Baseball Returns To Conference Action

March 15, 2000

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma baseball team faces Murray State University in two mid-week games before battling the University of Nebraska this weekend in their second conference series of the season. After posting a 2-2 record last week, the Sooners' overall record improves to 12-7 with a league record of 3-0.

The Murray State games are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman. The Sooners then travel to Lincoln, Neb., to square off with the Huskers in a three-game set beginning Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and concluding Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
OU salvaged the final game of a three-game series against No. 15 Arizona State, 5-4, in Tempe, Ariz., on Sunday after dropping the first two games of the series over the weekend. Oklahoma starting pitcher Austin Mix (4-1) held Arizona State to only four hits through 7.1 innings, while closer Jeff Bajenaru racked up his fifth save on the season by shutting down the Sun Devils over the final 1.2 innings.

The Sooners lost the first game on Friday against the Sun Devils, 11-5, and fell 6-5 to ASU on a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth by Arizona State catcher Casey Myers in Saturday's contest. Leftfielder Sean Murphy highlighted the weekend offensively for Oklahoma by hammering two home runs in as many games.

THE HISTORY
Oklahoma and Murray State will square off in their first meeting during the Larry Cochell era this week.

Despite dropping two of three games to the Huskers last season, the Sooners still dominate the series 23-17 under Cochell. However, since beginning Big 12 Conference play in 1997, Nebraska leads the series by a 5-4 edge.

Last year, the Huskers rolled into Norman and stole the first game, 5-4, in 11 innings, before the Sooners bounced back to take the second game, 12-10. Nebraska then went on to control the final game, winning 12-3.

SCOUTING THE THOROUGHBREDS
Murray State enters the contest with a 2-13 overall record after losing their latest game 4-0 to Saint Louis last Friday. The Thoroughbreds' final two games against the Billikens were cancelled due to snow.

Murray State's lone two wins of the season came against Arkansas-Little Rock, 8-3, and most recently versus Freed Hardeman, 16-11, last week. The Thoroughbreds have suffered through a seven-game losing streak between victories. The Murray State offense has been outscored 144-82 by their opponents. First baseman Andy Mazzier leads the team with a .346 batting average, while starting pitcher Preston Hesley sports a 5.57 ERA over four starts and owns one of the team's two wins.

SCOUTING THE HUSKERS
As of March 13, the University of Nebraska baseball team posted a 10-6 overall record and 3-3 record in the conference. Most recently, the Huskers took two of three games at Kansas State this past weekend. Nebraska is scheduled to face Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., on Tuesday and Wednesday before hosting the Sooners this weekend.

Catcher Justin Cowan leads all Husker starters offensively with a .369 average, including three home runs and 26 RBIs. In four starts, lefthander Jamie Rodrigue has obtained a 3-1 record with a 1.95 ERA.

SOONERS VS. THE HUSKERS
OKLAHOMA CAREER STATS VERSUS NEBRASKA

PITCHERS

	G	W-L	S	ERA	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
Jeff Bajenaru	1	0-0	1	2.73	1.1	5	3	3	1	2
Michael Bradbury	2	0-0	0	0.50	2.0	4	1	1	1	2
Rocky Cherry	1	0-0	0	1.50	2.0	3	3	3	3	1
Evan Greusel	2	0-0	0	1.36	2.2	2	5	3	2	0
Rick Park	1	1-0	0	0.25	8.1	10	6	4	2	7

POSITION PLAYERS

	G	AVG.	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO
Jeff Bajenaru	4	.500	16	4	8	1	0	1	3	1	1
Chad Cochell	6	.364	11	3	4	0	0	0	1	0	4
Zach Lekse	4	.316	19	3	6	3	0	0	0	1	1
Sean Murphy	4	.385	13	2	5	1	0	0	2	0	0
Rick Park	9	.262	42	8	11	1	0	2	8	4	4
Jeremy Vidales	5	.111	9	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	3
Tommy Whiteman	2	.167	6	1	1	1	0	0	0	1	3
Josh Witcher	3	.143	7	1	1	0	1	0	3	1	0

AWESOME AUSTIN
For the third consecutive start, righthander Austin Mix pitched an outstanding ballgame. On Sunday, the freshman hurler held the 15th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils to four hits over a career-high 7.1 innings to pick up his staff-leading fourth win of the season.

In his previous start, Mix struck out a career-high 11 batters against Kansas State. It was the second consecutive outing in which the righthander recorded career bests in strikeouts. Mix held No. 25 Louisiana-Lafayette to three hits through seven innings while striking out eight in a 3-2 Sooner loss in his first career start.

SOONERS IN MLB SPRING TRAINING
With the commencement of Major League Baseball Spring Training in recent weeks, the University of Oklahoma finds six former Sooners listed on several 40-man team rosters. The following are the names of the Sooner alums and the current Major League team with whom they are affiliated: Ryan Minor (Baltimore Orioles), Greg Norton (Chicago White Sox), Mark Redman (Minnesota Twins), Darron Cox (Montreal Expos) and Russ Ortiz and Damon Minor (San Francisco Giants). The six-player total is bettered only by one other Big 12 school (Texas - seven).

DIAMOND NOTES
Shortstop Tommy Whiteman collected a Sooner individual season-high four hits last Wednesday versus Texas-Arlington.

Sophomore Rocky Cherry struck out a career-high eight batters against ASU on Friday night.

Saturday night's game-winning home run surrendered by reliever Clint Dunbar was the first home run given up by Dunbar in 13 relief appearances.

Oklahoma hit a season game-high six doubles against Texas-Arlington on March 8.

The Sooners' six hits and four errors on Friday night against No. 15 Arizona State matched season lows.

Oklahoma pitchers surrendered a season-high 11 runs to the Sun Devils in the first game.

Saturday night the Sooners did not commit an error in a game for the fifth time this season.

Over two years, closer Jeff Bajenaru is a perfect 13-for-13 in save opportunities.

STREAKS AND MORE . . .
Jeff Bajenaru is currently enjoying a season-high nine-game hitting streak ... The nine-game hitting streak marks the longest by an individual Sooner on the season ... Utility player Jeremy Vidales has put together a career-high current hitting streak of seven games ... First baseman Rick Park has hit four home runs over the past eight games.

PARK IN THE RECORD BOOKS
As senior Rick Park enters his final season in a Sooner uniform, the Norman, Okla., native looks primed to climb his way to the top of several Oklahoma career offensive records. In addition to the categories listed, Park also has the opportunity to break into the top ten in career hits, career runs scored and career doubles.

CAREER HOME RUNS:

1.	Casey Bookout	60	1996-99
2.	Brian Shackelford	55	1995-98
3.	John Russell	48	1980-82
4.	Chris Ebright	45	1987-89
5.	Kevin Pearson	43	1983-86
6.	Jeff Kaye	39	1982-85
	Damon Minor	39	1993-96
	Rick Park	39	1997-

CAREER RBIs

1.	Brian Shackelford	251	1995-98
2.	Chris Ebright	239	1987-89
3.	Casey Bookout	220	1996-99
4.	Rich Hills	190	1992-95
5.	Kevin Pearson	186	1983-86
6.	Damon Minor	171	1993-96
7.	Rick Park	169	1997-

CAREER EXTRA BASE HITS

1.	Brian Shackelford	132	1995-98
2.	Chris Ebright	120	1987-89
3.	Casey Bookout	119	1996-99
4.	Kevin Pearson	97	1983-86
5.	Rich Hills	95	1992-95
6.	Damon Minor	90	1993-96
7.	Javier Flores	84	1994-97
	Rick Park	84	1997-

MISCELLANEOUS TEAM STATS

OU's Record . . .

	W	L	Pct.
Total	12	7	.632
Conference	3	0	1.000
Non-Conference	9	7	.563
Home	7	2	.778
Away	3	5	.375
Neutral	2	0	1.000
Day	11	4	.733
Night	1	3	.250
vs. Lefties	5	2	.714
vs. Righties	7	5	.583
1-Run Games	2	2	.500
2-Run Games	2	2	.500
5+ Games	5	2	.714
Extra Innings	0	0	.000
Shutouts	0	0	.000
OU Scores First	5	3	.625
Opponent Scores First	7	4	.636
Led After Seven	12	0	1.000
Trailed After Seven	0	7	.000
Led After Eight	12	0	1.000
Trailed After Eight	0	6	.000
Out-Hit Opponents	10	3	.769
Out-Hit By Opponents	1	4	.200
February	7	5	.583
March	5	2	.714
April	0	0	.000
May	0	0	.000

Inning-By-Inning Summary

	OU	Opponent
First	5	12
Second	19	6
Third	7	6
Fourth	17	17
Fifth	15	12
Sixth	18	10
Seventh	21	6
Eighth	8	9
Ninth	11	8
Total	121	86

Current Winning Streak:1
Longest Winning Streak:5
Longest Losing Streak:3

DEFENSIVE GEM
Senior Zach Lekse was recognized in October as a Division I runner-up for the 1999 Easton Redline Defensive Award. The annual award, which is published in Collegiate Baseball, is presented to an individual in each NCAA division and at the high school level who has displayed outstanding defensive skills in the field.

As a member of the OU baseball team that finished the season ranked third in the nation in fielding percentage, the Martinez, Calif., native was a main contributor to the team's defensive success. Starting all 59 games for the Sooners, Lekse made 75 putouts, a team-high 171 assists while committing only 12 errors. He also sported a .953 fielding percentage. Lekse's outstanding defensive numbers combined with a solid offensive effort earned the former junior college transfer second-team All-Big 12 honors at the shortstop position in his first season of Big 12 competition.

MILESTONE VICTORY
With the Sooners' 9-4 victory on opening day against Oklahoma Baptist, head coach Larry Cochell picked up his 350th win at Oklahoma. Beginning his tenth year at OU, Cochell has acheived the milestone quicker than any other baseball coach in school history. It is the second time in his coaching career that Cochell has surpassed the mark as he accomplished 428 victories as the head coach at Oral Roberts.

AYE, AYE CAPTAIN!
Head coach Larry Cochell, who has only named a team captain once during his tenure at Oklahoma, has chosen seniors Jeff Bajenaru, Zach Lekse and Rick Park to act as the team's co-captains for the 2000 season. The trio are the first team captains to be named by Cochell since 1995 when Rich Hills was appointed the duties.

SWITCHING PLACES
The heart of the Sooners' infield, returning starters Zach Lekse and Tommy Whiteman, have encountered position changes for the 2000 season. A second team All-Big 12 selection at shortstop last year, Lekse will spend the year securing the defense up the middle of the infield at second base, while Whiteman will move from third base, where he started last year, into the vacancy left at shortstop by Lekse.

YOUNG GUNS
Of Oklahoma's 14 pitchers on the roster, half are underclassmen and five are in their first year of pitching at the Division I level.

Freshmen Brandon Hankins, Austin Mix and Patrick Wyrick are expected to make immediate impacts on the team. Mix is expected to eventually find his way into the starting rotation, while Hankins and Wyrick will play substantial roles in relief. Following elbow surgery performed over the summer, Hankins is anticipated to be available for action beginning in March. Wyrick is the 2000 recruiting class' lone draft pick as he was the Montreal Expos' 18th round pick in the 1999 Amateur Draft held in June.

Returning sophomores Michael Bradbury, Rocky Cherry, Clint Dunbar and Evan Greusel picked up a wealth of pitching experience in their first year on the mound in 1999, in both starting and relief roles, combining to pitch a total of 153 innings and tally nine wins.

JUCO transfers Mike Hale and Chuck Thumann will face their first Division I action this year coming out of the bullpen.

TOUGH COMPETITION
Once again, the Sooners' 2000 schedule features some of the country's toughest opponents. This season's competition includes seven teams that were ranked in the final 1999 Baseball America Top 25 poll as well as three 1999 College World Series participants. In addition to last year's final rankings, 10 of OU's 2000 opponents are ranked in either the 2000 Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball or Baseball Weekly/ESPN preseason polls.

For the fifth consecutive year, national powerhouse Arizona State will engage in a home-and-home series with the Sooners. Other schedule highlights include an appearance at the Southwestern Bell Ballpark in Oklahoma City on March 29 by 1999 College World Series participant Cal State-Fullerton. Oklahoma faces Texas A&M, another College World Series qualifier, on April 7-9 in College Station, Texas. Big 12 rival Texas travels to Norman for a three-game series beginning March 31, and OU will head to Lafayette, La. (Feb. 25-27), to face Louisiana-Lafayette who finished the 1999 season ranked 18th in the nation.

Oklahoma's annual Bedlam Series with 1999 College World Series participant Oklahoma State will be held at the end of April. The first of the three games will be played in Tulsa on Friday, April 21 at 7:30 pm, at Driller's Stadium. The Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark will host the final two games at 1 pm on Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23. The series attracted over 42,235 fans over four games last year.

TAPPING THE JUCO CIRCUIT
Head coach Larry Cochell brought in a group of highly-touted junior college recruits to aid the Sooners' efforts in 2000. Cochell landed a first team Junior College All-American in Jerome Godsey. Godsey, a pitcher and outfielder at Santa Rosa (Calif.) C.C., batted .358, including 27 RBIs and 13 stolen bases, last season to also earn all-conference honors for the second year in a row.

Infielder Jason Bartlett and catcher/outfielder Eliot Joyner also highlight the JUCO unit. Bartlett averaged .457 with three home runs and 33 stolen bases in his final year at San Joaquin Delta C.C. (Calif.). Joyner garnered honorable mention conference honors in 1999 after hitting .326 with four home runs at Cerritos (Calif.) C.C.

CLASS OF 2001
The Sooners signed seven high school recruits during college baseball's early signing period in the fall to play for the Sooners beginning with the the 2001 season. Six of the signees hail from the state of Oklahoma, while the seventh hails from Arkansas. The recruiting class includes three pitchers, two outfielders, one infielder and one catcher.

Headlining the group is signee Jason Belcher, from Walnut Ridge (Ark.) High School, who is ranked as the 63rd top high school prospect in the nation by Baseball America and rated among the top three high school catchers in the country by Perfect Game scouting service.

SPEAKING OF RECRUITING CLASSES
The current group of newcomers was ranked as one of the top 30 recruiting classes in a recent issue of Collegiate Baseball. The class was rated as the 29th best recruiting class in the nation for 2000. Other Big 12 members listed in the rankings were Texas (3), Texas A&M (7), Oklahoma State (16) and Texas Tech (28).

OFF THE FIELD ACCOMPLISHMENTS
During the fall semester, 16 Sooners achieved a 3.0 or better grade point average for their efforts in the classroom. In addition, 13 players currently hold a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

BEAM CLAY FIELD OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Sooner baseball program was recently awarded second place in the Beam Clay Field of the Year Award competition for L. Dale Mitchell Park's quality field surface. Top honors are awarded to the most outstanding baseball fields in the nation at the professional, collegiate, high school and parks and recreation levels.

Oklahoma took first place honors in 1994, the last time OU was able to enter the contest. Programs can enter the competition only once every five years.

SOONERS ON THE AIR
Every Sooner baseball game will be broadcast on 1400 AM KNOR-Norman, and 1490 AM KOKC-Guthrie. There will also be 10 games aired on the Sooner Radio Network. The broadcast team will consist of Mark Mathew and Mike Treps.

In addition to the radio, each broadcast will be carried on the Internet. To hear Sooner baseball anywhere in the world, log on to the University of Oklahoma's athletic web site at www.soonersports.com.

HEAD COACH LARRY COCHELL
With a career record of 1,157-662-3 overall and 361-205 at Oklahoma, Larry Cochell enters his 10th season at OU ranked sixth on the list of wins by active Division I head coaches and 13th on the all-time win list. He is one of only 22 coaches in NCAA history and one of only 14 active coaches with 1,000 wins to his credit.

With 17 career NCAA regional apparances, including six during his OU tenure, his abilitiy to sustain a program is best evidenced by the fact that Cochell is the only head coach in collegiate baseball history to take three different schools to the College World Series.

His first Series appearance came in 1978 as he led Oral Roberts to its first and only CWS showing to date. He made two more trips to Omaha (1988 and 1990) as the head man at Cal State Fullerton, but it was the fifth time that proved to be the charm for Cochell.

Two years after his first trip to Omaha with the Sooners in 1992, his 1994 team tore through the regional and CWS foes without a loss and came back with the school's first national championship since 1951. One year later, Cohell returned to Rosenblatt Stadium with his 1995 OU club, marking the first time OU has had consecutive CWS appearances since a string of four straight from 1972 to 1976.

COCHELL YEAR-BY-YEAR

YEAR	SCHOOL	RECORD
1967	Emporia State	16-18
1968	Emporia State	25-14
1969	Emporia State	29-13
1970	Creighton	25-7
1971	Creighton	24-12
1972	Cal State-Los Angeles	23-26
1973	Cal State-Los Angeles	31-18
1974	Cal State-Los Angeles	35-18
1975	Cal State-Los Angeles	12-30
1976	Cal State-Los Angeles	16-33
1977	Oral Roberts	35-17
1978	Oral Roberts	45-12
1979	Oral Roberts	34-24
1980	Oral Roberts	38-16
1981	Oral Roberts	45-10-1
1982	Oral Roberts	49-13
1983	Oral Roberts	51-17
1984	Oral Roberts	38-23-1
1985	Oral Roberts	50-19
1986	Oral Roberts	43-20
1987	Northwestern	23-20-1
1988	Cal-State Fullerton	43-18
1989	Cal-State Fullerton	30-27
1990	Cal-State Fullerton	36-23
1991	Oklahoma	40-23
1992	Oklahoma	43-24
1993	Oklahoma	31-24
1994	Oklahoma	50-17
1995	Oklahoma	42-16
1996	Oklahoma	32-25
1997	Oklahoma	39-20
1998	Oklahoma	42-20
1999	Oklahoma	30-29
2000	Oklahoma	12-7

BULLPEN BITS

JEFF BAJENARU:Saves/blown saves: 5/0,Inherited runners/scored: 5/0

Last appearance: 3/12 at No. 15 Arizona State - 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 SV

Two saves have come against top 25 nationally-ranked teams.

Perfect 13-for-13 in save opportunities over the last two years.

MICHAEL BRADBURY: Saves/blown saves: -/-,Inherited runners/scored: 1/0

Last appearance: 3/10 at No. 15 Arizona State - 1.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1ER, 2 BB, 0 SO

Came on in relief to get the Sooners out of a one out, two on jam by forcing the batter to hit into a double play in his last appearance.

CLINT DUNBAR:Saves/blown saves: -/-,Inherited runners/scored: 6/4

Last appearance: 3/11 at No. 15 Arizona State - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

Surrendered only three hits and one run through his first five outings.

EVAN GREUSEL:Saves/blown saves: -/-,Inherited runners/scored: 2/1

Last appearance: 3/10 at No. 15 Arizona State - 0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO

Has struck out six batters in 5.1 innings pitched.

MIKE HALE: Saves/blown saves: -/-,Inherited runners/scored: -/-

Last appearance: 3/8 vs. Texas-Arlington - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 W

Earned starts in his last two outings, both against Texas-Arlington.

In his first appearance, Hale allowed only four hits over two innings.

JEFF WIGINGTON:Saves/blown saves: -/-,Inherited runners/scored: 1/1

Last appearance: 3/10 at No. 15 Arizona State - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

Pitched two innings and allowed only three hits and no runs in OU's 3-1 victory over No. 10 Houston.

SOONERS AT A GLANCE

2 Zach Lekse

Starting second baseman.

Missed the Central Oklahoma game due to a slight ankle sprain, snapping a streak of 60-straight games started for the Sooners.

Currently in a week-long 2-for-17 (.118) slump with one run scored.

3 Sean Murphy

Started in every game, making appearances in right field, second base, first base, left field and as the team's designated hitter.

Acted as the team's starting leftfielder for the past three weeks.

Had a career-high seven-game hitting streak snapped against No. 25 Louisiana-Lafayette.

Ranks first on the team in runs scored (17) and tied for the lead in stolen bases (7), second in slugging percentage (.548) and home runs (4), third in hits (24) and total bases (40), tied for fourth in RBIs (12) and fifth in batting average (.329).

6 Tommy Whiteman

Starting at shortstop.

Drew a career-high three walks from Bison pitchers in the Oklahoma Baptist game.

Had a season-best six-game hitting streak snapped against Kansas State.

Has compiled 11 multi-hit performances on the year.

Ranks first in hits (28) and tied for the lead in total bases (41), second in batting average (.368) and on-base percentage (.415), third in slugging percentage (.539), runs scored (15) and tied for third in doubles (5) and fourth in walks (5), home runs (2) and stolen bases (5).

8 Jerome Godsey

Starting centerfielder.

Only Sooner to hit a grand slam home run this season.

Batted .455 with two runs scored and a RBI versus No. 15 Arizona State over the weekend.

Leads the team in batting average (.370), on-base percentage (.440) and tied for the lead in doubles (6), second in hits (27) and tied for second in RBIs (14), third in walks (9), fourth in runs scored (14) and tied for fourth in total bases (36) and fifth in slugging percentage (.493).

9 Eliot Joyner

Has started in right field and at the catching position.

Has thrown out three base runners from behind the plate.

After a 3-for-5 performance against Texas-Arlington last Tuesday, Joyner failed to pick up a hit this weekend against No. 15 Arizona State.

Tied for first on the team in doubles (6), tied for second in RBIs (14), third in home runs (3), fourth in sluggin percentage (.507) and tied for fourth in total bases (36) and fifth in runs scored (13).

22 Jason Bartlett

Starting third baseman.

Produced a 2-for-4 performance with two runs scored versus Texas-Arlington last week.

Tied for the team lead in walks (10), second in runs scored (16) and fourth in hits (21).

27 Austin Mix

No. 3 pitcher in the starting rotation.

Held No. 25 Louisiana-Lafayette to three hits over seven innings in his first start.

Struck out a career-high 11 batters to pick up his third win of the season versus Kansas State.

Pitched a four-hitter over a career-high 7.1 innings against No. 15 Arizona State on Sunday.

28 Jeff Bajenaru

Team closer and starting rightfielder.

His six strike outs in the Oklahoma Baptist game matched a career high.

Picked up his fifth save against No. 15 Arizona State on Sunday.

Tied for third on the team in batting average (.333) and doubles (5), tied for fourth in RBIs (12) and fifth in on-base percentage (.382).

32 Rick Park

Starting first baseman.

Has also served as the designated hitter and a starting pitcher.

Has hit four home runs over the last eight games.

Batted .500 (7-for-14) with one run scored and six RBIs over the past week.

Ranks first in home runs (6), slugging percentage (.603), RBIs (16) and tied for first in total bases (41) and walks (10), fourth in on-base percentage (.398) and fifth in hits (20).

38 Rocky Cherry

No. 1 starter in the rotation.

Allowed only one run on five hits in five innings to the 10th-ranked Houston Cougars in picking up his first win of the year.

Pitched a career-high 8.1 innings against Kansas State while picking up his second win of the season.

Struck out a career-high eight batters Friday night against No. 15 Arizona State.

39 Austin Coose

No. 2 pitcher in the starting rotation.

Picked up his first win of the season in his first start in a Sooner uniform against Central Oklahoma.

Struck out a career-high nine batters against Kansas State to pick up his third win.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

SOONERS VS. THE HUSKERS OKLAHOMA CAREER STATS VERSUS NEBRASKA

MISCELLANEOUS TEAM STATS

BULLPEN BITS

SOONERS AT A GLANCE

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SOONERS VS. THE HUSKERS
OKLAHOMA CAREER STATS VERSUS NEBRASKA