No. 5 LSU faces No. 9 Oklahoma in weekend series in Norman
Coming off sweeping Mississippi State, LSU is now 7-2 in SEC play and looks to continue its strong start this weekend against Oklahoma in a clash of top ten teams in the country. Here is everything to know and how to tune in ahead of the first pitch Thursday night.
No. 5 LSU Tigers (27-3, 7-2 SEC) at #9 Oklahoma Sooners (23-5, 5-4 SEC)
DATES/TIMES
- Thursday, April 3 @ 6 p.m. CT; Friday / April 4 @ 6:30 p.m. CT / Saturday, April 5 @ 2 p.m. CT
STADIUM
Dale Mitchell Park in Norman Okla. (3,180)
RANKINGS
- LSU – No. 5 Baseball America; No. 6 USA Today; No. 7 D1 Baseball
- OU – No. 9 Baseball America, No. 9 USA Today; No. 10 D1 Baseball
RADIO
· LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates
· Live audio at www.LSUsports.net/live; Live stats at www.LSUstats.com
TV/ONLINE
- Thursday game will be televised on ESPN2; Friday and Saturday games will be streamed live on SEC Network +
LSU SERIES RECORD VS. OKLAHOMA
• LSU leads Oklahoma, 9-5, in a series that began in 1959 … in the most recent meeting, LSU defeated the Sooners, 5-4 (11 innings), on March 4, 2022, in the Astros College Classic in Houston … Oklahoma posted a 1-0 win over the Tigers in the 2020 Astros College Classic … the 2020 game marked the first meeting between the schools since the 2013 NCAA Super Regional in Baton Rouge, when LSU won two straight over the Sooners to advance to the College World Series … three other LSU-OU matchups have occurred in the NCAA Tournament, all LSU wins in Baton Rouge … the Tigers defeated OU in the second round of the 1997 NCAA South I Regional in the original Alex Box Stadium, where LSU posted a 14-3 win over the Sooners … the teams met in the second round of the 1991 NCAA South Regional, where LSU defeated Oklahoma, 4-3 … the first NCAA Tournament meeting took place in 1986 when LSU recorded an 8-5 victory over OU in the NCAA South I Regional.
QUOTING JAY JOHNSON
“Oklahoma is a very impressive team, obviously off to a very good start. They present a lot of problems on offense; they play a very aggressive style with the bunting and the running. We’re going to really have to handle the ball in the infield and from the mound. They have one of the best pitchers in the country (right-hander Kyson Witherspoon), who we will see on Thursday night. So, it will be a tremendous challenge and we’re looking forward to competing against a really good team.”
ABOUT THE TIGERS
- LSU’s 27-3 overall record is its best through 30 games since the 2013 season, when the Tigers posted a 28-2 mark through 30 games … LSU’s 7-2 SEC record this season is its best conference mark through nine games since the 2013 team logged an 8-1 league record … the Tigers enter the Oklahoma series riding a five-game win streak.
- LSU is No. 1 LSU in the SEC and No. 3 in the nation in batting average with a .337 mark … the Tigers also lead the SEC in doubles (73), and LSU is No. 2 in the conference in hits (333) … LSU is No. 4 in the nation in hits and No. 5 in doubles … the Tigers are No. 2 in the SEC and No. 3 in the nation in on-base percentage (.456), and No. 2 in the league and No. 5 in the nation in runs scored (301) … the LSU pitching staff is No. 2 in the SEC in strikeouts (338) and No. 5 in the league in opponent batting average (.216) … LSU is No. 5 in the nation in strikeouts pitched per nine innings (12.2).
- LSU first baseman Jared Jones is No. 2 in the SEC in total bases (90), No. 2 in hits (47), No. 3 in runs scored (40), No. 4 in RBI (46), No. 4 in home runs (11), No. 5 in doubles (10) and No. 5 in slugging percentage (.769) … leftfielder Derek Curiel is No. 3 in the SEC in walks (30), No. 3 in runs (40), No. 3 in on-base percentage (.553), No. 4 in batting average (.406) and No. 8 in hits (43).
- Junior right-hander Anthony Eyanson defeated Mississippi State last Friday, working 5.0 innings and limiting the Bulldogs to just one unearned run on five hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts … Eyanson’s 12 Ks represented the most by an LSU pitcher in an SEC game this season and the most by any SEC pitcher in last weekend’s league games … he increased his season strikeouts total to 58, and he is No. 5 in the SEC in strikeouts and No. 6 in the league in strikeouts per nine innings (14.11) … Eyanson improved to 4-0 this season, and he has a 3.89 ERA with 11 walks and 58 strikeouts in 37.0 innings.
- Junior second baseman Daniel Dickinson helped lead LSU to four wins in four games last week, batting .375 (6-for-16) with two doubles, one homer, seven RBI and five runs … in the Tigers’ three-game sweep of Mississippi State, Dickinson hit .385 (5-for-13) with one double, one homer, six RBI and three runs … with LSU trailing Mississippi State, 6-2, in the fifth inning of Game 1 last Thursday, Dickinson launched a two-out, two-strike, three-run homer to narrow the deficit to 6-5 and spark the Tigers’ 8-6 comeback victory … he was 3-for-5 in last Saturday’s win over the Bulldogs with a double, three RBI and two runs … he is hitting .367 this season with 10 doubles, seven homers, 36 RBI and 38 runs … Dickinson is No. 5 in the SEC in on-base percentage (.534), No. 8 in the league in runs scored and No. 9 in RBI.
- Freshman right-hander Casan Evans earned his fifth save of the season last Friday versus Mississippi State, working a career-long 4.0 innings to preserve a 2-1 LSU victory … Evans entered the game with a runner at first base and nobody out in the sixth inning with the Tigers holding a 2-1 advantage, and he blanked the Bulldogs for the remainder of the contest, allowing just two hits with three walks and six strikeouts … he fired a career-high 72 pitches in the outing and lowered his cumulative ERA to 0.90 … Evans is 1-0 this season with five saves in nine appearances, and he has recorded eight walks and 34 strikeouts in 20.0 innings … his total of five saves this season ranks No. 4 in the SEC.
ABOUT OKLAHOMA
- The Sooners are 23-5 overall, 5-4 in the SEC … Oklahoma won two of three games at South Carolina (March 14-16) and vs. Mississippi State (March 21-23) before dropping two of three games last weekend at Alabama … earlier this week, the Sooners posted an 8-6 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday at Riders Field in Frisco, Texas.
- Oklahoma is No. 10 in the SEC with a .298 team batting average, and the Sooners have 52 doubles, nine triples, 36 homers and a league-leading 74 stolen bases … the OU pitching staff is No. 9 in the SEC with a 4.22 cumulative ERA has a 285 strikeouts in 243.0 innings … the Sooners staff is allowing a .245 cumulative opponent batting average.
- OU right-hander Kyson Witherspoon is No. 2 in the SEC in strikeouts with 64, No. 3 in ERA (2.32), No. 4 in innings pitched (39.0) and No. 6 in opponent batting average (.189) … the Sooners are led at the plate by infielder Jaxon Willits, who is hitting .312 with three doubles, two triples, a team-high eight homers and 28 RBI … catcher Easton Carmichael is hitting .310 with six doubles, two triples, six homers and a team-best 30 RBI.
