Series Snapshot: Aces duel as Tigers and Sooners start series
04/03/2025
By Hunt Palmer
LSU’s baseball rivalry with Oklahoma isn’t a long one, but the last four matchups have been eventful.
In the 2013 Super Regional at Alex Box Stadium, Aaron Nola and Jonathon Gray dueled in the best pitching matchup in that stadium’s 16-year history. Nola won the war in a 2-0 LSU win. The next day LSU clinched a spot in Omaha with an 11-1 rout of the Sooners.
Back in 2020, before the season was ended due to COVID-19, Oklahoma’s Dane Acker fired a no-hitter against the Tigers in the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic in Houston. Two years later, Jordan Thompson hit an 11th inning walk off homerun in the same stadium against the Sooners.
Now, Oklahoma and LSU will meet as conference rivals. The Sooners are off to a solid start in their maiden SEC voyage. They won their first two series against South Carolina and Mississippi State before dropping a rubber game at Alabama last Sunday.
This weekend marks the first top 10 matchup at L. Dale Mitchell Park since 2011 when No. 8 Oklahoma hosted No. 9 TCU.
As is the case with all 10 of these weekends, it’s a big one. Let’s dive in.
Showdown In The Sooner State 🔜 pic.twitter.com/PtVWijYQmn
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) April 3, 2025
ACES WILD
Thursday’s matchup on the mound will be one of the best in college baseball.
Kyson Witherspoon was the Midseason National Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball.com.
He struck out 90 last year and exploded as a prospect with Team USA and on Cape Cod last summer.
Early in his junior season, he’s 5-1 with a 2.31ERA. He’s struck out 64 and walked 10 in 39 innings. Opponents hit .189 against him.
His fastball sits 95-97 mph, and his slider is tight and sharp at 90-91mph. He’s added a curveball this year which is about 78 mph. He doesn’t throw it a ton, but it’s there so hitters have to consider it.
Kade Anderson was a second team mid-season All-American by D1Baseball. Prior to last week, Anderson had really been electric. His outing against Mississippi State was more gritty than dominant. The home run ball has been an issue for Anderson. He gave up three of them last week. Oklahoma is No. 12 in the SEC in home runs, so it’s a good matchup from that perspective.
Both Anderson and Witherspoon are projected first round picks, so Thursday night should be a show.
STEALING SOONERS
Oklahoma loves to run. And they do it well. Oklahoma’s 74 steals in 28 games are 13 more than second place Kentucky among SEC teams. Most of the lineup can run. Six Sooners have eight or more stolen bases. Dawson Willis leads the way with 12. That’s second in the SEC.
Teams are just 16-for-24 stealing on LSU this year. Anderson features an excellent left-handed move to first which should keep Oklahoma honest on Thursday. It’s the rest of the staff that needs to pay close attention.
Luis Hernandez has a good arm, not great. The stolen base threat makes the walks hurt worse for LSU pitching. Oklahoma is seventh in the SEC in walks which we know those can be an issue for Tiger pitching. This weekend a walk can turn into a runner in scoring position in a hurry.
CLOSING TIME
Both teams are racing to their bullpen arms. LSU has found a dominant one-two punch out of the bullpen in Casan Evans and Zac Cowan. Both have proven they can eat up 9-to-12 outs at a time when the Tigers take a late-inning lead.
Oklahoma is trying to get the ball to Dylan Crooks, their senior right hander. He’s got nine saves which leads the country. His ERA is 1.42, and opponents hit .191 against him. In 19 innings as the closer, he’s allowed three earned runs.
Oklahoma is 12-1 when Crooks pitches. The loss came last when he yielded a double and run in .2 innings at Alabama last week.
SERIES SCHEDULE
- Thursday: 6:00 ESPN2
- Friday: 6:30 ESPN+
- Saturday: 2:00 ESPN+
