Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma baseball: Sooners entertain TCU in season home finale

By Chip Rouse

Jun 24, 2016; Omaha, NE, USA; TCU Horned Frogs pitcher Mitchell Traver (33) throws to first base in the second inning against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the 2016 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 24, 2016; Omaha, NE, USA; TCU Horned Frogs pitcher Mitchell Traver (33) throws to first base in the second inning against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in the 2016 College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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After struggling through a seven-game losing skid, the Oklahoma baseball team has won five of its last seven games, and straight ahead comes one of the biggest tests of the entire season with the fifth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs coming to town.

The Horned Frogs come to Norman with the Big 12’s best record at 15-6 and an overall mark of 35-11. This will be the Sooners’ eighth consecutive series with a team ranked in the top 50 in RPI (ratings percentage index). OU is 10-11 against those teams.

Oklahoma leads the overall series with TCU 57-32, but the Horned Frogs have prevailed in the last eight games between the two teams.

The Sooners come into the series with TCU with a 32-17 record and 10-8 in the Big 12 and are ranked 24th in the most recent Baseball America poll. This is the final home series of the season for Oklahoma, and the Sooners have done extremely well on the home turf at L. Dale Mitchell Park.. OU is 21-5 at home this season, its best record since going 19-5 in 2014 and the first time the Sooners have reached 20 wins at home in a season since 2013.

Oklahoma has two players in the top 10 in the Big 12 in hitting. Catcher Renae Martiniez is hitting .355 and center fielder Steele Walker is batting .333. Walker is the only player in the Big 12 who ranks in the top five in hits (third, 62)), runs (third, 47), RBI (fifth, 45) and slugging percentage (third, .559).

TCU is led at the plate by right fielder Austen Wade, who is hitting .351 with a team-high 13 doubles to go along with 13 stolen bases,  First baseman Luken Baker is hitting .316 with a team-high ,532 slugging percentage, including eight doubles and eight home runs. Horned Frog catcher Evan Skoug is the team’s biggest long-ball threat with 12 home runs.

The anticipated pitching matchups for the weekend series OU right-hander Jake Irvin (6-0, 2.44 ERA) and left-hander Nick Lodolo (5-1. 4.71 ERA) on Friday night. On Saturday, it will be right-hander Devon Perez (5-2, 3.54) going for Oklahoma and right-hander Brian Howard (7-3, 4,74) on the hill for TCU. In the series finale in on Sunday, the pitching matchup will be Kyle Tyler (0-1, 3,79), a right-handed starter, for the Sooners and right-hander Mitchell Traver (0-0, 3.72) for the Horned Frogs.

Several other noteworthy Sooner story lines to keep in mind heading into this series:

  • First baseman Austin O’Brien has seven home runs on the season and has homered in three of the last four games.
  • Second baseman Jack Flansburg has walked 38 times this season. That ranks 25th in the NCAA.
  • Right-fielder Ben Hollas has an active on-base streak of 24 games.
  • Catcher Renae Martinez hit four doubles against Kansas State last weekend.
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