Week 14 Sooner Baseball Report: Coming in cold to face the Longhorns
Swept at unranked Kentucky, coach Skip Johnson's team left to make hay against Red River rival and third-ranked Texas
The Skinny
Two years ago Texas was ranked and Oklahoma wasn’t, nor were the Sooners any kind of sure bet to reach the NCAA regional draw. Nevertheless, OU headed south to face the Longhorns and came away with an unlikely sweep.
Beginning Thursday, it will be an ailing band of Sooners, losers of four straight, playing host to the Longhorns, looking to repeat the achievement of the ’23 squad.
This time it ought to be easier, right?
After all, they’re at home, right?
Maybe, but in ’23 Texas was ranked a pedestrian 14th in the nation. This time, the Longhorns are No. 3 (or No. 2 if you prefer the writers’ poll) and have spent ample time at No. 1, too.
OU has not quite cracked the top 10 this season and, momentarily, is ranked in only one poll, which you can read all about below.
Sooner pitching and hitting is shaky coming out of being swept at Kentucky. Texas is licking wounds, too, having scored eight runs total over three games and two losses against Florida, even in Austin.
Both teams should be angry, yet only OU appears to have serious issues with its starting pitching … more on that below, too.
The Sooners have spent the season remaining in front of the the curve, however tenuously, through their first SEC season. Yet, for the first time, following Sunday’s loss to the Wildcats, they’re stuck below .500 (13-14) in their new conference.
They haven’t been a team to stay down long this season, nor has the opponent been so tough when trying to rebound previously.
It feels like much is on the line.
The Schedule
Last week
— lost to Kentucky 4-3
— lost to Kentucky 8-5
— lost to Kentucky 7-2
This week
— vs. Texas, 6:30 p.m. Thursday
— vs. Texas, 6:30 p.m. Friday
— vs. Texas, 2 p.m. Saturday
Record: 32-17 (13-14 SEC)
Streak: Lost 4'
Team numbers
Entering last week
Games: 46
Batting avg: .286
On-base pct: .402
Slugging pct: .471
Home runs: 54
Triples: 17
Doubles: 82
Stolen bases: 101
Caught stealing: 23
ERA: 4.31
SO/IP: 463/395
Fielding pct: .973
Errors: 43
Unearned runs allowed: 34
Entering this week
Games: 49
Batting avg: .283
On-base pct: .397
Slugging pct: .462
Home runs: 56
Triples: 17
Doubles: 85
Stolen bases: 104
Caught stealing: 23
ERA: 4.47
SO/IP: 481/419
Fielding pct: .974
Errors: 44
Unearned runs allowed: 234
Individual leaders
Batting average: Easton Carmichael .318, Kyle Branch .315
On-base pct: Trey Gambill .474, Sam Christiansen .462
Slugging pct: Easton Carmichael .586, Jaxon Willits .519
RBIs: Easton Carmichael 52, Jaxon Willits 40
Home runs: Easton Carmichael 13, Jaxon Willits 9
Triples: Jaxon Willits 3, Easton Carmichael 3, Jason Walk 3
Doubles: Jason Walk 12, Trey Gambill 10, Dawson Willis 10
Hits: Easton Carmichael 63, Kyle Branch 57
Runs: Jaxon Willits 51, Trey Gambill 44
Stolen bases: Jason Walk 16, Dawson Willis 16
ERA (minimum 20 innings): Dylan Crooks 1.40, Kyson Witherspoon 2.45
Wins: Kyson Witherspoon 9-2, Cade Crossland 4-4
Innings pitched: Kyson Witherspoon 77, Malachi Witherspoon 62
Strikeouts: Kyson Witherspoon 104, Malachi Witherspoon 72
Inside the numbers
• Power outage: Easton Carmichael leads the Sooners with 13 home runs, one against Kentucky last weekend. Scott Mudler also hit one against the Wildcats, his second of the season. Yet, OU’s next three most powerful hitters — Jason Willits (9 HRs), Jason Walk (7 HRs), Dayton Tockey (7 HRs) — haven’t gone deep since Tockey did it twice against Georgia on April 24. Meanwhile, Willits hasn’t gone deep since April 11 against Vanderbilt and Walk hasn’t since April 18 against Missouri.
• Willits still not right: After going 2 for 10 over three games against Kentucky, shortstop Jaxon Willits is 2 for 35 over his last 10 games, a span including a mid-week game against Oral Roberts followed by three-game series against Georgia, Ole Miss and Kentucky. Willits has driven in just one run over the span.
• Kyle the other bright spot: The Sooners may have two hot hitters right now. One is Carmichael, and the other is Kyle Branch, who’s on a five-game hitting streak and who just went 5 for 11 at Kentucky and who’s risen to the second spot on OU’s batting average list.
Notes of note
Sooners stuck on the mound?
It’s hard to imagine Sooner coach Skip Johnson upending his starting pitching rotation just as the No. 3 team in the nation’s about to descend upon his ballpark. On the other hand, if he’s ever going to do it, perhaps the last series of the regular season is the time to pull the trigger.
The numbers say he might want to.
Beyond Kyson Witherspoon, who’s earned run average is still 2.45 despite giving up a four-spot in the third inning against Kentucky last Friday, Nos. 2 and 3 are not getting it done.
Though Cade Crossland’s been terrific in moments, his ERA’s up to 6.62, higher than every Sooner on staff save Jacob Gholston and Brandon Cain, who’ve thrown just a combined 5 1/3 innings. Then there’s Malachi Witherspoon, Kyson’s brother, who’s claimed just one win the length of the conference season against hapless Missouri, whose ERA is 5.66, 11th highest among 16 Sooners to have thrown a pitch this season.
Making a move feels risky.
Not making one might be more risky.
Might Reid Hensley (3.08 ERA, 26 1/3 IP) or James Hitt (3.14 ERA, 28 2/3 IP) get a shot, or Michael Catalono (4.50 ERA, 24 IP) or Jason Bodin (4.96 ERA, 32 2/3 IP)?
We’ll see.
Rebound required
The Sooners had been high enough in the rankings and the RPI to hope to host a regional should they close the regular season strong. To get back in that conversation now would require sweeping No. 3 Texas.
As of right now, OU is not ranked in the coaches’ poll, not ranked in the D1Baseball poll, not ranked by Baseball America, yet is somehow still 16th in the NCBWA writers’ poll and No. 26 on the NCAA’s RPI list.
The Sooners are certainly still a regional two-seed were the NCAA draw to be determined today, yet just as certainly further away from earning regional hosting duties, which require being a top-16 national seed.
If they want to head back a new direction, it will require taking at least two of three games from the Longhorns.
Until next time …