OU baseball heads to Hoover, SEC Tournament turning the page

OU baseball heads to Hoover, Ala., this week looking to start anew. It’s not a full reset. But it’s certainly searching for something different when it begins the SEC Tournament Tuesday night versus No. 14-seed LSU. 

The month of May hasn’t gone to plan. Having allowed nine runs or more in eight consecutive games, Oklahoma limps into the SEC Tournament losers in six of its last nine, including four consecutive series losses. 

The math there is pretty simple. The Sooners stay in Hoover, along with wherever they are sent next week in the NCAA Tournament, will be short-lived if they can’t get things – at the very least– calmed down on the mound. 

By the numbers 

37 – Home runs allowed 
71 – Walks allowed 
118 – Runs Allowed 

Since April 19, the last 14 games, Oklahoma’s pitching staff has been shelled. I’ll save you any excuses. It’s hard to win baseball games when you’re allowing nearly 8.5 runs per game, heading into the postseason having allowed nine runs or more in eight consecutive. 

Home runs have been issue, allowing three or more home runs in a game five times in the last month. 

“We played like this earlier in the year but we didn’t give up runs. We went through a month there when we pitched really well. Now we’re out there trying not to give up runs and when you try not to give up runs you give them up in bunches. Every time we’ve made an error over the last three or four weeks, we haven’t give up four runs. It’s been more like five or seven. That’s hurt us,” said Oklahoma head coach Skip Johnson. 

On Tuesday, Oklahoma will hand the ball to left hander Gavyn Jones. His lone start this season came all the way back on February 25 when he allowed three runs (two earned) over two innings versus Arizona State.

Maybe the offense is surging at the right time? 

Despite its shortcomings on the mound, the Sooners have seen a recent resurgence at the plate. 

They collected a season-high 17 hits on Thursday versus Tennessee. They’ve hit 17 home runs over the last five games. 

Deiten LaChance’s last month has been nothing short of remarkable. His three-home run regular season finale served as something of an exclamation to his torrid tear over the Sooners final 20 games of the regular season. He’s homered in seven of his last nine games.  

“It’s big. I think, as a team, mostly we’ve woke up. Guys know it’s an important part of the year. We’ve seen it from a bunch of different guys. It’s been awesome,” said LaChance. 

And he’s right. It’s more than *just* LaChance. 

Camden Johnson is hitting at a .406 clip over his last 16 games. Dasan Harris has played himself into the everyday lineup, hitting .403  with 10 RBIs and 10 extra-base hits over his last 20 games. 

Oklahoma is giving itself a chance offensively. Which perhaps makes the equation on the mound even more frustrating. 

“We started it last week really. Haven’t played both sides of the deal since probably earlier in the year. We went through a spell on the mound where we were really good. Then all of the sudden it’s kind of weird. You’re going to have that later on in the year,” said Johnson.

Experimenting with ABS in Hoover 

It’s going to be interesting. The SEC will implement the use of the ABS Challenge System in every game of the 2026 SEC Baseball Tournament. Just like the big leagues, hawk-eye technology will serve as a definitive review process when a team chooses to challenge a ball-strike call at the plate.

The upper boundary of the strike zone will stand at 58% of the batter’s height. The lower boundary at 23% of the batter’s height. Each team will be allowed three challenges per game. 

“What I wished they’d do if they’re going to do that, I wish they would call down in real time. The pitch is made and then umpire calls a strike or a ball. I like that element of the game. I guess I’m just old school. The umpires are a part of the game. As bad as sometimes we hate it. I’m just telling you they are a part of the game,” said Johnson. 

Broadcast Information 

Every game of the SEC Tournament will be broadcast on the SEC Network, with Sunday’s championship game being broadcast on ABC.