No. 24 Oklahoma Looking to 'Continue to Attack' in Series at No. 17 Arkansas

With two weeks left in the regular season, Oklahoma appears to be safely in the NCAA Tournament field.

But as far as the Sooners’ regional hosting chances, the margin for error is razor-thin.

OU (30-16 overall, 12-12 SEC) has lost back-to-back series. The Sooners lost two games of three at home against Florida last week after going 1-2 against Auburn in the previous series.

“I think the biggest thing that we have to continue to do is continue to attack,” OU coach Skip Johnson said on 107.7 FM The Franchise. “I think we’ve lost that edge to attack — offensively, defensively and on the mound. You lose confidence when that happens.”

At No. 24 in D1Baseball’s latest poll and No. 19 in the RPI, Oklahoma still has an outside shot at hosting the regional round of the tourney — but it feels like the Sooners must win both of their final two series to have a chance.

And that starts on Friday against No. 17 Arkansas.

The Razorbacks’ (32-17, 13-11) conference slate has been similarly up-and-down.

Arkansas has earned series wins against Alabama (sweep), Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Missouri and South Carolina, but the Razorbacks got swept by Florida and lost series to Georgia and Auburn. The Razorbacks also dropped one game each against Missouri and South Carolina, the SEC’s two worst teams.

The Razorbacks rank 11th in the SEC with a .274 batting average. Though that batting average falls below Oklahoma’s (.277), their 73 home runs are well ahead of the Sooners at 48.

On the mound, Arkansas also sits in the middle of the conference. The Razorbacks’ 4.35 team ERA is seventh in the league — but it’s significantly lower than OU’s 4.83 ERA, which is tied for 11th in the SEC.

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Individually, the Razorbacks have three hitters — Damian Ruiz, Kuhio Aloy and Carter Rutenbar — batting over .300. Hunter Dietz, Arkansas’ Friday starter, has been the Hogs’ most reliable arm, as he is 6-2 with a 3.43 ERA in 12 starts this year.

The Sooners haven’t announced their starter for Friday’s series opener. Last week, Kadyn Leon pitched the first two innings before LJ Mercurius — OU’s former Friday night starter — entered and pitched the next several innings.

Cameron Johnson and Cord Rager will start Games 2 and 3, respectively. Johnson’s start is refreshing news for OU after the pitcher had to exit his start against Florida after only one inning, due to a leg injury. Skip Johnson said that the MRI on Johnson’s leg showed a Grade 1 MCL sprain.

Even after back-to-back disappointing weekends, the Sooners have plenty to play for. OU will finish the regular season against Tennessee at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark next week before playing in the SEC Tournament the following weekend.

Skip Johnson knows that it takes just a small spark to ignite serious momentum — and the Sooners have the chance to light the flame against the Razorbacks.

“It’s amazing what winning does,” Johnson said. “We have to get back our confidence. This is a fun time of the year… hopefully they’ll keep pulling for each other, and we’ll see what happens at the end of the year.”

Friday’s series opener in Fayetteville will begin at 4 p.m.

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