Notebook: All eyes on Sandlin

If you don't listen carefully you might think Skip Johnson is talking.

Take things one pitch at a time. It’s about playing the baseball not the opponent. It's about winning and learning, not winning and losing.

Listen to the players. They’re telling you about the culture in Norman.

“Honestly, we talk about it all the time. The opponents are cool and all but we're just playing against the baseball. It's the same game, just against a different opponent. It's always fun to go out there and win and compete against the best people in the country. We're excited to do that,” said Jackson Nicklaus following Oklahoma’s Friday victory versus Texas A&M.

It’s not a wholesale status update on the state of the program but it speaks to the culture. Every day is an opportunity. What Skip Johnson and staff have preached all year has been taken to heart. It didn’t fall on deaf ears.

“We still have a couple games to win the whole thing. We still are three wins away. We just have to go one pitch at a time and keep going every pitch,” said Blake Robertson of the Sooners 2-0 start in Omaha.

“It feels good. We are playing our best baseball at the right time. We started off a little rough and that’s just kind of getting used to each other and knowing each other but I think we’ve meshed as the year went on and I think our play is showing that.”

A testament to Johnson and his coaching staff. The program is headed in the right direction. The 44 wins this season are the most since 2013. The pair of wins in Omaha the most since 1994. You know how that ended.

“The game's played one pitch at a time. I mean, I learned that from Coach Garrido and Coach Harmon at the University of Texas when I coached for them. In this environment that's what it's about. It was really awesome to hear Jackson talk about, when somebody asked about if they're ready to play the University of Texas,” said Johnson. “It's really about playing against the baseball. And that's what you try to teach them.

“That's what we practice a lot. And for him to regurgitate that, that's a great sign for our program and our culture.”

A culture and program that could take it’s next step on Wednesday. 27 outs. That’s what separates them from reaching a championship series. A place no Oklahoma team has gone since the series began in 2003.

An arrival of sorts.

The kind of chaos-- in the college baseball world -- that won’t come on the base paths.

Sandlin getting the ball

Having a short memory, in sports particularly, can be a good thing. Oklahoma hopes David Sandlin has just that come Wednesday afternoon when he toes the rubber in hopes of pitching the Sooners to a national championship series.

Sandlin got his first taste of Omaha on Friday making the first relief appearance of his career. It didn’t go well. Two hits, four runs and one walk later an eight run lead quickly evaporated to four. Just one out recorded.

“I wanted to get David out there for an inning, just to get him out there,” said Johnson following the 13-8 MCWS opening round victory. “No better time to get him out there, he's probably going to start the third game, to get him comfortable. Whatever happened, it didn't matter.”

Live and learn. Bounceback. Maybe even try less.

“I thought he really tried hard and once you notice that and you recognize it that's what'll help you. If you recognize it and learn from whatever happens in that environment,” said Johnson on Tuesday. “He's really talented. He already has a fifth gear so to speak in his arsenal. So he doesn't have to really try.”

“It's easy for us as coaches and sports psychologist to talk about but it's hard to live. You can do it by sitting in line at the coffee shop. You can do it sitting in the line at the red light. Just breathing and making sure you're in the moment versus the future and the past. You can't live in the past in this game. The game wants you to do that.”

Sooners pitching down the stretch

Thanks in part to Jake Bennett and Cade Horton, Oklahoma’s pitching staff entering the bracket final versus Texas A&M is in great shape.

“Yeah they definitely set the tone. They help us. Putting up zeroes on the board definitely helps. That sets the tone for the whole week,” said Blake Robertson. “Helps our bullpen out especially when they get strung out in the fifth and sixth inning. If they can keep going longer that just helps our bullpen on the back-end. Just saves our pitching in general.”

Chazz Martinez, Ben Abram, Carson Atwood and Carter Campbell have yet to throw and will be waiting in the wings should Sandlin find trouble early on Wednesday.

“That's for sure. We can those different guys and hopefully those guys will get in there. I know that all of them are fighting to get in there,” said Johnson.

Bennett’s next start will come in either an IF game on Thursday or first game of the championship series on Saturday with Horton (hopefully) to follow.