Sooner Baseball History

1898The University of Oklahoma's first intercollegiate baseball team records two wins and one loss in its first season of competition.

1906Under first-year head baseball coach Bennie Owen, the Oklahoma baseball squad doubles its win total from its first five seasons, going 10-6. Owen coached the baseball Sooners for 15 seasons, compiling a 142-102-4 mark and coached the football Sooners to a 122-54-16 record during his 22 years at the helm.

1925Led by head coach Bill Owen, the Sooners claim their first of three consecutive league titles in the old Missouri Valley Conference with a 10-1 conference mark.

1927Lawrence Haskell leads OU to a Missouri Valley Conference title in his first year at the helm. During his tenure, OU recorded a string of 23 consecutive home conference victories and logged a 6-5 mark against legendary Texas coach Williams Disch, despite the fact that nine of the 11 games were played in Austin. Located southeast of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where the football practice fields are located today, Haskell Park served as the Sooners' home for 70 years until its replacement in 1982 by L. Dale Mitchell Park.

1930Oklahoma wins the first of eight league titles during the Big Six Conference era with a 9-3-1 record.

1942Led by Dale Mitchell's .420 batting average, the Sooners record a 17-7 mark in their first season under head coach Jack Baer and last before OU baseball began a three-year hiatus during World War II. Baer would lead OUto a 281-250 record in 23 seasons from 1942-1967 and still ranks as the Sooners' second-winningest coach by victories.

1947In the Sooners' first NCAA postseason game, Oklahoma defeats Oklahoma A&M 6-2 in the NCAA District Five Playoffs before losing to Texas 10-9 in the NCAA Tournament in Denver, Colo.

1951Led by second-team All-America pitcher Jack Shirley, Oklahoma returns to NCAApostseason competition with a 4-0 run to its first national championship, defeating Ohio State, Springfield (Mass.) College, Southern California and Tennessee.

1972In his fifth season since succeeding Jack Baer as head coach of the Sooners, Enos Semore guides the Sooners to the first of four consecutive Big Eight Conference titles and five straight NCAA College World Series appearances.

1976Oklahoma records a school-record 62 wins en route to its fifth consecutive NCAACollege World Series showing.

1979For the second time in three seasons, OU claims the Big Eight Conference title by winning the league's postseason tournament with a 3-0 mark.

1989Citing health reasons, head coach Enos Semore retires as the winningest coach in Oklahoma and Big Eight Conference history with an 851-370 mark and just one losing season in 22 years at OU. A six-time District Coach of the Year selection American Association of Collegiate Baseball Coaches, Semore was a two-time National Coach of the Year honoree. Semore guided the Sooners to six Big Eight Conference titles, 14 NCAApostseason appearances and five NCAA College World Series berths.

1991After leading Cal State-Fullerton to two NCAA College World Series appearances in three years, Larry Cochell is named head baseball coach at the University of Oklahoma. Cochell guides OU to a 40-23 mark and an NCAA Regional berth.

1992Led by All-America second baseman Brian Eldridge, Oklahoma eliminates blasts UCLA 10-0 to earn its first NCAACollege World Series appearance in 15 years.

1994The Sooners' 6-3 defeat of Texas in the Central Regional championship game gives head coach Larry Cochell his 1,000th career victory and gives Oklahoma its second NCAA College World Series berth in three years. At the CWS, the Sooners eliminate Arizona State -- Cochell's alma mater -- with 4-3 and 6-1 victories over the Sun Devils. The Sooners close the deal with a 13-5 victory over Georgia Tech in the championships game, completing their 8-0 tear through NCAA postseason competition to claim Oklahoma's second baseball national championship.

1995Playing before an NCAA single-game record 15,379 fans at All Sports Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla., Oklahoma defeats Auburn 3-1 in the championship game of the NCAA Midwest IIRegional to earn its third NCAA College World Series appearance in head coach Larry Cochell's five years at OU.

1997Oklahoma ushers in the Big 12 Conference era by snapping Oklahoma State's 16-year hold on conference tournament titles, eliminating the Cowboys from the inaugural Big 12 Tournament with a 10-5 victory. Later that day, OU tops Texas Tech 19-17 to claim the tournament title and earn the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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