Arkansas is #9, Not #13
Hide your kids...or at least cover their eyes. It appears that the Sooners will be looking to the "Wild Thing" to power them past the Arkansas Razorbacks tonight in Norman. Damien Magnifico is scheduled to start for the Sooners against the #9 Hogs as OU is looking to break a three-game losing streak.
For reasons unknown Magnifico has been absent from the Sooner lineup for a couple of weeks now. He was last scheduled to start the first game of the Air Force series on March 20th but was scratched in favor of Jacob Rhame. He appeared in the second game of that series in one inning of relief and that's the last time we saw him until a brief appearance at A&M last weekend. For the season Magnifico has a 4.76 ERA through his seventeen innings of work. He's given up 19 hits and 9 earned runs while striking out 13 batters.
Magnifico will be matched up against Randall Fant who has a 1-1 record on the season and a 5.49 ERA on five starts. He's thrown a total of 19.2 innings, allowing 24 hits and 12 earned runs while striking out 16 batters.
Arkansas returns 19 players from last year's team that finished 40-22. From the plate the Hogs are led by Matt Reynolds who leads the team with a .356 average and 23 RBIs which is also a team high. Sam Bates is batting .259 with 18 RBIs and leads the team in home runs with five. Arkansas has four players hitting .300 or better.
Oklahoma struggled from behind the plate in their series against #4 Texas A&M over the weekend and will be looking to get back on track tonight. Erik Ross is currently leading the team with a .337 batting average. He's one of five Sooners batting .300 or better. His current hitting streak (9 games) spans back to the second game of the Texas Tech series on March 24th. Freshman Hunter Lockwood is Oklahoma's leader both in home runs (8) and RBIs (28).
First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 this evening.