No. 17 Vanderbilt vs. No. 19 Oklahoma: Key Players, Stats & Weekend Series Preview

It wasn’t that long ago that Oklahoma was a top 10 ranked baseball team. The Sooners started off 20-3 and had recorded wins against then-No. 7 Oregon State and then-No. 2 Virginia.
But losing two of three to then-No. 12 Alabama and being swept by then-No. 7 LSU last weekend saw the Sooners (23-9, 5-6 SEC) tumble down the top 25 rankings. The Sooners were ranked No. 19 by D1Baseball and No. 16 by Baseball America.
Vanderbilt is familiar with that experience. The Commodores were swept at home by newly-minted No. 1 Arkansas and dropped to No. 23 in D1Baseball’s top 25. Then the Commodores beat a red-hot Western Kentucky team and swept Florida in Gainesville, to rise back up in the rankings.
Oklahoma is a new opponent for the Commodores. The two programs have played just four times and the most recent game was in 2008. So, with that in mind, here’s a breakdown of the Oklahoma team Vanderbilt will face this weekend:
Batting
Key Team Stats
- BA: .282
- SLUG: .456
- OBP: .389
- Total HR: 36
- Total SB: 74
Key Players
- OF Trey Gambill (.338 BA, .955 OPS, .450 SLG, .505 OB%, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 11 SO, 27 BB, 9 SB)
- INF Kyle Branch (.319 BA, .803 OPS, .429 SLG, .374 OB%, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 16 SO, 7 BB, 10 SB)
- INF Jaxon Willits (.311 BA, .966 OPS, .574 SLG, .392 OB%, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 22 SO, 18 BB, 8 SB)
- C Easton Carmichael (.302 BA, .887 OPS, .519 SLG, .368 OB%, 6 HR, 27 SO, 12 BB, 8 SB)
Pitching
Key Team Stats
- ERA: 4.35
- Total SO: 323
- Total BB: 127
- Opp B/Avg: .251
Key Players
- RHP Kyson Witherspoon (5-2, 2.40 ERA, .98 WHIP, 45 IP, 68 SO, 11 BB, 12 ER, .199 opp b/avg.)
- RHP Malachi Witherspoon (2-3, 5.06 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 37.1 IP, 37 SO, 19 BB, 21 ER, .283 opp b/avg.)
- RHP Dylan Crooks (2-0, 9 SV, 1.37 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 19.2 IP, 17 SO, 7 BB, 3 ER, .186 opp b/avg.)
No. 17 Vanderbilt at No. 19 Oklahoma Weekend Schedule
- Game 1: 7 p.m., Friday, SEC Network
- Game 2: 4 p.m., Saturday, SECN+
- Game 3: 2 p.m., Sunday, SECN+