The Red River Rivalry gets renewed on the diamond this weekend at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman, Oklahoma. Both teams are coming off series losses they would like to put behind them. Before last weekend, Oklahoma was ranked 17th and had won three of its last four SEC series. The Sooners not only lost but were swept and have now lost four conference games in a row. They are now unranked and would like a series win over their rival while increasing their postseason position.
Texas, on the other hand, is not coming in feeling much better despite being ranked third in the country. After starting 19-2 in SEC play and being ranked No. 1 for three weeks, the Longhorns have lost five of their last six games in conference. That includes back-to-back series losses to Arkansas and Florida. They have been outscored 42-17 in those six games, meaning they are failing in every phase. It is not all doom and gloom, however. Texas has a two-game lead in the conference standings and a series win against Oklahoma likely locks up the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
Texas Must Cut Down on Strikeouts
In the last two series, Texas batters struck out 38 times against Arkansas and 37 times against Florida. Striking out that many times does not give you a chance to win ballgames. It does not matter how good your pitching is if the offense has a hard time putting the ball in play. Early on in the year, the Texas offense was one of the best in the country, and part of the reason was that they did not strike out much. Striking out was a big issue for David Pierce’s teams, and that seems to be coming back. It must be corrected, plain and simple, if Texas intends to make a deep run in the postseason.
It will not get any easier for the Texas bats this weekend, as they will face Oklahoma ace Kyson Witherspoon. Witherspoon is a projected top 15 pick in the upcoming MLB draft. He is currently 9-3 with a 2.45 ERA to go with 104 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 77 innings. Texas has not done well against strikeout pitchers of late. The Longhorns faced likely first-rounder in Arkansas pitcher Zach Root, and he struck out 11 in 8 scoreless innings. They must figure out a way to beat Witherspoon if they want to beat the Sooners on Thursday.
Starting Pitching Must Get Back on Track
During this recent slump, Texas has struggled on the mound as well. As discussed previously, a large part of that is the loss of Jared Spencer and having to move player roles around since his loss. Texas had a top-three team ERA for most of the season, but they have struggled of late. That is not just the starters but also the bullpen.
Ruger Riojas, who has been one of the best pitchers this season for Texas since moving from Sunday to Friday starter, has struggled. In his last two starts he has combined to make it just four innings. That is not good enough and puts serious strain on the bullpen arms. There are rumors that Riojas and others battled illness last week, which perhaps played a part. Regardless, Riojas needs to be better against Oklahoma, or Jim Schlossnagle will need to reevaluate who the Friday starter will be in the postseason.
Max Belyeu’s Return Can’t be Overstated
All-American outfielder Max Belyeu has been out since fracturing his thumb against Missouri on March 28th. Despite playing in just 24 games this year, Belyeu is batting .356 with 6 home runs and 22 RBIs. Since his departure from the line,p the Texas offense has not been the same. His presence alone makes the lineup better as he will force teams to pitch differently to players like Rylan Galvan and Jalin Flores, among others.
Schlossnagle mentioned on his weekly interview on AM 1300 The Zone that Belyeu is very close and they’d like to get him at-bats before the postseason. Schlossnagle went on to mention that if things go well in batting practice prior to the Oklahoma game Thursday, Belyeu should play in some fashion this weekend. His return could inject some life into a Longhorn offense that has been struggling lately.
TEXAS vs. OKLAHOMA
When: May 15-17, 2025
Where: L. Dale Mitchell Park, Norman Oklahoma
Time: Thursday at 6:30 p.m.; Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.
Stream/TV: SEC Network+ (Thursday, Friday & Saturday)
Listen: TexasSports.com/audio: FREE streaming audio – University of Texas Athletics
Live stats: texas.statbroadcast.com
