FIRST PITCH
•OU hits the road for a three-game Big 12 series at BYU (15-18, 6-12 Big 12) in Provo, Utah, this weekend. Thursday and Friday's first pitches are set for 7 p.m. CT before a 2 p.m. CT start Saturday.
•All three games can be watched via Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ and heard locally in Oklahoma on SportsTalk 1400 AM/99.3 FM or nationwide on The Varsity app.Josh Helmer will be on the OU radio call. Live stats can be found at OUStats.com.
•The Sooners enter the weekend with a 21-14 record and 11-4 record in conference play, good for a tie of first place in the Big 12 standings.
LEADING OFF
•Now over the halfway mark of the season, the Sooners hold a 21-14 record, highlighted by a top-10 win over then-No. 9 Tennessee, a walk-off victory over former conference foe Nebraska and conference sweeps over UCF, then-No. 12 TCU and Kansas State.
•The Sooners started 6-0 in Big 12 play, good for the best start in conference play since the 2018 team started 8-1. The Sooners sit tied for first in the conference standings and are tied for the most Big 12 wins of any conference team with 11 (11-4).
•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 210-146 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 NUMBERS
•On the season, the Sooners are batting .309 as a team, good for second in the Big 12, paced by junior Jackson Nicklaus' .378 clip, who also leads the team and Big 12 with his .511 on-base clip. Graduate transfer Michael Snyder leads the team with 41 RBIs, while him and Nicklaus each have seven home runs on the year to pace OU. Senior Bryce Madron has drawn a team-best 30 walks and leads the Big 12 with 45 runs scored. Snyder holds the team lead with 14 doubles, followed closely by Easton Carmichael's 11.
•On the mound, the Oklahoma pitching staff has a 5.31 team ERA with 346 strikeouts to 168 walks.
•11 Sooners have homered so far in the early season for a total of 44 team blasts, led by Nicklaus and Snyder's seven, while seven other Sooners have three or more.
•10 Sooners have brought in at least 10 runs, with eight plating at least 20 runs.
•Junior LHP transfer Braden Davis has been solid in his nine starting appearances as a Sooner, leading OU with 56 strikeouts in 45.2 innings pitched.
•Sophom*ore righty transfer Kyson Witherspoon paces the starting pitchers with a 3.51 ERA in 41.0 IP to go with 47 strikeouts, while junior transfer Brendan Girton has 36 strikeouts in 27.0 innings pitched.
•Graduate transfer LHP Grant Stevens leads OU with five wins (5-0 record), good for third in the conference.
•The pitching staff has recorded double-digit strikeouts in 19 of OU's 35 games with a season-high 15 three times (vs. Tennessee [2/17], vs. Wright State [2/24], vs. West Virginia [3/22]).
•The Sooner arms have thrown three shutouts in 35 games played in 2024, already surpassing last season's total of two in 60 games. The three shutouts rank second in the Big 12 and 17th nationally.
•The Sooners have had 18 pitchers make appearances so far in 2024, with 13 registering 10-or-more strikeouts and seven surpassing the 20 K mark, led by junior LHP Braden Davis' 56 and sophom*ore RHP Kyson Witherspoon's 47.
•Head coach and pitching coach Skip Johnson and the Sooners have 22 pitchers on the roster in 2024.
MORE NOTES & NUGGETS
•Kendall Pettis currently sits 10th on the the program top-10 list with 54 career stolen bases. Coincidentally, Pettis is one SB ahead of OU assistant coach Todd Butler who had 53 in his two seasons at OU from 1987-88 (including a program record 46 in '87). Pettis is tied with OU associate head coach Reggie Willits' career mark of 54 for 10th in program history.
•Senior Bryce Madron has drawn 91 career walks as a Sooner in just two seasons in Norman. His 91 number currently ranks inside the top 20 in program history and is just 14 BB shy of the top 10. Madron's 61 walks drawn in 2023 ranked fourth in program single-season history.
•Redshirt senior LHP Carter Campbell currently sits tied for sixth in program history with 79 career appearances. Fellow senior Carson Atwood holds 74 career appearances, good for 10th in school annals.
•Junior Jackson Nicklaus has hit 24 career home runs in his three years as a Sooner, good for 19th in program history. Nicklaus is just six shy of cracking the program top-10 list.
•6-4, 226-pound redshirt senior Michael Snyder has stolen four bases on four attempts already in 2024 after not registering a stolen base in four seasons at the University of Washington, a testament to OU and associate head coach Reggie Willits' 'CHAOUS' brand of baseball, creating havoc on the base paths.
•Five Sooners hold double digit multi-hit games on the season, led by sophom*ore Easton Carmichael's 17 games with multiple hits. Anthony Mackenzie is close behind with 13, while Bryce Madron, Michael Snyder and Jackson Nicklaus hold 11 game marks. Nicklaus holds OU's single-game high of four hits (vs. Lamar, 3/28).
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT
•The Sooners meet the BYU Cougars for just the 11th time in program history, holding the all-time lead 8-2.
•This weekend's series will mark the first conference series vs. new-Big 12 member BYU and also mark the first games played at campus sites, as the previous 10 matchups have all been played in neutral locations.
•The teams first met in 1971 and most recently for a four-game series in Las Vegas in 2015 that saw the Sooners win three of four.
•The 2024 Cougars enter the weekend 14-18 with a 6-12 mark in Big 12 play, after getting swept by Baylor last weekend in Provo.
•Sophom*ore catcher Collin Reuter paces the team with a .323 batting average, while infielder Easton Jones leads the team with nine home runs. On the mound, LHP Mason Olson paces the staff with 47 strikeouts.
LAST TIME OUT
•Oklahoma went 4-0 last week, highlighted by a three-game conference sweep of Kansas State in Norman.
•The Sooners offensive power was on display as OU registered 18 extra-base hits, including five home runs on the weekend.
•OU won Friday's matchup 12-5, before a series-clinching 11-4 victory Saturday and 8-7 sweep-securing win on Sunday.
•Scott Mudler played hero on Sunday, recording the walk-off RBI single to score Anthony Mackenzie and keep the Sooners atop the Big 12 standings at 11-4.
•OU's pitching and defense did their part, with the OU arms registering 30 strikeouts to just six walks and 15 earned runs. The defense committed just one error in the field.
RECAPPING THE SEASON'S START
•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 season-opening 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.
•The Sooners opened Big 12 play in dominant fashion, sweeping a UCF team that came to Norman at 9-1 and fresh off a win at No. 4 Florida.
•Oklahoma stayed unbeaten in conference play with an impressive three-game sweep of No. 12 TCU in Fort Worth. It marked OU's first sweep of TCU at Lupton Stadium and first sweep over the Horned Frogs since 2013.
•The Sooners have suffered a pair of injuries to starters CF John Spikerman (hand) and DH/OF Carter Frederick (thumb). The two sustained injuries following the TCU series (March 15-17) but are expected to return by the end of the regular season if not before.
•OU dropped home series' to West Virginia and Lamar and was narrowly edged by OSU in Stillwater two weekends ago, but have rebounded with a four-game win streak, including last weekend's sweep of Kansas State in Norman.
•Fans have tuned in and showed out for the trending Sooners, with attendance records being set at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman. On home-opening weekend, the fan base set records for: largest opening day attendance, largest student attendance and largest opening series attendance.
•4,177 fans attended the midweek Bedlam matchup on March 12, ranking second all-time in program single game attendance.
•Last Saturday vs. Kansas State, 4,011 fans showed up for OU's win, ranking third all-time in program single game attendance.
UP NEXT
•OU returns to L. Dale Mitchell Park for a four-game homestand, welcoming Wichita State in the midweek before the Red River Rivalry series comes to Norman, April 26-28.
•The Sooners look to sweep the season series vs. the Shockers next Tuesday, as OU has beaten WSU twice already this season. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
•OU-Texas will serve as alumni weekend with numerous former Sooners set to attend the showdown. Tickets can be purchased via SoonerSports.com/tickets.
LED BY THE VETS
•Veteran leadership in the field highlights the 2024 Oklahoma squad, paced by redshirt seniors Kendall Pettis and Michael Snyder, seniors Anthony Mackenzie and Bryce Madron, and juniors Jackson Nicklaus and John Spikerman.
•The six combine for 931 career games played and 873 starts. Production at the plate includes a combined 98 home runs, 169 doubles and 549 RBIs.
RANKINGS CHATTER
•The Sooners made their season debut in the polls the week of March 18, earning spots in all five major polls. OU made its return to the ranks this week (April 15), jumping into the Baseball America poll at No. 25. The team is receiving votes in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and NCBWA rankings.
•Oklahoma holds the No. 1 strength of schedule in the nation, already playing seven ranked opponents, going 5-2 in such games.
•OU ranks 20th in the latest NCAA RPI, having been as high as third this season.
•OU is an undefeated 5-0 in games vs. 2023 Men's College World Series participants, beating No. 9 Tennessee, a three-game sweep of No. 12 TCU and a run-rule win over Oral Roberts.
THE SKIPPER SURPASSES 200 WINS AT OU
•OU head coach Skip Johnson collected his 200th career victory at Oklahoma on March 15 with OU's 7-3 win at No. 12 TCU.
•Oklahoma is in its seventh season under the direction 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 210-146record, 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.
•Johnson holds 624career wins as a head coach, earning 414 at Navarro (TX) College before making the jump to Division I baseball where he's won 210at OU.
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 more information and to donate to the L. Dale Mitchell project, visit The Sooner Club.
For updates and more information on Oklahoma baseball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Baseball) and likeOklahoma Baseballon Facebook.
