OU baseball – Oklahoma begins its best-of-three NCAA Super Regional against Kansas on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence after rain delayed gate opening. The Sooners (36-22) send freshman left-hander Cord Rager in Game 1, while Kansas counters with rig
Rain pushed back the start of the day in Lawrence, but it didn’t erase what everyone came for: Saturday’s Game 1 of the NCAA Super Regional between Oklahoma and Kansas.
Oklahoma (36-22) travels to No. 15 Kansas for a best-of-three series in the Lawrence Super Regional at Hoglund Ballpark. The first pitch was originally set for 5 p.m., but the opening of the gates was delayed by rain. First pitch time after the delay: 5:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.
The matchup sets two teams with momentum entering the Super Regional. The Sooners won the Atlanta Regional, upsetting host and No. 2 seed Georgia Tech. Kansas, meanwhile, won both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles and then swept its own regional, defeating Arkansas in the final.
Oklahoma’s path to this weekend has been fueled by power. The Sooners hit 11 home runs and produced 17 extra-base hits in the regional, scoring 49 runs. Coach Skip Johnson used 15 pitchers across five games and generated 45 strikeouts.
On the mound for Game 1, Johnson has elected to start freshman left-hander Cord Rager (5.74 ERA). In the regional opener. Rager turned in a career outing with eight strikeouts. no walks and only three earned runs in six innings. Kansas counters with right-hander Dominic Voegele (5.85 ERA) on Saturday.
Oklahoma’s Game 1 starting lineup is set:
CF: Jason Walk
3B: Camden Johnson
C: Deiten Lachance
SS: Jaxon Willits
DH: Trey Gambill
LF: Brendan Brock
RF: Dasan Harris
1B: Dayton Tockey
2B: Kyle Branch
If the Super Regional moves forward, the pitching plan is already taking shape. The Sooners are set to start freshman right-hander Xander Mercurius (6.18 ERA) on Sunday, while Kansas plans to start right-hander Mason Cook (4.23 ERA) in Game 2.
The schedule and how to follow are also clear. Game 1 is Saturday, June 6 at 5 p.m. CT (broadcast time tied to the ESPN2 slot), Game 2 is Sunday, June 7 at 5 p.m. CT (time listed as TBD), and Game 3, if necessary, is Monday, June 8 (also TBD). ESPN2 will broadcast Oklahoma vs. Kansas.
Fans can also listen locally: Toby Rowland (play-by-play) will call the OU game on The Ref (99.3 FM and 1400 AM).
Kansas brings a season record of 45-16 (22-8 Big 12) and an RPI ranking of 16th. The Jayhawks’ top hitter is Tyson LeBlanc, a shortstop who entered the NCAA Tournament hitting .339 with a team-high 21 home runs and 10 stolen bases. LeBlanc homered in all three regional games.
On the pitching side, Kansas’s best option is Mathis Nayral, a right-hander who has started 17 games and holds a 4.92 ERA. Nayral only pitched one inning this past weekend.
Oklahoma will be looking to match Kansas’s edge with the kind of offensive burst that carried it through the regional. The Sooners’ decision to go with Rager in the opener signals an emphasis on limiting free baserunners—he allowed no walks in his regional start—while trying to keep Kansas’s lineup from settling in at Hoglund Ballpark.
For now, all attention turns to the first pitch at 5:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, after the rain delay reshuffled the timing but not the stakes.
OU baseball Oklahoma Sooners Kansas Jayhawks NCAA Super Regional Game 1 Hoglund Ballpark Cord Rager Dominic Voegele Skip Johnson ESPN2
Rain delays are the worst. I swear college sports always starts 30 minutes later.
So Oklahoma vs Kansas at 5:30 CT… does that mean in Kansas City time or like Lawrence time? My brain is mixing it up.
Freshman left-hander with a 5.74 ERA? That seems kinda risky for a super regional. Like if he gets touched early then what, they just throw 15 pitchers again? lol
I thought Kansas was already undefeated or something because they “won everything,” but then OU has home runs too?? The article says rain delayed gate opening but also that it pushed back the start of the day… so which one is it? Also why do they keep saying “momentum” like it matters when it’s baseball.