OU Opens Conference Play vs. UCF

Oklahoma

UCF

March 8-10 / Norman, Okla. / L. Dale Mitchell Park

FIRST PITCH

• Oklahoma opens conference play this weekend, March 8-10, facing off against new Big 12 foe UCF. After game time changes due to impending weather in Norman, the series will be played Friday at noon CT, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at noon.

• The series 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.

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

• For the Fans: Saturday highlights the weekend promotions with 'Rock and Roll Day' featuring free 'CHAOUS Home Tour' t-shirts on a first-come, first-serve basis. Pregame Saturday will also feature a live band. Goodwill of Oklahoma will serve as this weekend's game sponsor, encouraging fans to bring old shirts to donate for a good case. Every home Sunday is 'Sunday Funday' where kids can run the bases postgame.

• The Sooners enter conference play at 6-5 following Tuesday night's 5-3 win over Wichita State. Entering its 27th and final season in the Big 12 conference, Oklahoma is 352-318-2 all time in conference play.

LEADING OFF

• The Sooners have opened the season with a 6-5 record, highlighted by a top-10 win over then-No. 9 Tennessee and a walk-off victory over former conference foe Nebraska.

• 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 195-137 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

• UCF: The Sooners hold the edge over the Knights all-time, 4-3. This weekend marks the first time the Black & Gold will play in Norman with the seven previous matchups coming in the states of Florida or Texas.

• The Sooners took two out of three for a series win over the Knights the last time the teams met in Orlando in 2018.

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.

• In Tuesday's midweek matchup vs. Wichita State, sophomore catcher Easton Carmichael homered and had 3 RBIs to pace OU. On the mound, Will Carsten was productive in his first start of the season, going three innings and allowing no runs and just one hit.

THE NUMBERS

• On the season, the Sooners are batting .330 as a team, paced by junior John Spikerman's .476 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. Sophomore Easton Carmichael has found his rthymn as well, batting .442 with 12 RBIs and a homer.

• On the mound, the Oklahoma pitching staff has 120 strikeouts to 56 walks. Their strikeouts per nine innings number (11.2 K/9) ranks in the top 25 in the country.

• Eight Sooners have homered so far in the early season for a total of 11 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 .730 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 734 career games played and 677 starts. Production at the plate includes a combined 66 home runs, 121 doubles and 391 RBIs.

LAST RODEO IN THE BIG 12

• 2024 marks Oklahoma's final season in the Big 12 conference with the school's impending move to the SEC for the 2024-25 academic year.

• All-time, the Sooners are 352-318-2 in Big 12 play dating back to the inaugural baseball season in 1997.

• The Sooners hold a combined 27 conference titles, winning the regular season crown 22 times and the conference tournament five times. Most recently, OU won the tournament in Arlington in 2022.

• With the addition of new Big 12 members UCF, BYU, Cincinnati and Houston, Oklahoma plays 30 conference games in 2024, compared to 24 in years past. OU meets three of the four new additions this season in UCF, BYU and Cincy.

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.

FIRST PITCH

LEADING OFF

SERIES HISTORY

RECAPPING THE START TO THE SEASON

THE NUMBERS

LED BY THE VETS

LAST RODEO IN THE BIG 12

L. DALE MITCHELL PARK EXPANSION PROJECT

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Easton Carmichael

Will Carsten

Braden Davis

James Hitt

Anthony Mackenzie

Jackson Nicklaus

Kendall Pettis

Michael Snyder

John Spikerman

Kyson Witherspoon

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics