Sooners Head to Tulsa for Midweek at ORU

NORMAN – No. 9 Oklahoma (20-3, 4-2 SEC) hits the road for a midweek matchup at Oral Roberts (15-8, 4-2 Summit League) Tuesday at 6 p.m. CT. The game can be seen via the Summit League Network and heard on the radio in Oklahoma on 99.3 FM/1400 AM The REF or nationwide on The Varsity app with Toby Rowland calling the action.

THE BASICS

• Oklahoma enters the contest at 20-3 and winners of nine of their last 11 games. The Sooners have a pair of top-10 non-conference wins and two SEC series already on their resume. OU started the season 11-0, the program's best start since 2011. OU's 20-3 mark is the best 23-game start to a season since starting 20-3 in 2017.

• After taking its first SEC series in program history at South Carolina two weeks ago, OU made it 2-for-2 in SEC play with a series win vs. Mississippi State last weekend at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman. After dropping the Friday opener, OU took the final two games of the series.

• The Sooners are a consensus top-10 squad this week after jumping one spot to No. 9 in this week's D1Baseball poll. The team is ranked eighth in the Baseball America and Perfect Game USA polls and ninth in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and NCBWA top-25 rankings. Oklahoma currently sits at No. 12 in the NCAA RPI.

• The Sooners hold the all-time advantage vs. Oral Roberts, 46-38. The Golden Eagles have a series lead of 21-14 in matchups played in Tulsa. In the teams' most recent matchup, Oklahoma beat ORU 14-0 in the first game of the 2024 NCAA Norman Regional.

• Probable Pitching Matchup: OU RHP Jacob Gholston (6.75, 1-0) vs. ORU RHP Luke Puffinbarger (5.40, 0-1).

#9 Oklahoma vs. Oral Roberts
Dates: March 25
Time (CT): 6 p.m.
Location: Tulsa, Okla.
Ballpark: Chapman Park

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THE NUMBERS

• OU's pitching rotation is headlined by 2025 Preseason All-SEC RHP Kyson Witherspoon, who is 5-1 this season in his six starts with a 58-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List honoree has struck out a career-high 12 batters in two of his five starts and recorded double-digit strikeouts in three of the six.

• Twin brother, Malachi Witherspoon, holds a 2-1 record in six starts with 27 strikeouts. Lefty Cade Crossland made his first weekend start last Saturday vs. MSU. In six appearances this season (three starts), Crossland has fanned 22 batters and walked 12. Lefty transfer Cameron Johnson is 2-0 in six starts with 21 K's.

• The pitching staff ranks 40th in the country with its 4.10 team ERA. Kyson Witherspoon ranks third in the country and second in the SEC in strikeouts with 58 and 8th in the nation in K/9 (14.91). His 0.83 WHIP is good for second in the league and 17th in Division I.

• The Sooners are outscoring opponents 172-103 and OU's pitchers have struck out 236 batters on the year, holding a 4.10 ERA. This season marked the first time in program history the Sooners have started a season 11-0 and held each opponent to five runs or less. OU has surrendered double-digit runs just three times on the year.

• Oklahoma is 15-1 at L. Dale Mitchell Park, outscoring the opposition 137-61 on its home field, including a 19-6 home run advantage in Norman.

• OU's deep bullpen has been impressive, surrendering 44 runs with a 114-to-40 K/BB ratio. The Sooners have utilized 10 bullpen arms so far in 2025. Senior Dylan Crooks has taken on the closer role, ranking first in the SEC and second in the country with seven saves in 10 appearances, striking out 15 and surrendering one run (0.55 ERA) in 16.1 innings of work.

• In the batter's box, sophomore Jaxon Willits leads the team with seven homers, including three in his last six games. Returning NCBWA All-American Easton Carmichael paces OU with 13 extra-base hits and 25 RBIs. Centerfielder Jason Walk has been the table setter in the leadoff spot, with hits in 18 of 22 games played and three homers on the year, already matching his season total from his freshman year a season ago. Freshman second baseman

• Kyle Branch has impressed in his first collegiate season, batting .337, good for second on the team, to go with seven XBH and 18 RBIs. Redshirt sophomore Sam Christiansen leads OU with 26 walks drawn, good for second in the SEC and 11th in the country. Junior transfer Trey Gambill paces OU in batting average (.356) and on-base percentage (.519).

• Oklahoma has proven to be a menace on the base paths, stealing 64 bags on the year to rank eighth in the country and first in the SEC. Kyle Branch and Dawson Willis pace OU with 10 stolen bases each, while seven Sooners have registered at least five on the year. OU is 64-for-75 on stolen base attempts.

• The Sooners have utilized the long ball, hitting 27 home runs on the year. The Sooners have homered in 17 of OU's 23 games on the year, including 10 of the last 11 games.

THE BEST BASEBALL CONFERENCE IN AMERICA

• The OU baseball program looks to make a name for itself in the premier baseball conference in the country in its inaugural season in 2025.

• The Sooners are no strangers to competing against their new conference foes. Since head coach Skip Johnson's hiring in 2018, OU is 42-32 versus current members of the SEC (including Texas).

• OU has won its first two conference series as members of the SEC. On SEC Opening Weekend at South Carolina, Oklahoma took the rubber match in Columbia by a final of 6-5 in 10 innings, erasing a two-run deficit with two outs in the ninth before Jason Walk launched a homer at the top of the 10th to give OU the win. The Sooners took two of three vs. Mississippi State last weekend at Mitchell Park in Norman. After falling in the opener despite 11 strikeouts from Kyson Witherspoon, OU turned around to win back-to-back games and clinch the series on its home turf.

• OU heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., this weekend, March 28-30, for a top-15 matchup vs. No. 12 Alabama.

• The Sooners will play 30 conference games this season, highlighted by five home series versus four of the past five national champions (Vanderbilt [2019], Mississippi State [2021], Ole Miss [2022], LSU [2023]), and a home regular season finale vs. rival Texas.

• The Sooners travel to South Carolina, Alabama, Missouri, Georgia and Kentucky in 2025.

RANKINGS CHATTER

• Oklahoma jumped one spot to No. 9 in this week's D1Baseball poll. After starting the season unranked, Oklahoma has consistently jumped each week after entering the poll. The Sooners made their debut at No. 16 on Feb. 24 after the Round Rock sweep, and have since been ranked 13th, 12th and 10th pior to their current No. 9 ranking.

• The Sooners are a consensus top-10 squad across the board, holding their highest rankings in the Baseball America and Perfect Game USA polls (No. 8), while holding No. 9 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and NCBWA top 25.

• The Sooners are 2-1 in ranked matchups in 2025 after going 4-1 in such games throughout the regular season in 2024, with all four wins coming against top-15 opponents.

NEWCOMERS MAKING NOISE

• Looking to replace 22 lost letterwinners from 2024, the Sooner coaching staff hit the transfer portal and recruiting trail hard to bring in 28 newcomers for 2025.

• Of those 28, 16 are transfer student-athletes, including 11 from junior colleges, a testament to OU assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Todd Butler and the OU staff's expertise at the JUCO level.

• The newcomers have made an impact this season, with nine newcomer position players making starts and three freshmen or transfers making starts on the mound already in 2025.

• Freshman Kyle Branch and junior transfer Dawson Willis have started all 23 games at second and third, respectively. Fellow newcomers outfielders Trey Gambill and Sam Christiansen, and first baseman Dayton Tockey, have all recorded 20 or more starts. Gambill and Branch rank first and second on the team with respective .356 and .337 batting averages, while Tockey and Willis have each provided power at the plate with a combined 17 extra-base hits.

• On the bump, nine Sooners new to the program in 2025 have made appearances with junior JUCO transfer Cade Crossland pacing the group with 22 strikeouts. Freshman Michael Catalano (16 K) and sophomores Cameron Johnson (21 K), Jason Bodin (17 K) and Gavyn Jones (15 K) have been instrumental to OU's pitching success.

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