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The Oklahoma Sooners (13-2) welcome the 4-5 Buffalo Bulls to Norman for a four-game set this weekend, which will wrap up OU’s 19-game homestand to start the year. OU got off to a roaring start this season, but couldn’t get its offense going in a Tuesday night loss to Wichita State, snapping a 12-game win streak. Can OU rebound against the Bulls?
The (Probable) Matchups
Thursday: Jake Irvin (3-0, 0.45) vs. Alec Touhy (3-0, 8.22), 7 p.m., SoonerSports.TV
Friday: Austin Hansen (2-0, 0.64) vs. Charlie Sobieraski (0-3, 9.69), 3 p.m., SoonerSports.TV
Friday: Devon Perez, Jr. (2-0, 3.72) vs. Shawn Dubin (1-0, 0.60), 6:30 p.m., SoonerSports.TV
Saturday: Ryan Madden (1-0, 4.22), vs. TBA, 4 p.m., SoonerSports.TV
Irvin and Hansen boast minuscule ERAs so far this year, and they’ll look to keep runs off the board in the first two games. Irvin looks poised to add to his prodigious strikeout totals, but he probably won’t manage another 14 K game like last week’s. That was pretty special.
While the teams were originally scheduled to play a Saturday doubleheader, the twin bill has been pushed back to Friday because of expected inclement weather over the weekend.
Outfielder Steele Walker is still leading the OU offensive attack with a .424/.469/.695 line and a team-high 10 extra base hits.
Perez is making his first start of the year for OU on Saturday. He has logged 9.2 innings out of the ‘pen so far, looking more than capable with 13 strikeouts and just 7 hits allowed. It will be interesting to see how deep into the game he can pitch after making the transition. Perez will be the first non-sophomore to make a start all season.
Kyler Murray tweaked a hamstring last weekend and didn’t play on Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see how many ABs he gets.
Prediction
It might be wise to tap the breaks on the baseball hype train, as the Sooners have yet to face much quality opposition. Buffalo is one of the last pushovers on OU’s schedule, so at least three wins should be expected.