Sooners Welcome Missouri to Norman

Friday, April 17

5:30 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Missouri

April 16, 2026 | Baseball

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NORMAN – No. 14 OU (24-12, 7-8 SEC ) welcomes Missouri (20-17, 3-12) to Kimrey Family Stadium this weekend for the sixth conference series of the season. Friday's game time has been pushed up one hour to 5:30 p.m. CT before a 4 p.m. start on Saturday and 2 p.m. finale Sunday.

The series can be seen via SECN+ and heard on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF. Calling the action throughout the weekend will be Toby Rowland, Chad McKee, Rich Hills and Josh Helmer.

THE BASICS

• The Sooners enter the contest at 24-12 following a series win at Vanderbilt last weekend prior to a weather-shortened midweek loss to Oklahoma State Tuesday in Tulsa. OU's offense surged for 24 runs on 31 hits in Nashville, including 15 extra-base knocks and five home runs.

• This weekend's series will be the first between OU and Mizzou in Norman since a Sooner sweep in 2012 when the programs were conference foes in the Big 12.

• Oklahoma is ranked at No. 14 in this week's D1Baseball Top 25 and rank in the top 25 in four of five major polls, holding their highest ranking (No. 11) in the Baseball America poll.

• On the season, OU is outscoring opponents 252-167 and the pitching staff has a team ERA of 4.46 with 374 strikeouts to 152 walks.

• The Sooners started the season with a program-record seven straight games scoring double digits and have scored 10+ runs in 11 games.

• OU ranks in the top 30 nationally in a number of categories including hits allowed per nine innings (6th, 7.17), strikeouts per nine innings (14th, 11.0), WHIP (25th, 1.30), stolen bases (26th, 86) and fielding percentage (26th, .979).

• Probable Pitching Matchups: FRI: OU RHP LJ Mercurius (5-4, 4.98 ERA) vs. MIZ RHP Josh McDevitt (3-3, 3.69 ERA); SAT: OU LHP Cameron Johnson (4-1, 3.93 ERA) vs. MIZ LHP Brady Kehlenbrink (3-5, 6.56 ERA); SUN: OU LHP Cord Rager (2-1, 4.80 ERA) vs. MIZ TBA

FOR THE FANS

• Promotions abound for this weekend's series at Kimrey Family Stadium.

• Friday's series opener will be themed 'Fishin' in the Park' with foam bobbers and sunglass croakies as the giveaway. There will also be a raffle with fishing gear valued at $500. Happy Hour will also apply for Friday's game featuring $4 16 oz. beer from gates open up until first pitch.

• Saturday's game will be a part of 'Super Sooner Weekend' with numerous OU Athletics events being held on campus. The OU football spring game is at noon at Gaylord—Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and OU softball plays at 7 p.m.

• Sunday's contest is the annual 'Bark in the Park' when fans are encouraged to bring their dogs to the ballpark. The giveway will be Purina Beggin' Strips for fans' furry friends. Also Sunday will be postgame autographs and kids run the bases.

• Reserved tickets for Friday and Saturday's games are sold out. Standing room only tickets are still available online and at the gate on gameday. Limited tickets are available for Sunday's finale now on SoonerSports.com/tickets. For more information about Oklahoma baseball tickets, contact the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 405-325-2424, by email at outickets@ou.edu or by visiting SoonerSports.com/tickets.

• Students and fans unable to get a ticket inside the ballpark are allowed to sit on the outfield berms. Students are encouraged to gather on the berm beyond left field.

OPPONENT OUTLOOK

• The Sooners and Tigers have met over 250 times dating back to the 1940s with OU holding a 151-101 advantage.

• The last time the teams met was for the first series as SEC foes last season in Columbia as the Sooners swept the Tigers with all three-wins coming via run rule.

• OU last welcomed Mizzou to Norman in 2012, a three-game sweep by the Sooners.

• The Tigers are paced at the plate this season by Tyler Macon, batting .344, while Jase Woita has seven home runs to lead the team.

• On the bump, RHP Josh McDevitt leads the team with a 3.69 ERA in nine starts to go with 60 strikeouts.

IN LEAGUE PLAY

• OU is near the top of the SEC in numerous statistical categories in league play.

• The Sooners have turned 16 double plays in SEC play to lead the conference and the team is third in fielding percentage with a .980 clip.

• As a team, OU is sixth in league play in batting average (.261) and the pitching staff ranks seventh in strikeouts (154).

• Individual highlights include Brendan Brock leading the league in stolen bases in conference play with 11. The junior stole six bags on six attempts last weekend at Vanderbilt to take the league lead. Also pacing the league (T-1st) in saves is RHP Jackson Cleveland with three.

• Camden Johnson has 19 RBIs in SEC competition to rank third in the conference and just five from the lead.

• Trey Gambill ranks third in the conference in SEC play for on-base percentage, holding a .529 mark. The senior also is tied for third with six doubles in conference play.

ON THE BUMP

• OU's weekend rotation of RHP junior LJ Mercurius, LHP junior Cameron Johnson and LHP freshman Cord Rager have combined for 150 strikeouts to 56 walks and 56 ER on the year.

• UNLV transfer LJ Mercurius who was a part of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this past summer, has transitioned smoothly to Oklahoma in his starter role, holding a 4.98 ERA with a team-high 62 strikeouts.

• In Mercurius' OU debut on opening weekend vs. Oklahoma State, the righty fanned a career-high tying 12 batters while allowing just one run on three hits.

• Mercurius is 5-4 on the year and the righty has one complete game, a seven-inning one-hitter vs. Gonzaga on Feb. 28.

• Johnson is 4-1 and has registered at least seven strikeouts in six of his nine starts on the year and has two appearances with zero walks allowed. The lefty has 53 strikeouts.

• Sunday starter and freshman Cord Rager out of Maypearl, Texas, has 35 K's to 13 walks on the season with a 2-1 record.

• Along with the starting pitching, OU's bullpen has been impactful. Senior transfer Jackson Cleveland has taken on a closer role with six saves on the year to tie for the most in the SEC. The Miami transfer has 14 appearances and has struck out 19 in his 21.2 innings. Sophomore transfer Kadyn Leon has made 15 appearances and one start and allowed eight runs in 21.0 IP to go with 23 strikeouts.

• Junior Jason Bodin, who made 31 relief appearances in 2025 to rank second in the SEC, has made 13 appearances in 2026 and ranks tied for third on the team with three victories (3-1). He has 27 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.

• Seventeen arms have seen the mound for Coach Skip Johnson, with six pitchers outside the weekend rotation making at least one start.

• The staff's 4.46 team ERA ranks 45th in the country. The group's 1.30 WHIP ranks 25th in the nation.

• The OU arms have already registered five shutouts in 2026, eclipsing the three total the team had in 2025.

AT THE PLATE

• Through 36 games OU is outscoring the opposition 252-167 (7.0 runs/game). The offense is batting .280 with 118 extra-base hits to opponents' 82.

• All seventeen Sooners that have made a plate appearance this season has registered a hit.

• Senior Trey Gambill paces the starters with a .330 batting average, while Jaxon Willits follows with a .310 average. Brock leads OU with eight home runs while Gambill and Camden Johnson each have five long balls. Twelve Sooners have combined for 36 blasts.

• The Sooners have homered in 21 of 36 games.

• OU ranks third in the SEC with nine triples on the season.

• The team started the season with a program-record seven straight games scoring double digits and have scored 10+ runs in 11 games.

• Plate discipline has been key to the OU offense as the Sooners rank 43rd in the country and eighth in the SEC in walks drawn with 198. Five Sooners have recorded 20-plus walks, led by Gambill's 30.

RANKINGS CHATTER

• The Sooners come in at No. 14 in this week's D1Baseball top 25 and rank in the top 25 in four of five major polls (D1, Baseball America, NCBWA and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll). OU holds its highest ranking (No. 11) in the Baseball America poll.

• OU is 4-6 in ranked matchups in 2026 with two wins over top-25 Texas A&M, one over No. 16 Alabama and takedown of then-No. 10 TCU on Opening Weekend. A season ago, OU went 11-15 in ranked matchups.

LAST TIME OUT IN SEC PLAY

• OU took the series at Vanderbilt last weekend in Nashville, winning two of three over the Commodores. It was OU's first wins over Vandy in Nashville in program history.

• After dropping the series opener 10-5 despite a career-high 13 strikeouts from starter LJ Mercurius, the Sooners turned around to take two straight and win the series. OU won a wild 13-11 game two highlighted by a pair of home runs from Camden Johnson and two grand slams in the game. In Saturday's rubber match, OU's bullpen held down the Vanderbilt offense and the Sooner bats came up clutch in a 6-5 win. Jason Walk hit his first home run of the season to give OU an early lead.

• The Sooners moved to 3-2 in SEC series on the year with two of the three wins coming on the road.

• OU moved to 6-3 in one-run games this season with the 6-5 Saturday victory.

• Camden Johnson had a career game on Friday, hitting two home runs to go with seven RBIs. It was the junior's first career multi-home run game and first career grand slam. His career-best seven RBIs were the most by a Sooner since 2024.

• OU's two grand slams in game two (Camden Johnson, Deiten Lachance) marked the first time OU has accomplished the feat since 2022.

• Deiten Lachance hit his first home run of the season on Thursday and followed it up with his second blast in Friday's game two.

UP NEXT

• The Sooners meet Oral Roberts on Tuesday at Kimrey Family Stadium for the final home midweek matchup of the season. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT and can be seen via SECN+ and heard on the radio via The REF 99.3/1400 AM.

• Up next in the SEC will be a series at Auburn, April 24-26. All three games of the series can be seen on SECN+.

• Season and single game tickets for the 2026 season at Kimrey Family Stadium are available now on SoonerSports.com/tickets. For more information about Oklahoma baseball tickets, contact the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 405-325-2424, by email at outickets@ou.edu or by visiting SoonerSports.com/tickets.

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