Oklahoma baseball: Sooners seek to stretch Big 12 lead in Red River Showdown with Texas

It's Red River Showdown weekend in Norman as the Big 12-leading Oklahoma baseball Sooners play host to chief rival Texas.

College baseball fans outside of Norman, Oklahoma, probably haven't paid much attention to what the Sooners are doing this season, but you can bet that Texas has. OU is three games up on everyone else atop the Big 12 standings and ranked No. 18 nationally.

Texas comes to Norman with a 25-17 overall record and in a three-way tie for second place in the Big 12 with an 11-7 conference record. The Longhorns have won their last two Big 12 series, winning two of three from both Houston and TCU.

The Sooners (25-14, 14-4) have never won a conference title in the Big 12, but have finished in second place three times (2004, 2009 and 2010).

The Sooners and Longhorns have met 226 times in baseball with Texas holding an overwhelming win margin (156-68-2) and a 33-19 advantage in games played in Norman. The last time the Longhorns played in Norman, however, was in 2018. Since then, the teams have played in Austin and in Arlington, but not in Norman. Oklahoma the three-game series with Texas a year ago in Austin.

What fans need to know about OU vs. Texas this weekend

• Oklahoma has won eight consecutive games heading into the weekend series with Texas, the longest win streak by a Sooner team since a 12-game streak in 2017. The Sooners have also swept four series this season, a first in program history as a member of the Big 12.

• Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 in hitting with a .308 team batting average. Junior Jackson Nicklaus leads the Sooners with a .368 batting average, one of fine Sooner position players hitting at least .313. Texas ranks sixth in the conference with a collective batting average of .292. The Longhorns have been a home run-hitting machine this season with a Big 12-leading 81.

• Jalin Flores of Texas and teammate Max Belyeu lead the Big 12 in home runs, with 15 and 14, respectively.

• On the pitching front, the Oklahoma staff has an ERA of 5.25, seventh best on the Big 12. Texas, meanwhile, has the fourth best staff in the Big 12 with an ERA of 4.75.

• Skip Johnson is in his seventh season as Oklahoma head coach. Before that he was an assistant coach at Texas.

• OU's Jackson Nicklaus leads the Big 12 in on-base percentage (.500), and Bryce Madron is the Big 12 leader in runs scored (53). Madron is the Big 12 Co-Player of the Week from last week.