Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma baseball: Sooners riding ‘Mighty Mo’ into home finale

By Chip Rouse

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 05: Kendall Pettis #7 of the Oklahoma Sooners comes up short after diving for a line drive in the third inning as Tanner Treadaway #10 backs him up against the UCLA Bruins during the Shriners Children's College Classic at Minute Maid Park on March 05, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 05: Kendall Pettis #7 of the Oklahoma Sooners comes up short after diving for a line drive in the third inning as Tanner Treadaway #10 backs him up against the UCLA Bruins during the Shriners Children's College Classic at Minute Maid Park on March 05, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma baseball, which has flown under the radar for much of the 2022 season, comes into its final home series of the season riding a wave of three straight Big 12 series wins.

The Sooners (29-17, 11-7) host the West Virginia Mountaineers this weekend at L. Dale Mitchell Park in a series with implications on fourth and even third place in the Big 12 standings.

Oklahoma is seeking a fourth straight Big 12 series win, while the Mountaineers are looking to bounce back after dropping two of three games at home to Texas last weekend.

The Sooners and Mountaineers don’t have a long series history in baseball. Oklahoma leads the all-time series 16-12 and is 14-10 since West Virginia became a member of the Big 12. The Sooners have won 8 of the last 11 games played between the two teams and is 7-2 in games played in Norman.

West Virginia comes into the series with the Sooners matching OU’s 29 wins overall and sits a half-game back of Oklahoma in the league standings with a 10-8 record in the Big 12.

Redshirt sophomore left-hander Jake Bennett will get the usual Friday start for Oklahoma. Bennett is 4-3 in 12 starts this season with an ERA of 3.97. He will go against junior right-hander Jacob Watters for West Virginia (2-5, 5.33 ERA). Right-handers David Sandlin and Cade Horton will follow Bennett to the hill on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

This will be the final home series of the season for the Sooners, who finish out the regular season on the road next weekend at Texas Tech.

Game 1 in the West Virginia series is at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Saturday’s starting time is set for 2 p.m., with the series finale starting a noon on Sunday.

What fans need to know about the OU-West Virginia baseball series

  • Oklahoma is batting .298 as a team, third best in the Big 12. West Virginia is hitting just .264 through 47 games, which ranks at the bottom of the Big 12. The Mountaineers’ strength is in their pitching. Their 4.72 staff ERA ranks third in the conference.
  • West Virginia’s best bat is sophomore catcher McGwire Holbrook, who is hitting .356 with six home runs and 33 RBI. The Mountaineers have three other players in their starting lineup hitting above .300: outfielder Austin Davis (.328), catcher/infielder Dayne Leonard (.311) and outfielder Braden Barry (.308).
  • The Sooners also have four players hitting above .300, led by first baseman Blake Robertson (.367), center fielder Tanner Tredaway (.342), infielder Peyton Graham (.341) and catcher Jimmy Crooks (.308).
  • Both of these teams utilize speed on the bases. West Virginia leads the Big 12 with 143 stolen bases in 2022. Oklahoma is next in the Big 12 with 110. No other Big 12 teams have more than 68 stolen bases this season.
  • West Vriginia has not lost more than two games in a row all season.
  • This is West Virginia’s first trip to Norman since 2018.

Prediction

A series sweep by either team is highly unlikely. The Sooners are 4-2 at home this season against Big 12 opponents. West Virginia has played as well at home as it has on the road, going 5-4 both ways. I give the edge to the Oklahoma offense in this series, but limiting West Virginia baserunners will be a key, given the Mountaineers’ speed on the bases and high steal rate. Oklahoma wins the series two games to one and challenges next weekend’s opponent, Texas Tech, for third place..

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