Tag: Josh Holliday

When, where, how to watch and pitching matchup for Bedlam baseball in the Big 12 tournament

Everything you need to know for Oklahoma baseball’s Bedlam Big 12 tournament opener against Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.

No. 5 seed Oklahoma (27-26, 11-13) and No. 4 seed Oklahoma State (32-16-1, 12-12) are meeting once again for a sixth time on Wednesday night in the opening round of the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship.

The Sooners have quietly been playing very steady baseball in the past month, suddenly finding themselves back on the NCAA Tournament bubble – something that seemed out of the question only even a few weeks ago. With a couple of wins this week in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma could very well find themselves gaining an at-large berth on Selection Monday.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, look to be comfortably in the tournament but are still certainly looking to improve their positioning with a good week here. They closed out the regular season taking eight of their last ten games – including each of the last two collisions with the Sooners.

For those unfamiliar with the Big 12 tournament format, this is NOT an elimination game with both teams having games on Thursday regardless of what happens in this matchup. But, like with any double elimination tournament, getting a win in the first game is essentially a must-have to want to go on a deep run.

The winner of this game will face the winner of No. 1 seed Texas vs No. 8 seed West Virginia on Thursday night at approximately 7:30 p.m. CT. The loser of this game will face the loser of the Longhorns and the Mountaineers at approximately 12:30 p.m. CT.

For this sixth Bedlam baseball clash in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, here is everything you need to know:

WHEN:   7:30 p.m. CT (Approximate)

WHERE:   Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark)

HOW TO WATCH:   Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Clay Matvick & Mike Rooney)

HOW TO LISTEN:   Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Toby Rowland & George Frazier)

Oklahoma drops Bedlam regular-season finale 7-3 in Tulsa

Oklahoma baseball dropped the fifth and final game of Bedlam 7-3 on Tuesday night at ONEOK Field in Tulsa.

Oklahoma baseball concluded the Bedlam regular-season series on Tuesday night at ONEOK Field in Tulsa with the rubber match against No. 21 Oklahoma State after the two in-state rivals split the first four games throughout the year.

Unfortunately for the Sooners, the midweek pitching issues continued with a cavalry of Oklahoma pitchers struggling. Skip Johnson was forced to employ nine (!) pitchers to navigate the evening and record the 27 outs. Certainly, very far from ideal.

The Cowboys would strike right away in the opening inning drawing four walks, three off of starting pitcher Dalton Fowler and one off of Ben Abram, to take a quick 1-0 lead. Oklahoma would get that run back in the bottom of the second on a ball thrown away by Oklahoma State third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand on a bunt single by Sooners shortstop Brandon Zaragoza. The game would remain knotted up at 1-1 through three frames.

The fourth inning proved an ugly one for Oklahoma. It allow the Cowboys to strike for four runs on two hits. Command was an issue for Sooners pitching with numerous walks and hit batters. Oklahoma State took a 5-1 lead into the sixth.

There, the Pokes added two onto their lead with knocks from right fielder Cade Cabbiness and designated hitter Justin Campbell.

Oklahoma State made the interesting decision to have shortstop Hueston Morrill take the hill and pitch the eighth. It mostly worked out. He served up a home run to third baseman Peyton Graham and allowed a couple of walks, but limited the damage to just a run.

The Sooners tried to create one final push in the ninth, scoring a two-out run on an RBI single by left fielder Kendall Pettis, but that was all. They fell 7-3.

The loss was another display of Oklahoma’s struggles midweek. With the thin starting rotation, beating good teams without their normal weekend rotation arms has been very difficult.

At this point, the Sooners’ hopes to climb into an at-large NCAA Tournament bid are very slim. The focus now is really largely to button things up and hope to get hot at the right time at the Big 12 Tournament to try and receive an automatic qualification by winning it, which is going to be an obviously very difficult challenge.

Oklahoma (24-23) will take a couple of days away from game action before their final home series of the year, against Texas Tech, which opens Friday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

When, where, how to watch Bedlam baseball in Tulsa

Everything you need to know for Oklahoma baseball’s fifth and final regular season Bedlam matchup with No. 21 Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

Oklahoma (24-22, 8-10) is back in their home state this week after taking two of three from West Virginia over the weekend for the fifth and final regular season matchup of the Bedlam series in 2021 against No. 21 Oklahoma State (27-15-1, 10-11).

The Sooners and Cowboys have split the first four meetings of the season, two in Stillwater and two in Norman, so Tuesday night’s collision will serve as the rubber match between the two in-state rivals. Just like their first meeting back in March, it will go in the books as a non-conference game.

Oklahoma has had a very up and down season overall and the last couple of weeks have been no different. After taking the first two games against Oklahoma State a week and a half ago, they proceeded to drop the finale, get blown out by Texas Tech and then lose the opener to the Mountaineers. But, they bounced back in a major way sweeping the Saturday doubleheader with West Virginia to rally and win the series.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, are fresh off of a series win as well taking two of three games against Kansas over the weekend including a 19-0 thrashing with a no-hitter in the middle game. They have had a bit of an uneven last few weeks themselves, and would certainly appreciate a win here.

This game will mark the 307th all-time Bedlam baseball game with Oklahoma State leading the series 161-144. The Sooners last beat the Cowboys in Tulsa in 2016. Oklahoma State is coached by Josh Holliday in his ninth year with the program.

For this non-conference Bedlam clash, here is everything you need to know:

WHEN:   7:00 p.m. CT

WHERE:   Tulsa, Oklahoma (ONEOK Field)

HOW TO WATCH:   ESPN2 (Chris Cotter & Mike Rooney)

HOW TO LISTEN:   Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Toby Rowland & George Frazier)

Oklahoma drops series finale against Oklahoma State 8-7 in 12 innings

Oklahoma baseball dropped the series finale against Oklahoma State 8-7 in a wild 12-inning battle on Sunday evening.

Oklahoma baseball concluded a highly-entertaining Bedlam series on Sunday against rival Oklahoma State in Norman after taking each of the first two games to open up the three-game set.

Going into the weekend it was well-established that this series meant a whole lot for both teams with both coming off of rough patches. Sunday’s game was a big one for both with the Sooners looking for the huge sweep and the Cowboys desperately trying to salvage the series – and the emotion was high from the start in this one.

Getting the start for Oklahoma was left-hander Braden Carmichael who didn’t have his best stuff only working into the fourth inning and allowing four earned runs against him. Right-hander Luke Taggart would relieve him in the fourth and do an incredible job working 4 1/3 shutout innings.

Unlike the first two games of the series, the Cowboys would be the first ones to score getting on the board right away in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly from first baseman Jake Thompson. The Pokes led 1-0 after the opening inning.

The second would be the Sooners big inning of the day striking for four runs on a solo home run from third baseman Brett Squires and a three-run shot from second baseman Conor McKenna. That made it a perfect three-for-three on the weekend for Squires going yard in every game of the series.

Oklahoma State would get one of those runs right back in the third on a home run of their own by second baseman Max Hewitt. They would then jump into the lead the following inning on a three-run home run by center fielder Caeden Trenkle to make the score 5-4 Cowboys.

In the bottom of the fifth, Oklahoma would strike back to knot things back up on a clutch two-out single up the middle from catcher Jimmy Crooks to score right fielder Breydon Daniel. The game was all square at 5-5 through five frames and would remain that way all the way into the eighth.

The bottom of the eighth would see a sequence of events that will be remembered in Bedlam history for quite some time. With the bases loaded and two outs, super senior shortstop Brandon Zaragoza stood at the plate with a 3-1 count. After taking strike two inside, which he thought was ball four, the throw back to the pitcher would get away and allow Crooks to scramble home from third to take the lead. After a lengthy review of the play at the plate, the play stood as called.

Zaragoza would then promptly single to left field to add a monster insurance run and make the Sooners lead 7-5 heading to the ninth inning. There, right-hander Carson Carter would come in to attempt to shut the door, but would immediately walk the first two batters he faced. Skip Johnson would then turn to No. 1 starter Wyatt Olds to have him try and get the final three outs.

But, unfortunately for Oklahoma, he was unsuccessful as after some bad defense allowed one run to score – left fielder Carson McCusker singled through the right side the tie the game up at 7-7. Olds would then force a huge double play to keep the game tied moving to the bottom of the inning.

Crooks would pick up a two-out single up the middle to attempt to generate a rally, but first baseman Tyler Hardman struck out to end the inning and send it into extra innings.

The game would remain 7-7 all the way into the 12th inning when Oklahoma State would put together a rally with catcher Brock Mathis coming through with a two-out bloop single to score a run and put the Pokes in front 8-7. The Sooners would then be retired in order to fall by that score and go to 22-20 overall and 6-9 in Big 12 play.

This was a very impressive series overall for Oklahoma, but losing the finale in this fashion will certainly be a heartbreaker. This game was there for the taking, but at the end of the day, Oklahoma State was the team to get the big hate they needed late.

After a day off tomorrow, the Sooners will head to Amarillo next for a non-conference collision with Texas Tech.

When, where, how to watch and pitching matchups for Bedlam baseball series

Everything you need to know for Oklahoma baseball’s gigantic Bedlam series against rival No. 19/20/24 Oklahoma State this weekend.

After four days without game action, Oklahoma (20-19, 4-8) is returning to the diamond this weekend for a massive three-game Bedlam series against rival No. 19/20/24 Oklahoma State (24-12-1, 7-8).

Things haven’t been going particularly well for the Sooners having dropped each of their last two series against Kansas State and Georgia Southern – both of which being sets of games it felt like Oklahoma needed to take advantage of going into. Head coach Skip Johnson has put it very simply and bluntly the last couple of weeks – this simply isn’t a very good team right now. But, there is a good team inside them somewhere. They’ve shown flashes, but consistency has alluded them all year with the last couple of weeks being more bad than good.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, have had a little bit of a hot and cold stretch of their own having lost five of their six Big 12 games against TCU and Texas. But, make no mistake, this is a very solid Oklahoma State group that will be playing the NCAA Tournament. Their high level of play earlier in the year built them a little cushion for a rough patch – but they’ll be looking for a big turnaround in this series as well.

It really can’t be overstated how big this series is for the Sooners, the season really resides on them finding a way to have their best weekend of the year. Their hopes of battling their way into the postseason conversation are dwindling – but they aren’t completely dead yet. If they could find a way to win a series against their rival, it is entirely within reason to think that could be the spark to a strong finish. And then, well, who knows how the chips will fall.

This series will provide the 304th, 305th and 306th all-time Bedlam baseball games with the Cowboys leading 160-142 historically including winning the first meeting between the two teams last month. On Friday night, Oklahoma will be looking for their first win in Stillwater since 2014. The Pokes are coached by Josh Holliday in his ninth year with the program.

For this gigantic Bedlam series, here is everything you need to know:

Game 1 – Friday

PITCHING MATCHUP:   Oklahoma RHP Wyatt Olds (2-4, 6.00) vs Oklahoma State RHP Bryce Osmond (2-3, 5.49)

WHEN:   6:00 p.m. CT

WHERE:   Stillwater, Oklahoma (O’Brate Stadium)

HOW TO WATCH:   Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Dave Hunziker & Tom Holliday)

HOW TO LISTEN:   Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Toby Rowland)

Game 2 – Saturday

PITCHING MATCHUP:   Oklahoma LHP Jake Bennett (3-3, 6.60) vs Oklahoma State RHP Justin Campbell (4-1, 2.70)

WHEN:   3:00 p.m. CT

WHERE:   Norman, Oklahoma (L. Dale Mitchell Park)

HOW TO WATCH:   Bally Sports Oklahoma (Toby Rowland & George Frazier)

HOW TO LISTEN:  Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Taylor Maples & Blake Brewster)

Game 3 – Sunday

PITCHING MATCHUP:   Oklahoma LHP Braden Carmichael (5-1, 3.97) vs Oklahoma State TBA

WHEN:   4:00 p.m. CT

WHERE:   Norman, Oklahoma (L. Dale Mitchell Park)

HOW TO WATCH:   ESPNU (Chris Cotter & Mike Rooney)

HOW TO LISTEN:  Sooner Sports Radio Network – SportsTalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sportstalk1400.com (Toby Rowland & Blake Brewster)

Oklahoma drops first Bedlam game of the season 5-4 on Oklahoma State walk-off single

Oklahoma baseball dropped Bedlam 5-4 on Tuesday night in Stillwater on an Oklahoma State walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Oklahoma baseball entered Tuesday night on a bit of a rough stretch in the past week having dropped three of four games south of the Red River falling to Texas State on Wednesday and then dropping two of three against Texas over the weekend. Things hardly ever get much easier on the Big 12 schedule, as awaiting them next was Bedlam-foe No. 11/16/17 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, with the Sooners once again falling in a close one 5-4.

Oklahoma continued to struggle with runners in scoring position, missing a plethora of opportunities throughout the night to seize control. Eventually the missed chances caught up to them, with Cowboys center fielder Caeden Trenkle coming through with a walk-off RBI single to end the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Getting the ball for Skip Johnson was right-hander Javier Ramos, who did not have his best command and really struggled to find the zone. He allowed two runs to cross in the first inning and failed to record an out in the second before being pulled in favor of Ben Abram.

While the Sooners mightily struggled to pick up the big hits necessary throughout the evening, they were able to get runs early to build a lead through sacrifices and small ball. Four Oklahoma runs were plated in the second, fourth and fifth innings all by way of either a sacrifice fly or a run in on a fielder’s choice to give them a 4-2 advantage at the halfway point of the game.

Abram would do a fantastic job settling things down over the next few innings after he replaced Ramos, absolutely cruising through the fourth frame before running into some trouble in the fifth. He would be taken out with runners on first and second and nobody out in favor of Carson Carter, who would proceed to hit a batter before serving up a two-run knock to tie the game at 4-4.

But, Carter managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat and keep the game all square at the end of the inning. He would proceed to absolutely dominate the next three innings, but time and time again the Sooners missed golden opportunities to get the lead. Twice they had a man on third with nobody out and failed to bring him around, something you absolutely can’t do if you want to beat good teams consistently.

In the bottom of the ninth, Skip Johnson turned to right-hander Luke Taggart who wasn’t as bad as the box score may display given he didn’t record an out, but still certainly struggled. After a leadoff single, some high-quality bunting on the part of the Cowboys loaded the bases up with nobody out before Trenkle ripped a ball through the right side of the brought-in infield to bring home the game-winning run.

The loss drops Oklahoma to 13-11 on the year and is their fourth loss in their last five games after their best stretch of the season having won six in a row previously. Similar to the two losses to Texas in Austin, this was a game that was absolutely winnable and could haunt the Sooners down the line given the large amount of missed chances to get the big hit late in the game.

Given how streaky the sport of baseball can be in the long winding road of a season, it seems premature to put any kind of panic out at this point. But, this is yet another frustrating loss if you are Oklahoma, obviously, They have to find a way to take advantage when the chances are there late in the game. This has cost them multiple times recently in spots where they could have gotten very big resume-building wins.

These two teams have far from seen the last of each other, of course, as they will meet four more times throughout the year with the next coming a month from now back in Stillwater. As for this week’s slate, the Sooners will take a couple of needed days off to reset before hosting TCU for a weekend series beginning Friday night.

When, where, how to watch and pitching matchup for Bedlam baseball in Stillwater

Everything you need to know before Oklahoma baseball takes on No. 11/16/17 Oklahoma State on Tuesday night in Stillwater.

Oklahoma (13-10, 1-2) is returning to the diamond Tuesday night for the final game of a five-game road swing and the first of five Bedlam matchups this season against in-state rival No. 11/16/17 Oklahoma State (15-6-1, 4-2).

The Sooners had a bit of a tough stretch last week dropping three straight games before salvaging the first conference series of the year against Texas by taking the finale on Sunday. The Big 12 slate remains unforgiving, as Skip Johnson’s club now has to quickly turn around to deal with a very solid Cowboys team before hosting TCU this weekend.

Oklahoma State got off to a hot start to their 2021 campaign before running into a rough patch of their own dropping six of eight games from March 13-23. They are, however, fresh off of a home sweep of Kansas State over the weekend.

The Cowboys certainly pose another difficult challenge for Oklahoma as a ball club who has high aspirations for the season. This is also a matchup that is has gone heavily against the Sooners in recent years, with Oklahoma State having taken an astonishing 10 of the last 11 meetings between the two teams.

This matchup marks the 302nd all-time Bedlam baseball contest with the the Cowboys holding the historical edge 159-142. Should Oklahoma get the win, it would be their first victory in Stillwater since 2014. The Pokes are coached by Josh Holliday in his eighth year with the program.

For this huge midweek rivalry clash, here is everything you need to know:

PITCHING MATCHUP:   Oklahoma RHP Javier Ramos (1-0, 8.38) vs Oklahoma State RHP Bryce Osmond (2-1, 5.55)

WHEN:   6:00 p.m. CT

WHERE:   Stillwater, Oklahoma (O’Brate Stadium)

HOW TO WATCH:   Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Dave Hunziker & Tom Holliday)

HOW TO LISTEN:   Sooner Sports Radio Network – Sportstalk 99.3 FM/1400 AM KREF; Tune In Radio App; Sporstalk1400.com (Toby Rowland)