Bedlam at a Crossroads — Thin pitching depth and an uneven offense meet a surging OU squad at ONEOK Field

When OSU clashes with No. 14 Oklahoma on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at ONEOK Field in Tulsa, the stakes couldn't be higher for the Cowboys. Win, and erase the bitterness from last weekend's series loss at Kansas State, log a resume-boosting victory and bolster the team's RPI — a composite ranking used by the NCAA selection committee to evaluate teams for postseason consideration, currently at 49 — heading into the second half of conference play. Lose, and head into a treacherous four-week stretch on the wrong end of a showdown with a bitter rival.

"It's an important game for both sides," head coach Josh Holliday said ahead of last season's meeting. "It means a lot to the state, to college baseball and to our players — and I think many of theirs, too — many of which were born and raised in Oklahoma.

"It's certainly not a defining element of one team's season, but it for sure can spring you in the right direction if you win."

For a Cowboys team that has stumbled through the first half of conference play, Tuesday's Bedlam clash doubles as both a measuring stick and a potential turning point.

The Cowboys (22-14, 7-8 Big 12) are under .500 in conference play near the midway point for the second straight season. Series losses to BYU and, most recently, Kansas State have stalled momentum at critical junctures. OSU's .273 team batting average ranks 10th in the Big 12. Its 0.393 on-base percentage is last in the conference. And the team's 395 strikeouts lead the Big 12 — 47 more than second-worst Cincinnati.

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The Cowboys have hit home runs in bunches — 75 through 36 games — but the long ball has masked a lack of offensive balance. In tight, late-game situations, OSU has struggled to manufacture runs without relying on power. It's a contrast from the consistency that once defined the Cowboys' offensive identity, where depth and situational hitting complemented the home run totals — an element the Sooners have thrived with much of this season.

Injuries have compounded the problems.

First came an injury to ace left-hander Hudson Barrett, who departed a March 6 start against Gardner-Webb less than two innings in due to arm soreness. He returned to the rotation on a predetermined pitch count two weeks later but left his start against BYU the following week after one inning and has not appeared since.

Last Tuesday, in a home loss to Oral Roberts, closer Noah Wech departed the mound in the top of the ninth due to a tweak in his throwing shoulder. Holliday told The Stillwegian during OSU's series at Kansas State last weekend that Wech likely wouldn't pitch this week.

The pitching depth is thin, and the margin for error is thinner. OSU's 6.11 team ERA ranks 12th in the Big 12, while its bullpen has surrendered late leads — from the seventh inning on — eight times since the start of conference play.

"We're day by day right now," Holliday said. "There's some luxuries that we don't have right now that you'd really like to have as a coach. But that's baseball. We'll figure it out as we go.

"You get on the other side of the board like we are, you're working with a thinner bullpen, younger kids are going to have to pitch. That's all there is to it. They're on scholarship, they're very capable and they're gonna have to learn. And sometimes learning is painful. Sometimes you have to just sit there and grow, and you have to stay positive with it all."

Those offensive and pitching struggles have only magnified one another — and they arrive against the backdrop of a rivalry that has shifted.

In March 2024, Holliday stood along the visitor's dugout at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman after a midweek win over OU and outlined the importance of keeping the Bedlam baseball rivalry alive. He noted how alternating campus host sites on a yearly basis "made sense" for both programs, for college baseball and for the state of Oklahoma.

A lot has changed on both ends since.

At the time, OSU was widely considered the marquee program within the state. Holliday routinely logged top-20 recruiting classes with a handful coming in top-10 fashion. OU, meanwhile, was on a steady rise — two years removed from a runner-up finish in the College World Series and still trying to sustain that momentum.

The Sooners (24-11, 7-8 SEC) have flipped the script. OU has bested OSU over the past two Bedlam contests, outscoring the Cowboys 21-2 in that span. Most recently, the Sooners cruised past OSU 10-1 on Opening Weekend at the Shriners Children's College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. OU, in its second season in the SEC, has also out recruited OSU in three of the past four recruiting classes since 2022, according to Perfect Game.

It's a stark contrast from a rivalry OSU dominated for so long under Holliday — the Cowboys own a 37-16 mark against the Sooners under his tenure.

Last season, OSU entered with a No. 16 ranking and was selected as the preseason Big 12 favorite. Instead, the Cowboys sputtered, earning one of the final four spots in last year's Field of 64 before making a fifth straight regional exit. This season hasn't offered much reprieve.

Health can't be self-improved, but management around it can be, Holliday noted. And for a team searching for stability down the stretch, time is running short.

To clinch a 13th straight regional berth, OSU needs to string together victories while securing quality wins along the way. Tuesday presents a prime opportunity.

A contest that could shape the trajectory of OSU's season comes against its archrival — and against a program that has closed the gap in ways that extend well beyond the diamond.

"Just taking it one day at a time," Holliday said. "That's all you can do, right? If you look too far ahead or let other factors conflict with your rhythm or routine, bad things will happen. But it's up to us to take it one day at a time, one game at a time and one pitch at a time. If we can do that, good things will come."