Sooners Host Rebels for Top-25 Series

NORMAN – No. 21 Oklahoma (30-13, 11-10 SEC) plays its fifth ranked conference series this weekend as the Sooners welcome No. 23 Ole Miss (32-13, 12-9) to Norman.

The series can be seen via SECN+ with Chad McKee, Blake Brewster and Carly Murray calling the action Friday night before Toby Rowland, Kendall Pettis and Murray are on the call for Saturday and Sunday's contests.

All games can be heard on the radio in Oklahoma on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF or nationwide on The Varsity app.

THE BASICS

• Oklahoma enters the game at 30-13 with a pair of top-10 non-conference wins and four SEC series on its resume. OU started the season 11-0, the program's best start since 2011. The Sooners are 4-3 in SEC series on the season, with all three series losses coming to top-15 opponents.

• OU is coming off a competitive road series at No. 9 Georgia where the Bulldogs took the final two games of the series after the Sooners won the series opener Thursday night behind another gem from ace Kyson Witherspoon.

• The Sooners head into the series as a consensus top-25 team in the nation, ranking No. 21 in this week's D1 Baseball poll. The team holds its highest rank in the NCBWA poll at No. 14 and rank No. 21 in both Baseball America and USA TODAY Coaches polls and No. 24 in Perfect Game's ranks. Oklahoma currently sits at No. 23 in the NCAA RPI.

• This weekend marks a rematch of the 2022 CWS Championship Series where the Rebels beat the Sooners in two games for their first national title. Ole Miss comes to Norman for the first time since a two-game series in 1994. The Rebels hold the all-time record 6-2 over OU and have won the last four contests against the Sooners.

• Probable Pitching Matchups: FRI: OU RHP Kyson Witherspoon (8-2, 2.35 ERA) vs. OM LHP Hunter Elliott (6-2, 3.83 ERA); SAT: OU LHP Cade Crossland (3-3, 6.55 ERA) vs. OM RHP Riley Maddox (5-3, 5.36 ERA); SUN: OU RHP Malachi Witherspoon (3-5, 4.89 ERA) vs. OM RHP Mason Nichols (3-1, 5.40 ERA).

#23 Ole Miss at #21 Oklahoma
Dates: May 2-4
Times (CT): 6:30 p.m./4 p.m./2 p.m.
Location: Norman
Ballpark: L. Dale Mitchell Park

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Game Notes

FOR THE FANS

• Tickets for this weekend's series are available via SoonerSports.com/tickets.

• Friday's game will feature postgame fireworks as is every home Friday night in SEC play.

• Saturday will be Derby Day at the ballpark, a theme to go with Saturday's Kentucky Derby. OU Baseball Derby-themed trucker hats will be available at the gate Saturday on a first-come basis.

• Sunday's feature, as is every Sunday at the ballpark, is Sooner Sunday where families can get four general admission tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and one popcorn for $40.

LAST TIME OUT

• In its second top-15 series on the road and fourth ranked series overall, Oklahoma dropped two of three at UGA after taking the opener, 8-6.

• Thursday's game one saw OU RHP Kyson Witherspoon hurl another gem, going seven innings of one-run ball and scattering five hits to go with eight strikeouts to two walks. Junior Dayton Tockey had a career day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs before exiting in the eighth due to an injury sustained sliding into second.

• Oklahoma nearly erased a seven-run deficit to in game two, but the rally ended just short as the Bulldogs tied the series with a 10-9 win on Friday. Trailing by six runs and being no-hit through four innings, the Sooners outscored UGA 9-4 through the final five innings.

• UGA took the rubber match on Saturday, 6-3. OU RHP Malachi Witherspoon went six innings, surrendering one earned run on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. It was the third straight start with at least seven strikeouts for Witherspoon. Senior catcher Scott Mudler batted in all three of OU's runs in the contest as OU held a 2-1 lead through five innings before the high-powered UGA offense hit four home runs to take the series.

• Playing against his big brother Kolby for the first time in their careers, freshman Kyle Branch had an exceptional weekend at the plate, going 5-for-12 (.417) with two RBIs.

AT THE PLATE

• The Sooners are outscoring opponents 319-213. Four starters are batting above .300 on the season in junior Trey Gambill (.319), sophomore Jaxon Willits (.315), freshman Kyle Branch (.311) and junior Easton Carmichael (.310).

• OU has utilized the long ball, hitting 52 home runs on the year. The Sooners have homered in 29 of OU's 43 games, including 22 of the last 31 and have 15 multi-homer games. Carmichael paces OU with 10 long balls on the year, followed closely by Willits' nine.
• Oklahoma ranks first in the SEC with 14 triples on the year (31st nationally). Carmichael and Willits are tied for the team lead with three each, good for a tie of fourth in the SEC.

GOOD EYE

• OU ranks sixth in the SEC and 39th in the country in walks drawn, averaging 5.6 BB per game.

• Sam Christiansen ranks third in the conference and 21st in the country with 43 walks drawn. Trey Gambill ranks third in the league and 16th nationally in BB/game, drawing 1.03 BB per contest. Christiansen (1.0 BB/G) is close behind, ranking fourth and 21st in the league and country, respectively.

• In league play, OU ranks first with 120 walks drawn. Only two other teams have drawn more than 100, one being this weekend's opponent in Ole Miss who ranks second with 105.

• A direct correlation, OU ranks second in SEC play in on-base percentage (.397) and a pair of Sooners rank among the top of the league in the category in Jaxon Willits (1st, .490) and Trey Gambill (3rd, .482),

• Number to note: When Oklahoma draws five or more walks this season, the team's record is 24-6.

ON THE MOUND

• The pitching staff ranks 33rd in the country with a 4.40 team ERA. Kyson Witherspoon's 2.35 ERA ranks second in the conference and 21st nationally.

• OU's pitchers have struck out 428 batters on the year and have 19 double-digit strikeout games on the season. Kyson Witherspoon paces all Sooners with four double-digit K games individually.

• OU has surrendered double-digit runs just six times on the year. 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.

• As a team, OU ranks 17th in the country in strikeouts per nine innings (10.5) and 16th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.74), striking out 428 batters to 156 walks.

RANKINGS CHATTER

• Oklahoma dropped to No. 21 in this week's D1Baseball poll after its series loss to now-No. 9 Georgia last weekend. After starting the season unranked, Oklahoma has vaulted into the polls, including spending weeks in the top 10. The Sooners made their debut at No. 16 on Feb. 24 after the Round Rock sweep, and have since been ranked 13th, 12th, 10th, 9th , 10th, 19th,18th, 14th and 21st this week.

• The Sooners are a consensus top-25 squad across the board, holding their highest ranking in the Baseball NCBWA poll (No. 14).

• The remaining schedule for the Sooners features a pair of weekend series versus teams currently in the D1Baseball top 25 (vs. No. 23 Ole Miss [5/2-4], vs. No. 1 Texas [5/15-17])

• The SEC leads all conferences with 10 of this week's D1Baseball top 25 teams, including two of the top five, four of the top 10 and eight of the top 20.

• The Sooners are 6-9 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.

UP NEXT

• OU's final midweek game of the season was canceled last Tuesday due to inclement weather in Norman, so the Sooners play a pair of SEC series to close the regular season.

• The stretch run begins at Kentucky, May 9-11, before OU hosts Red River rival and No. 1-ranked Texas in Norman, May 15-17, for the regular season series finale.

K'S WITH KYSON

• OU's pitching rotation is headlined by 2025 Preseason All-SEC RHP Kyson Witherspoon, who is 8-2 this season in 11 starts with a 92-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

• His eight wins rank tied for first in the SEC and sixth nationally. His K/BB ratio (6.57) is first in the conference and 13th nationally.

• The Golden Spikes Midseason Watch List honoree has struck out a career-high 12 batters in two of his 11 starts and recorded double-digit strikeouts in four outings. He has seven or more strikeouts in eight of his 11 starts and has surrendered more than three earned runs in just three appearances and six hits or less in all 11 games. The righty has one individual shutout on the season, a seven-inning complete game performance in a run-rule win over Vanderbilt. He has combined on one other SO.

• Witherspoon ranks seventh in the country and third in the SEC in strikeouts with 92 and sixth in the conference and 17th in the nation in K/9 (12.74).

• The righty is second in the SEC with a 2.35 ERA which sits at 21st in the nation. His 0.92 WHIP is good for second in the league (16th nationally).

• Witherspoon has been the pitcher of record in 10 of his 11 starts (8-2) and his two losses came vs. fellow elite arms in Mississippi State's Pico Kohn (10 K; 3/21) and LSU's Kade Anderson (14 K; 4/3). OU lost the games by narrow margins of 2-1 and 2-0, respectively.

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