tied 3-3-1. The Sooners and Bulldogs played three times in the 2018 Tallahassee Regional. OU won the first game 20-10, but MSU won 13-5 and 8-1 in the regional final. OU also won a 2010 meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas, 16-5. The first contests between the schools came in the 1992 Starkville Regional. MSU won 9-6 in a winner's bracket game, but OU came back with a 10-6 victory to advance to the regional finals on its way to the College World Series. The teams tied 5-5 in the 2016 Dodgertown Classic.
• Oklahoma leads the all-time series against Ohio State, 3-1. The last meeting came in 2014, a 6-3 Buckeyes win in Orlando, Fla. The Sooners won the first three contests: 9-8 in the 1951 College World Series (OU won its first national title that season), 5-2 in the 1982 NCAA Regional in Austin, and 5-1 in a 2003 contest played in Beaumont, Texas.

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 161-108 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.
• 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.
• Eighteen of OU's newcomers have already seen game action this season (seven position players and 11 pitchers).
• Through eight games, junior transfer first baseman Anthony Mackenzie leads the Sooners with a .548 batting average (17 of 31) and nine stolen bases (9 of 10). Last season, it took 14 games for an OU player to reach nine stolen bases. Junior college transfer shortstop Dakota Harris paces OU with 11 RBIs and three doubles. Harris is also hitting .313 (10 for 32). Freshman catcher Easton Carmichael is batting .321 (9 for 28) with two triples and two steals. Junior transfer right fielder Bryce Madron has registered 15 walks in the season's first eight games.
• 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.
• Oklahoma drew 4,301 fans for its season-opening series against California Baptist 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.
• Last Wednesday's game (Feb. 22) 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.