Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma baseball: Sooners close regular season with back-to-back rivalry series

By Chip Rouse

SEATTLE, WA - MARCH 30: Second baseman Brock Holt #12 of the Boston Red Sox cannot make after the basll squirts free as Dee Gordon #9 of the Seattle Mariners steals second base during the fourth inning of a game at T-Mobile Park on March 30, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
SEATTLE, WA - MARCH 30: Second baseman Brock Holt #12 of the Boston Red Sox cannot make after the basll squirts free as Dee Gordon #9 of the Seattle Mariners steals second base during the fourth inning of a game at T-Mobile Park on March 30, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) /
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If you’re a Sooner sports fan who likes saving the best for last, buckle up because you’re going to like the next two weekends of Oklahoma baseball.

OU’s up and down season rolls around the final turn and into the homestretch of the regular season with Bedlam baseball on tap this weekend. Of course, that means the annual battle between in-state rivals Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

The weekend after this one, Oklahoma visits Austin, Texas, for the annual Red River Showdown in baseball with the Texas Longhorns.

Whenever the Sooners and Cowboys compete against one another, you can be assured it’s for more than just bragging rights.

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OU and OSU will play three games in three different venues: a game in Tulsa (Friday night), one in Oklahoma City at Chickasaw Bricktown Stadium (Saturday) and the series finale at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman on Sunday.

The two teams played earlier this season in Stillwater in a midweek contest that did not count in the Big 12 standings. The Cowboys won that game 6-5, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Oklahoma hopes to rebound this weekend in the rivalry series with Oklahoma State after being swept in three games a week ago at Texas Tech.

Oklahoma State is ranked 21st in the USA Today Coaches Poll and sits third in the Big 12 standing with a 10-8 record and 28-16 overall. The Cowboys have won their last eight games against the Sooners and have been dominant against OU under head coach Josh Holliday, winning 21 of 27 games.

OSU junior outfielder Carson McCusker leads the Cowboys in hitting and is 10th in the Big 12 with a .312 batting average. Junior infielder Max Hewitt is also hitting above .300 with a .306 average. Oklahoma State’s big power bat belongs to Trevor Boone, who leads the conference with 16 home runs to go with 42 runs batted in.

Oklahoma’s success this season has been largely attributable to a solid pitching effort. The Sooners lead the Big 12 and rank 24th nationally this week with a staff ERA of 3.58. OU’s four primary starters (Ben Abram, Nathan Wiles, Levi Prater and Cade Cavalli) have a combined won-lost record of 24-10 this season and average 3.25 in ERA.

The junior right-hander Wiles (7-2, 3.81 ERA) will get the start on Friday; Cavalli (5-2, 3.10) will go on Saturday; and Prater, a southpaw (6-4, 2.45), will be on the mound for the Sooners in the series finale in Sunday.

Sophomore first baseman Tyler Hardman has reached base safely in 20 straight games and leads the Sooners with a .311 batting average. Sophomore outfielder Tanner Tredaway has been OU’s most consistent hitter in Big 12 play. He went 4 for 11 last weekend against Texas Tech (.364), and in his last 10 games Tredaway is hitting .382 (13 for 34).

Oklahoma needs to win at least two games in both of their final two Big 12 regular season series to finish above .500 in conference play OU last finished below .500 in the conference in 2016.

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