Sooners Back at L. Dale Mitchell for WSU Midweek

Oklahoma

Wichita State

March 5 / Norman, Okla. / L. Dale Mitchell Park

FIRST PITCH

• Oklahoma is back in action Tuesday on its home turf to face Wichita State. The midweek contest is slated for a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch.

• The game can be watched via SoonerVision on ESPN+ with and heard locally in Oklahoma on SportsTalk 1400 AM/99.3 FM or nationwide on The Varsity app. Live stats can be found at OUStats.com.

• Josh Helmer and Todd Miller will be on the call for both the ESPN+ livestream and radio broadcast on the REF as the game will be a simulcast.

• Single game tickets and mini-plan options for home games at L. Dale Mitchell Park are available via SoonerSports.com/tickets.

• For the Fans: All season long, Tuesdays will be $2 concession nights with deals on hot dogs, popcorn, beer and more. A limited quantity of OU Baseball beer bats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

• The Sooners return to the friendly confines of L. Dale Mitchell Park with a 5-5 record after dropping two at the inaugural Las Vegas College Baseball Classic last weekend. WSU enters the game at 7-3 after a three-game sweep of Utah Tech in Wichita this past weekend.

LEADING OFF

• The Sooners have opened the season with a 5-5 record, highlighted by a top-10 win over then-No. 9 Tennessee, a walk-off victory over former conference foe Nebraska and a series win over Wright State on home-opening weekend, Feb. 23-25, at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman.

• Oklahoma is in its seventh 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 194-137 record, three 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 13 letterwinners from the 2023 squad and brought in 26 newcomers for the 2024 season.

• Oklahoma finished the 2023 season by making its 40th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, playing in the NCAA Charlottesville Regional.

• The Sooners ended the 2023 season with a 32-28 record and an 11-13 mark in Big 12 Conference play.
Lead, L. Dale Mitchell

SERIES HISTORY

• Wichita State: The Sooners and Shockers meet regularly, playing three matchups in 2023 and slated for another trio in 2024.

• Oklahoma holds a 20-16 all-time series lead over WSU. The Sooners took the last meeting between the teams on April 11 of last year, an 8-1 OU win in Norman. The teams are an even 3-3 in their last six matchups in the past two seasons.

RECAPPING THE START TO THE SEASON

• After dropping the season opener to Oregon, the Sooners bounced back in a big way with a pair of wins vs. No. 9 Tennessee and Nebraska in dramatic fashion at the Shriners Children's College Classic at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

• Opening the home slate vs. Wright State, the Sooners came sprinting out of the gates on offense, putting up a combined 46 runs on the weekend, highlighted by a 20-0 home-opening day win on Friday.

• After dropping a 19-9 decision in seven innings to Pittsburgh last Friday in OU's first game of the Las Vegas College Baseball Classic, the Sooners fought back with a tough matchup vs. Ohio State on Sunday. Holding a lead into the ninth inning, the Buckeyes were able to rattle off a pair of runs to edge the Sooners, 4-3.

THE NUMBERS

• On the season, the Sooners are batting .331 as a team, paced by junior John Spikerman's .486 average. Graduate transfer Michael Snyder leads the team with 13 RBIs, while Snyder, redshirt senior Kendall Pettis and junior Jackson Nicklaus have each homered twice in the early season to lead OU.

• On the mound, the Oklahoma pitching staff has 114 strikeouts to 54 walks. Their strikeouts per nine innings number (11.7 K/9) ranks in the top 20 in the country.

• Seven Sooners have homered so far in the early season for a total of 10 team blasts, led by Nicklaus, Pettis and Snyder's two each.

• Thirteen Sooners have brought in at least one run, with five plating at least seven.

• The Washington transfer Snyder is off to a hot start as a Sooner, leading OU with a .750 slugging percentage, 13 RBIs and is tied for the team lead with two home runs.

• Junior LHP transfer Braden Davis has been solid in his three appearances as a Sooner, leading OU with 19 strikeouts in 13.0 innings pitched.

• Sophomore righty transfer Kyson Witherspoon paces the team with a 2.13 ERA in 12.2 IP to go with 11 strikeouts, while veteran lefty James Hitt has 17 K's in 10.2 innings pitched, highlighted by a single-game high for any OU pitcher with 10 vs. Nebraska (2/18).

• The pitching staff has recorded double-digit strikeouts in seven of OU's first 10 games with a season-high 15 twice (vs. Tennessee [2/17], vs. Wright State [2/24]).

• The Sooners have had 17 pitchers make appearances so far in 2024, with eight registering seven-or-more strikeouts, led by junior LHP Braden Davis' 19 and senior LHP James Hitt's 17.

• Head coach and pitching coach Skip Johnson and the Sooners have 22 pitchers on the roster in 2024.

LED BY THE VETS

• Veteran leadership in the field highlights the 2024 Oklahoma squad, paced by redshirt seniors Kendall Pettis and Michael Snyder, senior Anthony Mackenzie and juniors Jackson Nicklaus and John Spikerman.

• The five combine for 729 career games played and 672 starts. Production at the plate includes a combined 66 home runs, 121 doubles and 391 RBIs.

L. DALE MITCHELL PARK EXPANSION PROJECT

• The Oklahoma baseball facility enhancement project will transform the look of the ballpark from both the interior bowl and the exterior of the stadium. New locker rooms, training areas, coaches offices and team meeting areas combined with chairback seating, terraced berms and additional awnings and concourses will provide a first-class facility for fans and student-athletes. In addition, a new, state-of-the-art performance and player development center will be added. A new entry to the team areas will include a Champions Lobby, displaying the success and tradition of the Oklahoma baseball program.

• More than 35,000 in square-foot-space of new areas benefiting student-athlete performance and recovery including a robust medical services area, weight room and sports science to centralize student-athlete training at the baseball field.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma baseball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Baseball) and like Oklahoma Baseball on Facebook.