The Crimson Tide and Sooners will meet for the fifth time in the history of the two programs when the two square off on Friday evening
3/1/2018
TUSCALOOSA, AL – The Crimson Tide baseball team will travel to Oklahoma this weekend for a three-game series with the Sooners. The two teams will kick off the non-conference pairing on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT followed by a 4 p.m. CT first pitch in Saturday's contest. The Sunday finale from Norman is set to start at 12 p.m. CT. The series opener on Friday can be seen live on SoonerSports.com, with the final two games of the weekend airing live on Fox Sports Oklahoma+.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow this weekend's matchups via the below outlets:
Watch: SoonerSports.com (Friday) || Fox Sports Oklahoma+ (Saturday/Sunday)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: SoonerSports.com
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Oklahoma will meet for the first time in Norman and fifth time overall on Friday evening when the Crimson Tide and Sooners begin a three-game series this weekend at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
• The Crimson Tide is a perfect 4-0 against the Sooners in series history. The first time the two programs met was from Feb. 10-11, 2001, in Tuscaloosa. Alabama secured the sweep in the season-opening series, taking both games of a doubleheader on Feb. 10. UA won game one of the day, 10-8, before blanking Oklahoma, 5-0, in game two for the series victory. The Tide wrapped up the sweep the next day with a 6-5 win.
• The most recent meeting between the Crimson Tide and Sooners came on March 26, 2002, in Oklahoma City. The single neutral site game was held at Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark, with Alabama cruising to a 17-3 win in the midweek contest.
• Oklahoma welcomes Alabama to Norman with a 4-5 overall record. The Sooners began the season in the "Baseball at the Beach" Tournament in South Carolina, winning the season opener over 20th-ranked Indiana before falling in the next three games of the weekend to South Alabama, Coastal Carolina and Virginia Tech.
• Last weekend, OU welcomed Holy Cross and Valparaiso for doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday. The Sooners defeated Holy Cross in the first game of each day but split with Valpo, falling 11-4 on Saturday before bouncing back with a 3-2 win in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon.
• The Crimson Tide will call on a pair of right-handers in the first two games of the series. Friday's opener will feature junior Sam Finnerty while Alabama will look to senior Jake Walters in Saturday's matchup. The Sunday starter for the Tide is still to be determined.
• The Sooners return to their regular weekend rotation that features three righties. Oklahoma is set to throw junior Jake Irvin in Friday's contest while the senior Devon Perez will assume the starting duties on Saturday. Junior Kyle Tyler will take the bump on Sunday in the series finale.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Jr., RHP) vs. OU – Jake Irvin (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Sr., RHP) vs. OU – Devon Perez (Sr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – TBA vs. OU – Kyle Tyler (Jr., RHP)
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
• Oklahoma returns 20 letterwinners from the 2017 roster that finished 35-24 overall and 12-11 to rank third in the Big 12 on their way to an NCAA Regional. The 2018 roster is without 13 letterwinners from a season ago but welcomes 15 newcomers.
• The Sooners were selected to finish fourth in the Big 12 in the conference's preseason poll, as voted on by the league coaches.
• Skip Johnson is in his first year as head coach of the Sooners. The 1990 graduate of Texas Pan-American is assisted by Clay Van Hook, Clay Overcash and Evan Mistich.
• The Oklahoma baseball program was founded in 1898 and held a 2,541-1,472-12 record across its first 117 seasons entering the 2018 campaign. The Sooners have appeared in 37 NCAA postseasons, including 10 College World Series, being named college baseball's champion in 1951 and 1994.
• The University of Oklahoma is a public university located in Norman, Okla., and boasts an enrollment of 31,250 students. It was established on Dec. 18, 1890 as Norman Territorial University and was officially renamed Oklahoma University in 1907 after the state's admission into the union.
ALABAMA VS. THE BIG 12
• The Crimson Tide heads to Norman to square off with Oklahoma for the fifth, sixth and seventh time in the history of the two programs. The series will mark the first time Alabama has traveled to Norman, with a three-game set in Tuscaloosa and a neutral-site pairing in Oklahoma City making up the four games played up to this weekend.
• Alabama's trip to Norman will be the Tide's first three-game road weekend with a Big 12 opponent since UA went to Lincoln in 2006 for a three-game series with Nebraska. The Tide was swept in all three games by the then-No. 6 Cornhuskers in that matchup.
• The Tide has met with six of the current nine member teams and is 11-14 (.440) all-time against the current Big 12. The Crimson Tide has never paired with Baylor, Kansas or Texas Tech.
• Texas and Alabama have met the most of any current Big 12 team, with the Longhorns owning an 8-1 advantage in the nine games played. TCU is the only other Big 12 team to maintain a winning record against the Crimson Tide, winning both games between the two schools. The Tide has faced Oklahoma and West Virginia (2-2) four times apiece, and holds a 2-1 series lead against Kansas State and Oklahoma State to round out the current Big 12.
• The Crimson Tide's last meeting with a Big 12 member came in 2009, when Alabama and Oklahoma State met on May 29 in the Clemson Regional. OSU came away with a 10-6 win in the opening game of the regional for both teams.
ON DECK
Following this weekend's series with the Sooners, Alabama will return home for a single midweek matchup with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Wednesday, March 7. The game is set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+ with the pairing of Eli Gold and Lance Cormier calling all the action. The Wednesday midweek contest will feature a ceremonial first pitch from Alabama football head coach Nick Saban.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
3/1/2018
TUSCALOOSA, AL – The Crimson Tide baseball team will travel to Oklahoma this weekend for a three-game series with the Sooners. The two teams will kick off the non-conference pairing on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT followed by a 4 p.m. CT first pitch in Saturday's contest. The Sunday finale from Norman is set to start at 12 p.m. CT. The series opener on Friday can be seen live on SoonerSports.com, with the final two games of the weekend airing live on Fox Sports Oklahoma+.
FOLLOW THE TIDE
Fans can follow this weekend's matchups via the below outlets:
Watch: SoonerSports.com (Friday) || Fox Sports Oklahoma+ (Saturday/Sunday)
Listen: 102.9 FM / CTSN / TuneIn App
Twitter: @AlabamaBSB
Live Stats: SoonerSports.com
LEADING OFF
• Alabama and Oklahoma will meet for the first time in Norman and fifth time overall on Friday evening when the Crimson Tide and Sooners begin a three-game series this weekend at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
• The Crimson Tide is a perfect 4-0 against the Sooners in series history. The first time the two programs met was from Feb. 10-11, 2001, in Tuscaloosa. Alabama secured the sweep in the season-opening series, taking both games of a doubleheader on Feb. 10. UA won game one of the day, 10-8, before blanking Oklahoma, 5-0, in game two for the series victory. The Tide wrapped up the sweep the next day with a 6-5 win.
• The most recent meeting between the Crimson Tide and Sooners came on March 26, 2002, in Oklahoma City. The single neutral site game was held at Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark, with Alabama cruising to a 17-3 win in the midweek contest.
• Oklahoma welcomes Alabama to Norman with a 4-5 overall record. The Sooners began the season in the "Baseball at the Beach" Tournament in South Carolina, winning the season opener over 20th-ranked Indiana before falling in the next three games of the weekend to South Alabama, Coastal Carolina and Virginia Tech.
• Last weekend, OU welcomed Holy Cross and Valparaiso for doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday. The Sooners defeated Holy Cross in the first game of each day but split with Valpo, falling 11-4 on Saturday before bouncing back with a 3-2 win in 10 innings on Sunday afternoon.
• The Crimson Tide will call on a pair of right-handers in the first two games of the series. Friday's opener will feature junior Sam Finnerty while Alabama will look to senior Jake Walters in Saturday's matchup. The Sunday starter for the Tide is still to be determined.
• The Sooners return to their regular weekend rotation that features three righties. Oklahoma is set to throw junior Jake Irvin in Friday's contest while the senior Devon Perez will assume the starting duties on Saturday. Junior Kyle Tyler will take the bump on Sunday in the series finale.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY: UA – Sam Finnerty (Jr., RHP) vs. OU – Jake Irvin (Jr., RHP)
SATURDAY: UA – Jake Walters (Sr., RHP) vs. OU – Devon Perez (Sr., RHP)
SUNDAY: UA – TBA vs. OU – Kyle Tyler (Jr., RHP)
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
• Oklahoma returns 20 letterwinners from the 2017 roster that finished 35-24 overall and 12-11 to rank third in the Big 12 on their way to an NCAA Regional. The 2018 roster is without 13 letterwinners from a season ago but welcomes 15 newcomers.
• The Sooners were selected to finish fourth in the Big 12 in the conference's preseason poll, as voted on by the league coaches.
• Skip Johnson is in his first year as head coach of the Sooners. The 1990 graduate of Texas Pan-American is assisted by Clay Van Hook, Clay Overcash and Evan Mistich.
• The Oklahoma baseball program was founded in 1898 and held a 2,541-1,472-12 record across its first 117 seasons entering the 2018 campaign. The Sooners have appeared in 37 NCAA postseasons, including 10 College World Series, being named college baseball's champion in 1951 and 1994.
• The University of Oklahoma is a public university located in Norman, Okla., and boasts an enrollment of 31,250 students. It was established on Dec. 18, 1890 as Norman Territorial University and was officially renamed Oklahoma University in 1907 after the state's admission into the union.
ALABAMA VS. THE BIG 12
• The Crimson Tide heads to Norman to square off with Oklahoma for the fifth, sixth and seventh time in the history of the two programs. The series will mark the first time Alabama has traveled to Norman, with a three-game set in Tuscaloosa and a neutral-site pairing in Oklahoma City making up the four games played up to this weekend.
• Alabama's trip to Norman will be the Tide's first three-game road weekend with a Big 12 opponent since UA went to Lincoln in 2006 for a three-game series with Nebraska. The Tide was swept in all three games by the then-No. 6 Cornhuskers in that matchup.
• The Tide has met with six of the current nine member teams and is 11-14 (.440) all-time against the current Big 12. The Crimson Tide has never paired with Baylor, Kansas or Texas Tech.
• Texas and Alabama have met the most of any current Big 12 team, with the Longhorns owning an 8-1 advantage in the nine games played. TCU is the only other Big 12 team to maintain a winning record against the Crimson Tide, winning both games between the two schools. The Tide has faced Oklahoma and West Virginia (2-2) four times apiece, and holds a 2-1 series lead against Kansas State and Oklahoma State to round out the current Big 12.
• The Crimson Tide's last meeting with a Big 12 member came in 2009, when Alabama and Oklahoma State met on May 29 in the Clemson Regional. OSU came away with a 10-6 win in the opening game of the regional for both teams.
ON DECK
Following this weekend's series with the Sooners, Alabama will return home for a single midweek matchup with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Wednesday, March 7. The game is set for a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on SEC Network+ with the pairing of Eli Gold and Lance Cormier calling all the action. The Wednesday midweek contest will feature a ceremonial first pitch from Alabama football head coach Nick Saban.
-UA-
RTR,
Diamond Tide :biga:
