Skip Johnson offers first impressions of facing Nebraska
Rivals will meet again in the NCAA Baseball Tournament with Oklahoma and Nebraska set to face off in the Chapel Hill Regional on Friday. It will be the 36th meeting since the turn of the century for the former Big 12 foes, according to the Sooners’ website.
OU coach Skip Johnson offered his initial impressions on the Cornhuskers, which are coming off of their second straight Big Ten Tournament title. With the coaches Nebraska has on staff and the kind of fight it has shown at this time of year previously, Johnson knows the Sooners are in for a challenge.
“Great program, great coaches. They’ll be a great opportunity for us,” he said. “I mean, they’re really good. They’ve been playing really good lately. It’s a great program and they’ve been good for a long time. I think Rob Childress, the former head coach that was at A&M, he’s the pitching coach now. Will Bolt is the head coach. He played there and coached at A&M. Those guys do a great job. It’ll be a great opportunity for us for sure. They care a lot about baseball at Nebraska.”
Nebraska is on a hot streak after winning four straight games in the Big Ten Tournament to keep their season alive and make their 19th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cornhuskers have also won eight of their past 10 games dating back to the regular season.
Bolt played for Nebraska from 1999-2002 when Dave Van Horn was the coach. There he played against the Sooners many times, including a matchup in the 2000 Big 12 Tournament that the Cornhuskers won 3-1.
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Perhaps that will give him even more motivation heading into this regional matchup against the Sooners. OU and Nebraska last met each other on the diamond in 2024 with the Sooners claiming 7-6 victory in walk-off fashion.
Oklahoma will hope for similar results when the two teams square off this weekend. The Sooners are led by a pitching staff that includes ace Kyson Witherspoon, who has a 2.47 ERA and 120 strikeouts to just 20 walks across 91 innings pitched this season.
He’ll look to tame a Huskers offense that managed at least five runs in all four of its Big Ten Tournament games. First pitch for the contest between Oklahoma and Nebraska is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT on Friday at Boshamer Stadium in Chapel Hill.