No. 21 Texas remains on the road with matchup against No. 17 Oklahoma State

Mar 31, 2023 - 2:26 PM

Riding a 15-game winning streak that has propelled them into the rankings for the first time this season, the No. 21 Texas Longhorns play for their weekend road series in nearly a month against the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater.

Texas is coming off a 5-2 rivalry win over Texas A&M in College Station that ended a four-game losing streak against the Aggies overall and a four-game losing streak at Olsen Field. During the 15-game winning streak, the nation’s longest active, Texas is hitting .329 with 32 doubles and 25 homers after batting .235 with only 10 home runs during the 4-7 start.

Center fielder Eric Kennedy is riding an 11-game hitting streak, while left fielder Porter Brown earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors last week by batting .615 and providing the winning runs in two of the three wins over Texas Tech. First baseman/third baseman Peyton Powell has hit safely in 15 of the 18 games he’s started and leads the Horns with a .416 batting average. Powell also has six doubles, five home runs, 19 RBI, and 22 runs scored.

Oklahoma State will provide a challenge for Texas in multiple areas.

On the mound, the Cowboys lead the Big 12 in strikeouts with 273 and have three pitchers in the top 10 of the conference individually. The Horns have cut down on strikeouts in recent weeks, including only two last Friday against the Red Raiders, but struck out 13 times against the Aggies, the first game with double-digit strikeouts since the Sunday loss to the Titans in Fullerton.

Head coach Justin Holliday’s team also hits for power and average, ranking second in the conference and 20th nationally in batting average at .314 and leading the Big 12 in slugging percentage at .571 thanks to 66 doubles, third-best nationally, and 50 home runs, tops in the conference. Six regulars are batting at least .300, led by outfielder/first baseman Nolan Schubart, who is hitting .402 with eight home runs.

The two programs met six times last season with the Cowboys sweeping the Longhorns in Austin before Texas won two of three meetings in the Big 12 Tournament.

Probable pitching matchups

FRIDAY–Texas LHP Lucas Gordon (2-0, 1.65) vs. Oklahoma State RHP Ben Abram (4-0, 5.00)

SATURDAY–Texas RHP Travis Sthele (2-2, 4.55) vs. Oklahoma State RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (3-1, 2.97)

SUNDAY–Texas TBA vs. Oklahoma State RHP Brian Hendry (1-0, 5.59)

First pitch on Friday and Saturday is 6 p.m. Central before a 1 p.m. Central game on Sunday. Big 12 Now on ESPN+ will televise all three games.