OU Begins Road Trip at Kansas State

Sunday, March 26

Manhattan, Kan.

1 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

13-11, 0

Kansas State

17-8, 0

Oklahoma

Kansas State

Photo by: Joe Buvid

March 23, 2023 | Baseball

Box Score Watch Listen OUStats.com Notes

First Pitch

• Oklahoma (13-8, 2-1 Big 12) embarks on a four-game road trip this weekend, starting with a Big 12 conference series at Kansas State (14-8, 1-2 Big 12) Friday through Sunday at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan. Game times are 6 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
• The Sooners have won 11 of their last 15 games, including a Big 12 conference series win over then-No. 11 TCU last weekend and a midweek defeat to Dallas Baptist. The Wildcats split a midweek series against St. Thomas and dropped their Big 12 opener at Baylor last weekend. OU is 3-1 in road games this season while KSU is 8-1 at home.
• OU will stay in the state of Kansas for a Tuesday meeting with Wichita State at Riverfront Stadium in Wichita, Kan., home of the Double-AA Wind Surge (affiliate of the Minnesota Twins). The game is set to begin at 6 p.m.
• 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 ESPN+, and broadcast on the Sooner Radio Network (locally on Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF, Sportstalk1400.com and the Varsity Network app anywhere) with Toby Rowland on the radio call.
• 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 170-112 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.
• Junior shortstop Dakota Harris was named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week on Monday after batting .500 (5 for 10) with five RBIs, a home run, a double and three walks in Oklahoma's series win over TCU. In four games last week, he batted .385 with four walks and played errorless in the field.
• Through 21 games, Harris leads the Sooners with 27 RBIs and 10 extra base hits (six doubles and four homers), and is batting .386 (32 for 83). Freshman catcher Easton Carmichael leads the team with a .388 batting average (31 for 80) and has 26 RBIs and nine extra base hits (team-high four triples). He leads the Big 12, is tied for fifth nationally and leads all catchers with his four triples.
• Junior first baseman Anthony Mackenzie is batting .386 (32 for 83) and leads the team with 21 runs scored and 14 steals (13 for 15). Freshman first baseman Rocco Garza-Gongora is hitting .361 (22 for 61) with three homers, 13 RBIs and 13 runs. Junior right fielder Bryce Madron has registered 33 walks in the season's first 21 games and has scored 18 runs.
• Oklahoma is batting .291 and averaging 6.9 runs, 9.6 hits, 2.8 extra base hits, 6.3 walks and 2.5 stolen bases per game, and has a 4.78 team ERA and a .963 fielding percentage. OU opponents have batted .244 and averaged 5.4 runs, 8.3 hits, 2.7 extra base hits, 4.3 walks and 7.2 strikeouts per contest.
• The Wildcats are batting .269 and averaging 8.6 runs, 8.9 hits, 3.2 extra base hits and 7.4 walks per game and have a 4.06 team ERA and .969 fielding percentage. KSU opponents have batted .279 and averaged 4.8 runs, 9.5 hits, 2.1 extra base hits, 3.3 walks and 9.4 strikeouts per contest.
• Mackenzie is on a 12-game hitting streak. Garza-Gongora has reached base in 13 straight games while Mackenzie and Madron have each reached in 12 straight contests. Harris leads the team with 11 multiple-hit games, Carmichael has 10 multi-hit games and Mackenzie has eight. Harris has a team-high eight games with at least two RBIs and Carmichael has seven multiple-RBI contests.
• Oklahoma ranks 14th nationally and third in the Big 12 with its 53 stolen bases. OU also ranks 10th nationally (third in the Big 12) with its 133 walks. K-State leads the Big 12 in both steals (68) and walks (163). Madron leads the nation with his 33 walks and Mackenzie ranks 19th nationally with his 14 steals.

Series History

• Oklahoma and Kansas State have met 238 times in baseball. OU leads the overall series 174-65 and holds a 58-35 advantage against K-State in Manhattan.
• The Sooners have won 10 of the last 14 meetings, but the Wildcats won the last series in Manhattan in 2021, two games to one. OU won three of four meetings last season, defeating KSU in two of three contests during the regular season in Norman and in the Big 12 tournament semifinal at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
• Oklahoma is 7-5 in Manhattan since 2015. The Sooners won two of three games in 2015, '17 and '19 at K-State.
• Oklahoma swept its last home series against K-State in 2018. The Wildcats last won a series played in Norman in 1971.

Base Stealers

• The Sooners have registered 53 stolen bases in 65 attempts (82%) through the first 21 games of the season, which is four steals ahead of its pace through 21 games of the 2022 season. Last year, OU registered 145 steals, the most by an Oklahoma club since 1989 (168 steals).
• This weekend's series will feature two of the top three running teams in the Big 12. Kansas State leads the league and ranks sixth nationally with 68 stolen bases in 84 attempts (81%), while Oklahoma ranks third with 53 steals. West Virginia ranks second in the conference with 63 stolen bases.
• Anthony Mackenzie leads the Sooners and ranks 19th nationally with his 14 steals (in 15 attempts). John Spikerman is second on the team with 10 steals (10 for 11) and Kendall Pettis is 6 for 8 in stolen bases. Eleven players have stolen at least one base this season and six players have notched at leas four stolen bases.
• Mackenzie has stolen three bases in a game twice this season (vs. Abilene Christian on Feb. 22 and vs. Rider on Feb. 25). On 11 occasions, an OU player has stolen at least two bases in a game. Oklahoma registered a season-high eight steals against Rider on Feb. 25 and has stolen at least three bases seven times this season.