Ramming to the Future

Future Sooner Stripling stayed true to Mayde Creek

Future Sooner Stripling stayed true to Mayde Creek
Stripling averaged 3.8 tackles in his senior year. Via Vype

Originally Appeared on Vype

By signing his National Letter of Intent after donning a crimson "OKLAHOMA" cap on Early Signing Day on December 19, Marcus Stripling etched his name into Mayde Creek High football lore.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end picked the Sooners over LSU, Alabama and Texas A&M to become the fourth football player from Mayde Creek to sign with a Power 5 conference over the last 20 years.

"He means a lot. He brought a lot of attention," Mayde Creek head football coach Mike Rabe said. "While we've been here, we've progressively gotten a little bit better because football's gotten more important here because of his notoriety. Everybody sees he came from our feeder schools and he's made it to the next level. These guys believe they can do it now, too, and it just creates a whole different energy around your football team."

Making it to Oklahoma while wearing the green and white of the Rams made it more special for Stripling. Stripling said each of his 20 offers meant more and more as they came in because of where he's from.

"I want to set a platform for all my teammates and coaches here," Stripling said. "It shows they can do it themselves, too. It doesn't matter what school you go to, it can be done."

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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