Three storylines for OU baseball ahead of opener
NORMAN — Following a loss to East Carolina in last year's Charlottesville Regional and an offseason roster rebuild, OU baseball opens its season 3 p.m. Friday against Oregon during the Shriners Children's College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
While a chunk of the roster looks different, the Sooners return key pieces from last season's squad including starting pitcher James Hitt, outfielder Bryce Madron, infielder Anthony Mackenzie and reliever Carter Campbell.
Here are three storylines to watch during the Sooners' final season in the Big 12:
Can OU find consistency from starting rotation?
Head coach Skip Johnson revamped his pitching staff following a lack of depth and consistency in 2023.
The Sooners brought in newcomers Braden Davis (Sam Houston State), Brendan Girton (Texas Tech), Kyson Witherspoon (Northwest Florida State College) and freshman Jacob Gholston to shake things up. Davis, Girton and Witherspoon, along with Hitt, have competed for spots in the weekend rotation.
“We targeted guys that have more power arms (in the offseason),” Johnson said.
Stronger arms should lead to more strikeouts. OU held a team ERA of 5.94 last season, which ranked seventh in the Big 12, and the program ranked eighth in team strikeouts.
The Sooners' roster is talented enough to make a run to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season if they can find more day-to-day consistency from their rotation to start tough conference games with leads.
Improved bats
Improving its pitching wasn't the only thing OU zeroed in on this offseason.
From top to bottom, Johnson thinks his team has more depth and he's liked what he's seen from Madron, one of his best hitters last season.
“Bryce could fall out of a tree and get a hit,” Johnson said. “That's what is comfortable about him, every day he's out there he's like a professional. He goes about his business, he works extremely hard. He understands his offense.
“I think the first three or four innersquads he had like five RBIs and didn't get a hit, just driving guys in.”
Madron is more comfortable ahead of his second season playing big-time college baseball. Last season after arriving from Cowley College, he didn't know what to expect and has since stepped up into a leadership role.
Johnson is also excited about Carter Frederick, a transfer from Snead State (Alabama) College, who is listed at 6foot-4, 227 pounds and hit .463 with 14 home runs in 53 games last season.
“This guy is huge, he's physical,” Johnson said. “You know you have power with him.”
Jackson Nicklaus, John Spikerman development
Following its 2022 College World Series run, infielder Jackson Nicklaus and outifielder John Spikerman appeared to be the future leaders of OU baseball after impressive freshmen years.
Nicklaus started every game at second base a year ago but saw dips in his numbers. Spikerman was named an All-Big 12 Honorable mention.
Now juniors, the duo is prepared to take that next step as voices in the locker room but also in their performances on the field. Johnson liked what he saw from both this summer, with Spikerman even heading to Cape Cod Baseball League to improve his game.
“I think those two guys,” Johnson said, “if they come back and they start off good or bad, it doesn't matter. If they focus on the team, then they're going to have great years. If they focus on all the results of it, they're not. And so we've got to really make sure that they stay in a mindset of how they can help the team win that day.”