Oklahoma baseball: Five things to know about Sooners vs. Texas Tech this weekend
By Chip Rouse
![Anthony Mackenzie returns to first base as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) baseball team plays Rider at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Feb. 24, 2023 in Norman, Okla. [Steve Sisney/For The Oklahoman]Ou Practice](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F6afb0ea77be3d61835d42d1d62d0d370e4bd808bdf7ce616f71f414de2ca8b35.jpg "Anthony Mackenzie returns to first base as the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) baseball team plays Rider at L. Dale Mitchell Park on Feb. 24, 2023 in Norman, Okla. [Steve Sisney/For The Oklahoman]Ou Practice")
Oklahoma baseball takes a one-game win streak into the three-game Big 12 series at home this weekend against Texas Tech.
At the same time, the Sooners (18-16, 3-6) are hoping to snap a five-game losing streak against teams from the Big 12. Oklahoma slipped to last place in the conference standings after being swept at Baylor a week ago. The Sooners had lost to Kansas State in the last two games in that series the week before.
Texas Tech (23-11, 4-5) comes to Norman after taking two of three at home last weekend against North Dakota State and splitting a pair of games earlier this week at Stanford. The Red Raiders come in bringing the Big 12’s top hitting team and No. 3 pitching staff based on earned run average. Tech has a league-best .319 batting average, and the Red Raider pitchers own a collective 4.50 ERA.
Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Texas Tech 53-45-1, including taking four of the five games the two teams played last season. OU won two of three in Lubbock, as well as a midweek game last season that didn’t count in the Big 12 standings and a game in the Big 12 Tournament.
Five things to know about Oklahoma-Texas Tech this weekend
- Anthony Mackenzie, a transfer from Sam Houston State who plays shortstop for the Sooners, leads the team in hitting and ranks 11th in the Big 12 with a .346 batting average. He also ranks 19th nationally with 22 steals.
- Texas Tech averages 9.3 runs per game, 8th best in NCAA Division I baseball. The Red Raiders are No. 2 in the country in hits (385) and double plays (36) and 10th in batting average (.319). Red Raider infielder Gavin Kash ranks 2nd in the Big 12 with a .396 batting average. He also leads the conference with 13 home runs and 50 RBI.
- OU hitters have shown great discipline at the plate this season. The Sooners are third in the Big 12 and 8th nationallly with 205 walks and rank 16th nationally with 74 stolen bases. OU junior right fielder Bryce Madron leads the nation with 42 walks this season.
- Oklahoma grad transfer Braxton Douthit will start one of the three games for the Sooners. The right-hander has a 4-1 record in eight starts and leads the Big 12 in opponents’ batting average (.195) and ranks 4th in ERA (2.95)
- The two head coaches — Skip Johnson of OU and Tim Tadlock of Texas Tech — have a lifelong connection. Both are from Denton, Texas, and attended Denton High School, just a couple of years separated. This will be the fifth time they have gone head-to-head against each other, with Tadlock holding a 9-6 edge. Tadlock was an assistant at Oklahoma under head coach Sunny Golloway from 2005-2011.