OU Baseball: Oklahoma Focused on Mastering the Basics During Opening Weekend

Skip Johnson's new-look Sooners finally get underway with a pair of games against Lehigh on Friday.

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Skip Johnson / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma baseball is finally ready to start its march toward the SEC.

Skip Johnson’s crew will become the latest group to usher in a new era on Friday as the Sooners host Lehigh for a three-game set at L. Dale Mitchell Park. 

Weather has forced some early changes — Sunday’s contest has been moved up to a double header on Friday at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. — but it’ll still offer fans a first look at Johnson’s new squad. 

With a bevy of changes to the starting lineup due to graduation and the MLB Draft, the Sooners will lean heavily on Johnson’s pitching staff.

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How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Lehigh

• Game 1: Friday, 2 p.m., SEC Network+
• Game 2: Friday, 5:30 p.m., SEC Network+
• Game 3: Saturday, 2 p.m., SEC Network+

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Brothers Kyson and Malachi Witherspoon will join forces with LSU transfer Cam Johnson on the mound as OU’s frontline starters. 

The Witherspoons featured heavily in Norman last year, but Johnson is excited about the progress both pitchers made over the summer. 

“It could really be really special… You look at Kyson and Malachai, they’ve gotten a lot better,” Johnson said during his weekly interview on the Franchise Morning Show on 107.7 The Franchise.  

“They’ve gotten a lot of accolades, they’ve just got to take it one pitch at a time. That’s the only thing they can control is throwing the ball at the target. 

“I don’t think you have a better spokesmen for the University of Oklahoma than those two young men, though. How they go about their business, the story of who they are and what they’ve done, their mom raised them. It’s just really surreal. I love being around them every day. Love them coming by the lounge and saying hello. I love coaching them and they’re getting better and better and better.”

Both Witherspoons were in line to start the first two games of the series before the weather adjustment, with Johnson closing things out in Game 3. 

The offense will take center stage as well. 

With so many new pieces, Johnson will rely on a pair of experienced catchers in Easton Carmichael and Scott Mudler. 

And while Johnson is happy they’ll bring a steady presence to the order, he’s just as excited about the impact they’ll make behind the plate. 

“That really helps a lot,” he said. “It’s one of those deals where you kind of teach them as they evolve as young men about how to call a game… They’re really good. We’re really blessed to have those two guys playing for us.”

Scouting for opening weekend can be difficult, so Johnson is more focused on how his team works its way through the weekend and battles through the innings as the Sooners are just one month away from opening up their first SEC schedule. 

“I don’t know if you can plan for any team because you haven’t seen any of those guys,” Johnson said. “But are you better at playing baseball or is there something strategic that really makes a difference? Are you better at playing catch, throwing strike one, all those little simple things that go along with the continuity, the flow of the game. I think that’s more at what we look at. 

“We play more against the baseball than the opponent. It’s easy to talk about. You always want to get the guy out.”

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