Week 5 OU Baseball Report: It's a whole new ballgame as SEC play begins
We’re about to find out how good this Sooner baseball team really is.
Oklahoma’s played two then-top 10 opponents and beaten them both, Virginia and Oregon State. It has also fallen to 19th-ranked Dallas Baptist and looked horrendous doing it, getting two-hit and shut out last Tuesday on the Patriots’ home field.
After sweeping Sam Houston State, though not particularly comfortably, the Sooners take on Louisiana Tech (9-7) Wednesday before hitting the SEC road at South Carolina.
Here we go.
The Gamecocks (14-3) are not ranked, but if the USA Today coaches’ poll were carried out to all teams receiving votes, they’d be 29th. All three of their losses have come to the same opponent: No. 6 Clemson by 5-3, 5-1 and 8-2 scores.
Last weekend, over a three-game sweep of Moorhead State, the Gamecocks drew almost 19,000 fans into Founder’s Park. That number will only rise this weekend.
Good news for Sooner fans?
The last time OU saw a regular-season crowd like it’s about to see came in 2023 at Texas, when the Longhorns drew more than 22,000 over three games at Disch-Falk Field.
OU swept the series.
The Sooners may have a plate advantage, but perhaps not on the mound.
OU’s slash line is a collective .318/.423/.519 with a team earned run average of 3.59 against South Carolina’s .279/.398/.452 and 3.31.
Though the Gamecocks reside outside the coaches’ top 25, 11 other SEC teams beyond the Sooners are ranked: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Florida, No. 9 Texas, No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 15 Ole Miss, No. 16 Alabama, No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 23 Auburn.
Good gracious.
No breaks.
The Schedule
Last week
— lost to Dallas Baptist 11-0 (7 innings)
— def. Sam Houston 6-5
— def. Sam Houston 7-3
— def. Sam Houston 9-7
This week
— Louisiana Tech at OU, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
— OU at South Carolina, 6 p.m. Friday
— OU at South Carolina, 3 p.m. Saturday
— OU at South Carolina, 12:30 p.m. Sunday
Record: 14-1
Streak: Won 3
Team numbers
Entering last week
Games: 11
Batting avg: .330
On-base pct: .446
Slugging pct: .531
Home runs: 11
Triples: 7
Doubles: 25
Stolen bases: 33
Caught stealing: 7
ERA: 2.41
SO/IP: 112/97
Errors: 11
Fielding pct: .975
Unearned runs allowed: 3
Entering this week
Games: 15
Batting avg: .318
On-base pct: .423
Slugging pct: .519
Home runs: 15
Triples: 7
Doubles: 35
Stolen bases: 41
Caught stealing: 7
ERA: 3.59
SO/IP: 159/128
Fielding pct: .973
Errors: 14
Unearned runs allowed: 4
Individual leaders
Batting average: Jason Walk .385 (Kyle Branch .352)
On-base pct: Trey Gambill .541 (Sam Christiansen .516)
Slugging pct: Easton Carmichael .755 (Jason Walk .558)
RBIs: Easton Carmichael 17 (Jaxon Willits 14)
Home runs: Easton Carmichael 5 (Jaxon Willits 4)
Triples: Easton Carmichael 2, Sam Christiansen 2
Doubles: Jason Walk 6 (Tray Gambill 5, Dawson Willis 5)
Hits: Jason Walk 20 (Kyle Branch 19)
Runs: Jaxon Willits 18 (Easton Carmichael 15)
Stolen bases: Dawson Willis 7, Jason Walk 7
ERA (8 innings min.): Dylan Crooks 0.00 (Kyson Witherspoon 1.17)
Wins: Kyson Witherspoon 4-0 (Cam Johnson 2-0, Malachi Witherspoon 2-0)
Saves: Dylan Crooks 5 (Reid Hensley 1)
Innings pitched: Kyson Witherspoon 23 (Cam Johnson 18 1/3)
Strikeouts: Kyson Witherspoon 40 (Cam Johnson 20)
Inside the numbers
• Jaxon makes it work: Sooner shortstop Jaxon Willits is hitting .228, lowest among Sooner starters unless Scott Mudler’s counted, who’s started eight games. Nevertheless, Willits leads OU in runs scored (19) and is second in home runs (4) and RBIs (14). In last Sunday’s 9-7 victory over Sam Houston State, Willits managed to collect two RBIs while going 0 for 3, plating runs with a sacrifice fly and groundout.
• Who’s this year’s Pettis? : From 2022 to 2024, Sooner outfielder Kendall Pettis’ on-base percentage was never less than 122 points higher than his batting average and in 2022 it was a whopping 190 points higher when he hit .259 and reached base at a .449 clip. This season, two Sooners are bettering that spread: Trey Gambill’s hitting .341 with an on-base percentage of .551 and Sam Christiansen’s numbers are .325 and .516. Each has walked 17 times.
• Getting away with it: OU ranks 93rd in the nation in fielding percentage (.973) and has already committed 14 errors. Yet, be it via great pitching or plain dumb luck, those errors have only led to four unearned runs. If the Sooners can be so fortunate the whole season, they’ll be well ahead of the game.
Notes of note
Harris or Mudler?
One plays the outfield and the other catcher, so why would a choice come down between them.
Well, the Sooners count eight players to have started at least 13 games. Meanwhile, Scott Mudler has started in all eight games in which he’s appeared and Dasan Harris has started five of the 11 games in which he’s appeared.
Basically, when Mudler plays, Easton Carmichael vacates his catcher position but remains in the game, and when Harris plays, Mudler doesn’t.
The tide could be shifting toward Harris.
This past week, in two games against Sam Houston State, Harris went 3 for 7 at the plate, raising his average to .444 over 18 at bats, collecting a double, two RBIs and scoring a run.
Mudler, in one game at Dallas Baptist and one against Sam Houston State, went 1 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored, his batting average falling to .222.
Staff issue
OU claims one of the nation’s best starting pitchers in Kyson Witherspoon, who’s earned run average is 1.17, who’s struck out 40 in 23 innings and who’s the 26th top draft prospect, 16th among collegians, according to MLB.com.
Dylan Crooks has been rock solid in the closer’s role, having yet to allow a run and earning five saves. But the Sooners may need a set-up man and coach Skip Johnson’s been trying to establish Jason Bodin, who’s not cooperating.
Bodin appeared three times last week and not once fared well, facing Dallas Baptist once and Sam Houston State twice.
Against the Bearkats, he was pulled with two outs in the ninth inning, yielding the mound to Crooks after allowing a double.
Sunday, he failed to make it through the eighth inning, allowing three hits and two runs before Crooks came on to collect a four-out save.
Until next time …
I am hoping the round rock performance is an indicator of what this team can do when playing better competition, aside from the DBU disaster. Sam Houston was a solid club, but we should not have had to struggle as mightily as we did. One thing I heard was there was a cold/flu bug going through the locker room. Conference play will be interesting for sure and I think they will use the large crowds to their benefit.