Tennessee baseball heads back on the road this weekend to face Oklahoma in its final regular season series this weekend. The Vols are looking to lock up a NCAA Tournament birth while maybe even making a push to host.
Here’s how to watch the three games and more details on the SEC weekend series in Oklahoma City.
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How To Watch: Tennessee baseball (35-18, 13-14 SEC) at Oklahoma (31-18, 13-14 SEC)
Game one: 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 14
Announcers — PxP: Toby Rowland, CC: Blake Brewster
Watch: SEC Network+
Game two: 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, May 15
Announcers — PxP: Toby Rowland, CC: Blake Brewster
Watch: SEC Network+
Game three: 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 16
Announcers — PxP: Toby Rowland, CC: Blake Brewster
Watch: SEC Network+
It’s An Away Series Not In Norman
The weekend series is not at Oklahoma’s on campus Kimrey Family Stadium. Instead, the series is at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. It’s the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers AAA affiliate the Oklahoma City Comets.
“Oklahoma Athletics and the Oklahoma City Comets have long had a great working relationship, dating back to Bedlam games and Big 12 tournaments at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark,” Oklahoma said in a statement. “The opportunity presented itself in the offseason for us to play a Southeastern Conference series in Oklahoma City this season and we were thrilled to showcase the SEC in OKC and give more fans the opportunity to see our program. It will be an enjoyable weekend for both teams, and gives two great baseball programs the chance to play in front of a large crowd in a Triple-A ballpark.”
It’s a 9,000 seat stadium so the crowds will likely be sparse compared to the size of the stadium. The stadium is 325 feet down the lines and 400 feet to centerfield.
While the series is technically at a neutral site, it still counts as a home series for Oklahoma and a road series for Tennessee.
Oklahoma Has Lost Three Straight Series
When Oklahoma swept Missouri in mid April, the Sooners were 10-8 in SEC play and were in the thick of the regional hunting conversation. But since, Oklahoma has dropped three consecutive series against Auburn, Florida and Arkansas to enter this weekend with a 13-14 SEC record.
Much like Tennessee, the Sooners are looking to clinch to pick up one win this weekend to clinch a NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Sooners have swept just one opponent (Missouri) while being swept by only one opponent (Texas) this season.
Projected Starting Pitching
Thursday:
Vols RHP Tegan Kuhns (4-4, 3.13 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 72 IP, 95 K, 13 BB) vs. Sooners LHP Cameron Johnson (6-1, 3.53 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 51 IP, 67 K, 37 BB)
Friday:
Saturday:
Vols TBD vs. Sooners LHP Cord Rager (3-3, 5.32 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 47.1 IP, 61 K, 18 BB)
Prediction
Tennessee has the pitching advantage in the first two games but would have a big disadvantage in game three if Landon Mack is unable to pitch.
This feels like a toss up series, but I’ll project Tennessee to get the job done and earn a narrow series victory.
Tennessee wins two out of three
