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Baylor (20-26, 5-12) vs. Oklahoma (25-21, 5-10) |
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Location: |
Norman, Okla. - L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) |
Radio: |
KEBC 1560 AM/SoonerSports.tv |
TV: |
FSOK+/FCSC (Friday) |
Live Stats: |
The road hasn't been kind to Baylor this season. The Bears are just 2-15 away from Waco, and haven't won on the road since April 19th. They'll limp into Norman having dropped five or their last six games but are hoping this weekend's three-game series against the slumping Sooners will be the answers to their woes.
With Baylor, Oklahoma, and Kansas State all battling to stay out of the Big Twelve's cellar, the implications of losing this series, for either the Sooners or Bears, could mean staying home and watching the conference tournament instead of playing in it.
The advantage for Oklahoma in this series has to be...gulp...Oklahoma's pitching against Baylor's hitting. That's a scary proposition considering the outcomes of the OU games in the month of April but the Bears are last in the Big Twelve in team batting with a .227 average. Adam Toth leads the way for the Bears with a team-high .287 average, while Grayson Porter (.226) leads with 19 RBI. Porter is also tied with Darryn Sheppard for the lead in home runs three each.
Oklahoma's pitching struggled through the month of April and the Sooners dropped to eighth in the conference with a 4.12 team ERA. This weekend will either boost the confidence of the Oklahoma staff or that of the Baylor lineup.
Pitching Match-Ups |
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6:00 PM Friday: |
LHP-Adam Choplick (RSo., 3-3, 4.95) |
2:00 PM Saturday: |
LHP-Jacob Evans (So., 3-3, 4.75) |
1:00 PM Sunday: |
TBA |
Baylor is going to respond with a staff that ranks seventh in the conference with a 3.69 team ERA. They'll be faced by an Oklahoma lineup that ranks fifth in the conference and is led by Mac James' .359 average. The Sooners are hitting .284 as a team with James' 34-RBI and Hunter Haley's six home runs being the team highs.
Oklahoma comes into this series with their own set of struggles. The Sooners have dropped six in a row and haven't won a conference series since taking two of three from Kansas the last weekend of March. OU is long past due on must win situations. They're playing just to stay off life support now.