Post by Matt Meyer | @Bluto51 on X
Two weeks left in the regular season and both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are in great position for the postseason in college baseball. Sooners and Cowboys will both be in the NCAA Tournament and both teams are in contention to host a regional.
It’s been one of the more interesting seasons in recent memory for OU as the Sooners are 29-17 overall with an RPI of 17 and lead the Big 12 at 18-6 with two conference series to play. Oklahoma is 3 games clear of Oklahoma State, Texas, and West Virginia with 6 conference games to go, and the Sooners are in prime position to win their first regular season conference championship since winning the Big 8 in 1995. OU has won three conference tournaments since then but they’ve not won the regular season title in 29 years.
Oklahoma has swept 5 Big 12 series this season, setting a program record, and the 18 wins in conference are the most the Sooners have racked up since 2004 when they won 19 Big 12 games. Offense has carried the way for this team and OU has gotten healthier in recent weeks with the return of CF John Spikerman and 2B Jackson Nicklaus. Sooners have a little more power in the lineup this season with RF Bryce Madron and 1B Michael Snyder leading the way with 10 and 9 HR’s respectively.
Oklahoma’s pitching staff has been somewhat inconsistent this season, but LHP Braden Davis has won Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors in back to back weeks and has been the Friday night starter all year, and RHP Kyson Witherspoon has settled in nicely as the Saturday starter. RHP Dylan Crooks, brother of former Sooners C Jimmy Crooks, has emerged as a key arm out of the pen in recent weeks, and there’s several other talented guys on the staff, but at times, walks have complicated things for OU. If this staff can cut down on the walks and let their stuff work for them, Oklahoma can be a very dangerous team in June.
In Stillwater, Josh Holliday has another good team as the Cowboys have made the NCAA Tournament each year that he’s been the head coach. It’s been nice to see the Cowboys’ pitching staff rebound this season and you have to give pitching coach Rob Walton a lot of credit for that. LHP Sam Garcia and RHP Brian Holiday have made every Friday and Saturday start respectively, while OF/RHP Carson Benge, the closer for a good portion of the season, has recently moved to the rotation and has been terrific in that role. RHP Robert Cranz has been fantastic out of the Cowboys’ bullpen. OSU could use another arm or two to level up, but the Pokes’ pitching staff has certainly improved from a season ago. It’s almost like Coach Walton knows what he’s doing…could be a lesson there for some Cowboys fans.
Offense is seemingly never the problem in Stillwater and the Cowboys’ lineup is full of power once again. OF Nolan Schubart has overcome an early season injury and a slow start to emerge, unsurprisingly, as the most dangerous bat in the order. Schubart hit a single game school record 4 HR’s in a recent win over Wichita State, part of a week in which the sophomore hit .529 with 8 extra base hits and 10 RBI’s, which earned him Big 12 Player of the Week honors. Benge and OF Zach Ehrhard join Schubart to form one of the most lethal offensive outfields in college baseball. 1B Colin Brueggemann provides a lot of power and IF’s Kollin Ritchie, a freshman from Atoka, and Lane Forsythe, a Mississippi State transfer, have been solid additions to the lineup.
At 32-16 overall with an RPI of 21 and 15-9 in the league, the Cowboys are still in contention to host a regional. Pokes are a 2 seed in most projections but that can change if OSU can get hot against a struggling Texas Tech team and an average bunch of Houston Cougars. Cowboys have won 3 of 4 (2 of 3 in conference play) this season over league leading Oklahoma, so a strong finish with some marquee wins could lead to postseason baseball returning to O’Brate Stadium.
The Sooners host Baylor for 3 this weekend before going to Cincinnati next week for 1 against Xavier and 3 against the Bearcats. Cowboys host Texas Tech for 3 this weekend before finishing with 3 at Houston. The ten team Big 12 Tournament begins Tuesday May 21st at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX. The 64 team NCAA Tournament starts Friday May 31st, and hopefully, both OSU and OU will begin their road to Omaha on their home fields.