SOONER BASEBALL PREVIEW: Diving deep into the Norman Regional, OU's first hosting gig since 2010
SOONER BASEBALL PREVIEW: Diving deep into the Norman Regional, OU's first hosting gig since 2010
The Skinny
It may not be true, but softball feels imminently more predictable than baseball.
On the smaller diamond, teams just tend to be better or worse.
Upsets do not abound.
On the big diamond?
A whole batting order can slump at the same time.
A fair to middling pitcher pitcher can catch lightning in a bottle and land a big upset all by himself.
Earlier this season, Lamar swept four straight games from Oklahoma, even at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Yet, failing to win the Southland Conference tournament, the Cardinal season is over while the team they swept dang near received a top eight national seed.
Indeed, baseball is a funny game.
So here we are, Oklahoma hosting a regional for the first time since 2010, which is ridiculous because no band of Sooners should go a dozen years without being a top-16 squad, and everything but the fact it just can’t seem to get the best of its Bedlam rival says OU should absolutely find its way back to Omaha after reaching the Men’s College World Series championship series just two short years ago.
That season, OU upset Florida at the Gainesville Regional, having to win an if-necessary game and parlayed it into being one of the last two teams standing. This season, in conference play at least, the Sooners have been dominant, going 23-7 against Big 12 foes, their .767 league winning percentage the best the conference has seen since TCU went 19-5 (.792) in 2016.
Before posting only three runs in the Big 12 tourney championship game against Oklahoma State, OU had won 11 of its previous 12 games, scoring at least eight runs in eight of those games. And just as Sooner bats quieted slightly at the conference tourney, Sooner pitching picked up, with Braden Davis throwing a complete game shutout at TCU, Sooner pitching allowing no earned runs in an error-plagued 7-5 victory over Kansas and, facing Kansas again, after spot starter Brendan Girton allowed six runs in an inning of work, Grant Stevens led a bullpen effort, throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings, helping the Sooners to an 8-6 victory.
Stevens may well have claimed skipper Skip Johnson’s open third-starter slot via the effort, as Davis and Kyson Witherspoon continue ably holding down the first two positions.
The hope for OU is to simply continue being the team it’s proven itself to be.
Five Sooners enter hitting better than .300 and the team as a whole’s batting .313.
Three Sooners, led by John Spikerman’s .386 average, enter hitting better than .350.
Every starter but Scott Mudler and Jaxon Willits carry an on-base percentage higher than .400, and Willits, a freshman, is hitting .327 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs over his last 29 games after a very slow start.
Michael Snyder must be mentioned, for the Sooner first baseman is enjoying a monster season, slashing .351/.462/.635, collecting 24 doubles, 10 home runs, driving in 55 and stealing a team-high 15 bases in 16 attempts. As should Easton Carmichael, who’s slashing .362/.406/.560, with 18 doubles, six home runs and 61 RBIs.
OU has what it needs.
It just needs to keep putting it together.
Last Week
Big 12 tournament
At Globe Life Field
Arlington, Texas
— def. TCU 4-0
— def. Kansas 7-5
— def. Kansas 8-6
— lost to Oklahoma State 9-3
Record: 37-19
Conference record: 23-7
Conference tournament record: 3-1
Streak: Lost 1
This week
NCAA Norman Regional
At L. Dale Mitchell Park
Friday, May 31
Game 1: Duke (39-18) vs. UConn (32-23), noon (ESPN+)
Game 2: Oklahoma (37-19) vs. Oral Roberts (27-30-1), 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, June 1
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m. (TBA)
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 8 p.m. (TBA)
Sunday, June 2
Game 5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 2 p.m. (TBA)
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 8 p.m. (TBA)
Monday, June 3
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary, TBA (TBA)
Sooner Numbers
Entering this week
Games: 56
Batting average: .313
On-base percentage: .412
Slugging percentage: .506
Home runs: 68
Doubles: 122
Triples: 22
Runs: 466
Stolen bases/attempts: 91/115
Earned run average: 5.22
Strikeouts/walks/innings pitched: 515/249/489 2/3
Hit batters: 48
Opponent batting average: .256
Fielding percentage: .968
Errors: 64
Unearned runs allowed: 52
Leaders
Batting average: John Spikerman .386 (Easton Carmichael .362)
On-base percentage: Michael Snyder .462 (John Spikerman .446)
Slugging percentage: Michael Snyder .635 (Bryce Madron .601)
Runs batted in: Easton Carmichael 61 (Michael Snyder 55)
Home runs: Bryce Madron 11 (Jackson Nicklaus 10, Jaxon Willits 10)
Triples: Easton Carmichael 5 (Michael Snyder 3, Bryce Madron 3, Scott Mudler 3, John Spikerman 3)
Doubles: Michael Snyder 24 (Easton Carmichael 18)
Hits: Easton Carmichael 84, Michael Snyder 74
Runs scored: Bryce Madron 65 (Easton Carmichael 55)
Stolen bases: Michael Snyder 15 (Bryce Madron 14)
Earned run average: Ryan Lambert 2.55; 21 APP; 17 2/3 IP (Reid Hensley 3.21; 17 APP, 14 IP)
Wins: Braden Davis 9-3; 4.31 ERA (Kyson Witherspoon 7-3; 4.01 ERA)
Saves: Malachi Witherspoon 6
Innings pitched: Braden Davis 85 2/3 (Kyson Witherspoon 74)
Strikeouts: Braden Davis 107 (Kyson Witherspoon 81)
The Field
Duke
Record: 39-18 (16-14 ACC)
Offense: .312/.416/.550, 112 HR, 117 2B, 10 3B, 491 R, 44/60 SB
Pitching: 4.55 ERA, 498 1/3 IP, 590 SO, 263 BB, 62 HB, .219 OBA
Defense: .981 FLD%, 38 errors, 30 unearned runs allowed
Notable: One look at the Blue Devils’ numbers and they don’t compute. Stolen bases and one point of batting average aside and they’re all better than OU’s. Yet, a little digging reveals that OU’s conference numbers — a slash-line of .327/.419/.543, for instance — trend dramatically upward, Duke’s go the other way: .291/.383/.504. So, don’t fret, the Blue Devils should be traveling and the Sooners are where they belong at home. One thing interesting about the Blue Devils? They’re bound to throw their whole pitching staff any game. A reliever, Charlie Beilenson — 59 IP, 32 APP, 1.98 ERA — leads the staff in all three categories. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils busiest starter, Jonathan Santucci, who began 12 games on the mound, and who’s ERA is a terrific 3.54, has still thrown just 56 innings.
UConn
Record: 32-23 (17-4 Big East)
Offense: .276/.376/.469, 79 HR, 107 2B, 7 3B, 361 R, 79/106 SB
Pitching: 4.95 ERA, 474 1/3 IP, 515 SO, 214 BB, 41 HB, .259 OBA
Defense: .977 FLD%, 44 errors, 38 unearned runs allowed
Notable: The Huskies do not enter hot. Though they won the Big East regular season championship by a full three games over St. John’s, they nonetheless exited the Big East postseason tournament after two quick losses to Xavier (3-2 in 11 innings) and Georgetown (10-9 in 10 innings). What makes UConn dangerous is power. The Huskies don’t hit for great average or get on base at an alarming rate, but they drive the ball, hitting 79 home runs and 107 doubles, led by 13 home runs from Luke Broadhurst, 12 from Maddix Dalena, 10 from both Korey Morton and Jake Studley and 8 from Matt Malcolm.
Oral Roberts
Record: 27-30-1 (13-15-1 Summit League)
Offense: .275/.374/.404, 48 HR, 93 2B, 10 3B, 378 R, 60/77 SB
Pitching: 5.56 ERA, 510 IP, 470 SO, 237 BB, 76 HB, .256 OBA
Defense: .976 FLD%, 49 errors, 32 unearned runs allowed
Notable: The Golden Eagles numbers are not, on their face, terrible. They’re offensively challenged, clearly, they don’t bring great power, but a .275 team batting average is not ridiculous and if they can just put a couple hits together, defend and run the bases well … you know? Still, we’re talking about a team that did not even break even in the Summit League, so they’re clearly running uphill. What you can say about ORU is it’s entering hot, having won three straight games to claim its conference tournament crown, outscoring opponents 36-7, getting plenty of hitting and pitching. The Golden Eagles will enter with confidence, at least … as well as a 3-1 victory over the Sooners the last time they met on April 30 (and a 10-0 loss the first time they met this season on March 26).