Oklahoma baseball hoping for consistency at BYU
Oklahoma Sooners baseball has positioned itself well. In a way, now the fun begins. It’s important to not give anything back following a weekend sweep of Kansas State. One of the many reasons why this weekend’s trip to Provo begins an important stretch for Skip Johnson’s club.
Finding ways to win weekends is important these days. Through five weekends of Big 12 play, Oklahoma has swept three series (most since 2018) and lost two. They sit atop the conference standings, which are quite a mess when you see eight teams within four games of the top speed. Moral of the story? The regular season title is up for grabs. Playing host to an NCAA Regional is within grasping distance.
“I think that’s what we’ve done really well. We’ve played really good in conference,” said Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson. “It’s kind of one of those deals where you go through a period in time where you play good and you feel like you’ve figured this thing out and all of the sudden you play bad and you’re like what happened?
“Going from one extreme to the next extreme it seems to be, but it’s been a fun year. We’ve grown a lot.”
While Johnson might not be scoreboard watching, you can bet the Crimson Corner baseball community sure is. That’s how it’s supposed to go this time of the year. And that’s why this weekend’s trip to BYU is extremely important with so many teams bunched at the top.
SPIKERMAN BACK?
It’s perhaps the biggest question of the weekend.
The return of John Spikerman to the Oklahoma line up in full seems to be a strong possibility this weekend. The junior centerfielder returned to the field for the first time since March 16 last Sunday when he pinch ran and eventually scored the go-ahead run for Oklahoma in the eighth inning.
“We just have to throw him out there. He’s been taking soft toss right now. It’s been four weeks and two days since he’s got hurt. You think it’s going to take a bullrider that long to get back on the bull?,” said Johnson on Thursday morning during his weekly appearance on The Franchise Morning Show. “It’s time to go. It’s time to go.”
This leads to an even broader question in terms of how Oklahoma goes about getting Spikerman back in the line-up.
Since Spikerman’s hamate bone surgery, freshman outfielder Jason Walk has done more than give the Sooners coaching staff something to think about. With Kendall Pettis’ offensive struggles of late, could you slide Walk over to left with the intent of keeping his bat in the lineup? Would you do that? It seems like that certainly is an option moving forward, and particularly for an offense that is as hot as the Sooners.
NEWS & NOTES
* Oklahoma’s offense was responsible for 18 extra-base hits and five home runs in a series sweep of Kansas State.
* Junior second baseman Jackson Nicklaus leads the team with a .378 batting average and currently leads the Big 12 with a .511 on-base percentage.
* Freshman shortstop Jaxon Willits has homered in five of the last seven games.
* Junior catcher Scott Mudler was white hot last weekend versus Kansas State, hitting .583 over the course of the weekend with five RBIs and knocking in the game-winning run in Sunday’s 8-7 win.
* Defense matters. Oklahoma was excellent in this department last weekend with OU pitchers striking out 30 Wildcats, while issuing *just* six walks. Most notably: OU committed just one error.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Thursday (7 p.m.) – LHP Braden Davis (3-3, 5.52 ERA, 45.2 IP, 26 BB, 56 SO) vs. LHP Mason Olson (2-1, 3.03 ERA, 35.2 IP, 13 BB, 47 SO)
Friday (7 p.m.) – RHP Kyson Witherspon (3-2, 3.51 ERA, 41.0 IP, 16 BB, 47 SO) vs. RHP Bryce Robinson (2-3, 3.89 ERA, 44.0 IP, 9 BB, 36 SO)
Saturday (2 p.m.) – LHP Grant Stevens (5-0, 3.62 ERA, 32.1 IP, 15 BB, 33 SO) vs. RHP Ben Hansen (4-4, 6.99 ERA, 46.1 IP, 22 BB, 37 SO)
