Baseball Welcomes Sam Houston for Final Non-Conference Series

NORMAN – No. 13 Oklahoma (11-1) returns to L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman for its final non-conference series vs. Sam Houston (3-9) this weekend. The three-game set can be seen via SECN+ and heard in Oklahoma on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF or nationwide on The Varsity app with Josh Helmer (Fri.) Toby Rowland (Sun.) and alums Blake Brewster (Fri.) and Kendall Pettis (Sun.) on the call. After a schedule shift due to expected inclement weather in Norman on Saturday, the series has moved to one game Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT and a doubleheader Sunday starting at noon. Sunday's second game will be shortened to seven innings.

THE BASICS

• Oklahoma suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday at DBU after starting the season 11-0. OU's 11-0 start was the best since a program-record 16-0 start to the 2011 season.

• The Sooners have a pair of top-10 wins already in the early season. The Sooners' win over No. 2 UVA (2/23) was OU's highest-ranked victory since beating No. 1 Arkansas on March 16, 2021. OU won consecutive top-10 matchups (No. 7 Oregon State, No. 2 UVA) for the first time since beating No. 5 Texas Tech in back-to-back games in 2022.

• Oklahoma jumped three spots to No. 13 in this week's D1Baseball poll. The Sooners hold their highest ranking in the Baseball America poll, vaulting to No. 10 after previously being unranked in the poll. OU is No. 12 in the Perfect Game and USA TODAY Coaches polls and 19th in the NCBWA rankings.

• OU holds the advantage all-time vs. Sam Houston with an 8-6 record. This weekend's matchups will be the first meetings since a series in Huntsville, Texas, in 2016. The Bearkats have won five straight over the Sooners dating back to 2015. OU is 5-2 in games played in Norman.

Oklahoma vs. Sam Houston
Date: March 7 & 9
Times (CT): 6:30 p.m./DH at Noon
Location: Norman
Arena: L. Dale Mitchell Park

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FOR THE FANS

• Friday night is "Dale Dynasty" evening at Mitchell Park, playing off the famous country television show Duck Dynasty. The featured giveaway will be duck calls as fans exit the ballpark as no artificial noisemakers are allowed during gameplay. Fans are encouraged to wear camo to celebrate the theme night.

• Sunday is the program's annual "Bark in the Park" celebration with fans encouraged to bring their dogs to the ballpark. 'Beggin' Strips' will be the giveaway for fans and their furry friends.

• Tickets are available via SoonerSports.com/tickets. Tickets for Section 405, the new right field patio seating option, are available for $15.

EARLY SEASON REWIND

• Before suffering its first loss at No. 21 Dallas Baptist on Tuesday, OU started 11-0 for the first time since 2011. The Sooners opened the season with a three-game sweep of Lehigh before sweeping through the Round Rock Classic, highlighted by a pair of top-10 wins over No. 7 Oregon State (8-4) and No. 2 Virginia (5-4 [12 inn.]).

• Last week, Oklahoma won five games in six days at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman. The Sooners took two over Texas southern on Tuesday and Wednesday before a three-game series sweep over CSUN last weekend.

• In Tuesday's 11-0 midweek loss to Dallas Baptist, the Sooners allowed more than five runs for the first time this season. The Patriots hit four home runs on the Sooners after OU's pitching staff had surrendered just two entering the game.

• The Sooners are outscoring the opposition 94-40 and OU's pitchers have struck out 123 batters in the early season, holding a 3.23 ERA. This season marked the first time in program history the Sooners have started a season 11-0 and held each opponent to five runs or less.

• RHP Kyson Witherspoon has lived up to his preseason hype with a 28-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio in just 18 innings pitched. The Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List honoree is 3-0 and struck out a career-high 12 batters vs. Minnesota on Feb. 21. His 28 K's ranks 12th in the country.

• Last weekend, Oklahoma outscored CSUN 22-4 including a 9-0 shutout win in the opener on Friday, the Sooner pitching staff's first shutout of 2025. In OU's pair of midweek matchups vs. Texas Southern, the Sooners outscored the Tigers 20-8, including a 15-4 run-rule win in seven innings on Tuesday.

• At the Round Rock Classic, Kyson Witherspoon stole the show in the opener vs. Minnesota, striking out a career-high 12 batters with no walks and just three hits and one run allowed. After surrendering his only home run of the season to the leadoff batter in the first inning, Witherspoon retired 13 straight Gophers.

• Oklahoma handed No. 7 Oregon State their first loss of the season the following day, rallying from a 2-0 deficit to rattle off eight straight runs before OSU added a pair in the eighth to bring the final to 8-4. The offense was powered by home runs from Scott Mudler and Easton Carmichael.

• The Sooners completed the Round Rock sweep with a top-five win over No. 2 Virginia in 12 innings Sunday evening. After trailing 3-0 through three innings, Oklahoma rallied to take the lead in the seventh before UVA tied it in the eighth to send the game to extras. Junior Dawson Willis laid down a bunt with runners in scoring position in the bottom of the 12th and after an errant throw, OU's Brayden Horton raced home for the walk-off win. In nine innings of relief work, the Oklahoma bullpen surrendered one earned run on one hit with three walks and seven strikeouts.

• OU freshman Kyle Branch second baseman was named tournament MVP. The frosh hit .462 on the weekend (6-for-13) with a double, four RBIs and three runs scored, and made five putouts and three assists in the field, including a pair of pivotal diving stops. Branch came through with timely hitting numerous times on the weekend, registering a game-tying RBI single vs. Minnesota on Friday, a team-high three RBIs and three hits vs. OSU Saturday, and a pair of leadoff hits that led to runs scored vs. UVA in the finale. On the season, the Lucas, Texas, product is batting a team-high .452 with three extra-base hits and eight RBIs.

• The Sooners raced past Lehigh on opening weekend, outscoring the Mountain Hawks 36-8 in the three-game sweep.

THE NUMBERS

• The Sooner pitching staff was heralded throughout the preseason for its talent and potential heading into 2025. OU's weekend rotation of Kyson Witherspoon (Friday), Malachi Witherspoon (Saturday) and Cameron Johnson (Sunday) is off to a hot start, with Kyson collecting three wins in three starts to Malachi's two and Johnson's one.

• The staff ranks 29th in the country with its 3.23 team ERA and 35th with a 1.23 WHIP.

• OU's deep bullpen has been impressive early, surrendering 19 runs with a 60-to-20 K/BB ratio. The Sooners have utilized 10 bullpen arms so far in 2025. Senior Dylan Crooks looks to take on the closer role, already earning three saves in four appearances, striking out seven in seven innings of work.

• In the batter's box, freshman Kyle Branch has began his collegiate career on a tear, batting .386 with eight RBIs. Returning NCBWA All-American Easton Carmichael paces OU with 13 RBIs and is tied with sophomore shortstop Jaxon Willits for the team lead in home runs with three each. Redshirt sophomore transfer Sam Christiansen has impressed early, ranking first on the team and fifth in the country with 17 walks drawn. His .549 on-base clip and 1.130 OPS are good for team highs. His 1.41 BB/game is currently sixth in the NCAA.

• As an offense, the Sooners rank in the top 40 in the country in batting average (40th, .316), on-base percentage (39th, .432) triples (7th, 7) and stolen bases (12th, 33).

RANKINGS CHATTER

• After making the biggest jump of any team in the country in last week's D1Baseball poll from unranked to No. 16, the Sooners moved up another three spots in this week's D1 poll to No. 13.

• The Sooners made their largest jump of the season and hold their highest ranking in the Baseball America poll, coming in at No. 10 this week after previously being unranked.

• In the Perfect Game and USA TODAY coaches polls, OU ranks 12th. The Sooners are 19th in the NCBWA poll.

• The Sooners are 2-0 in ranked matchups in 2025 after going 4-1 in such games throughout the regular season in 2024, with all four wins coming against top-15 opponents.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES

• Junior right-handed pitcher Kyson Witherspoon has collected several preseason honors entering the 2025 season, including preseason All-America nods from four different outlets: Baseball America (second team), D1 Baseball (second team), NCBWA (second team) and Perfect Game (first team).

• Witherspoon was also named to the Preseason All-SEC Team as a second team selection. He was one of nine starting pitchers named to the first or second teams.

• Witherspoon and junior catcher Easton Carmichael were both named to the 2025 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. The award, given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the nation, announced the 55-player watch list last week. Oklahoma was tied for second with two players on the list.

• The Sooners were picked to finish 11th in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll by the conference's 16 head coaches. Texas A&M was predicted to win the 2025 conference crown, while five different schools received first place votes.

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