OU Baseball Faces No. 3 Texas

March 29, 2000

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NORMAN, Okla. - After facing No. 21 Baylor for three games last weekend, Oklahoma will continue its string of games against nationally-ranked opponents with a single mid-week game against No. 11 Cal State-Fullerton and a three-game series versus No. 3 Texas. The Sooners (16-12, 5-4 Big 12) battle the Titans (16-7, 6-0 Big West) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. The Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas (26-5, 12-2 Big 12) enters the new millennium as the two teams square off in Norman over the weekend. Game times are set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The 1 p.m. start time on Saturday was changed from its originally scheduled 6:30 p.m. start to avoid conflict with the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four.

LAST TIME OUT
Oklahoma third baseman Jason Bartlett was perfect at the plate (4-for-4) as the Sooners routed No. 21 Baylor, 12-6, on Sunday to take the final game of the three-game series. OU collected a season-high 18 hits in the game as every Sooner in the starting lineup picked up a hit and five Sooners posted multi-hit performances.

OU dropped the first two games of the series by scores of 15-3 and 6-3.

THE HISTORY
Larry Cochell is 0-2 against his former team, Cal State-Fullerton, as the head coach for the Sooners. The last time the two teams met was in 1996 when OU lost, 11-5, to CSFU in the second game of the Anaheim Hilton and Towers Classic in Fullerton, Calif. The Sooners also lost, 4-1, to the Titans in the second game of the same tournament in 1994.

After sweeping OU in three games in 1999, the Longhorns took the series lead, 16-14, over the last 10 years. However, since the Big 12 began baseball action in 1997, Oklahoma holds a 5-4 series edge against Texas.

SCOUTING THE TITANS
Nationally-ranked Cal State-Fullerton, winners of eight-straight games, comes into Tuesday's game with a 16-7 overall record and a 6-0 record in the Big West Conference. The Titans are ranked No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 6 by Baseball America and No. 14 by the ESPN/USA Today poll.

CSFU recently swept their second consecutive conference series by outscoring Nevada, 38-17, over the three games last weekend. Outfielder Steve Woodward, who is enjoying a current seven-game hitting streak, leads the Titan offense with a .458 average with one home run and 15 RBIs. Lefthander Jon Smith leads the starting pitching staff in ERA with a 2.31 ERA and is tied for the staff-lead in wins with four.

SCOUTING THE LONGHORNS
The Texas Longhorns, 26-5 overall, sit atop the Big 12 standings with a 12-2 conference record after sweeping past Oklahoma State at home last weekend. UT is ranked No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America and No. 2 by the ESPN/USA Today poll.

Outfielder Ben Emond leads the Longhorns offensively with a .423 average and first baseman Jeff Ontiveros has hit a team-high eight home runs and 35 RBIs. The UT pitching staff posts a 2.80 team ERA with regular starters Beau Hale, D.J. Jones and Phil Seibel combining for a 16-5 record.

SOONERS VS. THE LONGHORNS

PITCHERS

	G	W-L	S	ERA	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
Michael Bradbury	1	0-1	0	1.50	2.0	5	3	3	1	1
Rocky Cherry	1	0-0	0	0.33	3.0	1	1	1	2	1
Evan Greusel	1	0-0	0	0.00	3.0	0	1	0	3	3
Rick Park	1	0-0	0	0.67	3.0	3	2	2	3	1

POSITION PLAYERS

	G	AVG.	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO
Jeff Bajenaru	3	.000	10	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4
Chad Cochell	3	.000	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Zach Lekse	3	.455	11	1	5	1	0	0	0	2	0
Sean Murphy	3	.429	7	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rick Park	9	.333	35	6	12	2	0	0	12	2	3
Jeremy Vidales	3	.000	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
Tommy Whiteman	3	.000	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Josh Witcher	2	.000	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1

SOPHOMORE SENSATION
After surrendering a solo home run to the first Nebraska batter, sophomore reliever Evan Greusel did not allow a base hit through eight-straight innings of work (a streak which ended in Sunday's game against Baylor). With the exception of one walk, Greusel sat down the final six batters in the 10-1 loss versus the Huskers. On Tuesday, against Oral Roberts, Greusel pitched four scoreless innings and struck out a career-high six batters to earn his first save of the season in the Sooners' 4-1 victory. Greusel is currently enjoying a streak of nine consecutive scoreless innings, while striking out 11 batters over that stretch.

GREUSEL'S LAST FOUR APPEARANCES

Team	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
at Nebraska	2.0	1	1	1	1	2
at Oral Roberts	4.0	0	0	0	3	6
vs. No. 21 Baylor	1.0	0	0	0	1	0
vs. No. 21 Baylor	3.0	1	0	0	1	4

DIAMOND NOTES

Shortstop Zach Lekse set a career-high hitting streak on Sunday by collecting a base hit in his last nine games.

Third baseman Jason Bartlett's 4-for-4 multi-hit performance on Sunday ties him for the team lead in multi-hit games.

First baseman Rick Park has reached base in all but two games this season (over a span of 26 games).

Austin Mix has not allowed an opponent to reach double-digits in hits in any of his five starts.

The Sooners have not committed an error in the last six games.

With two stolen bases in Sunday's game, OU improved its stolen base total to 39. The Sooners stole a total of 44 bases during the 1999 season.

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).

SOONERS ON TELEVISION
The Sooner baseball team is scheduled to have five games televised this season on major cable television networks. The Oklahoma-Texas series this weekend (March 31 - April 2) will be broadcast by College Sports Southwest. OU will have its contest against Texas A&M on Saturday, April 8, televised by FOX Sports Net at 7 p.m. The second game of the Bedlam Series between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at the Southwestern Bell Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City on Saturday, April 22 at 2 p.m., will also be broadcast by FOX Sports Net.

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	170	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.	Rick Park	86	1997-

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.

BULLPEN BITS

JEFF BAJENARU:

Saves/blown saves: 5/0Inherited runners/scored: 6/1

Last appearance: 3/26 vs. No. 21 Baylor - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO

Two saves have come against top 25 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: 3/21 at Oral Roberts - 5.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Picked up his first win of the season versus Oral Roberts in his second consecutive start.

CLINT DUNBAR:

Saves/blown saves: -/-Inherited runners/scored: 7/5

Last appearance: 3/24 vs. No. 21 Baylor - 4.0 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

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

EVAN GREUSEL:

Saves/blown saves: 1/-Inherited runners/scored: 4/1

Last appearance: 3/26 vs. No. 21 Baylor - 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO

Has thrown nine-consecutive scoreless innings.

Earned his first save of the season against Oral Roberts.

Struck out a career-high six batters in the ORU game.

JEFF WIGINGTON:

Saves/blown saves: -/-Inherited runners/scored: 1/1

Last appearance: 3/24 vs. No. 21 Baylor - 0.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO

Earned his first start of the season and posted career highs in innings pitched (8) and strikeouts (6) against Murray State.

2 Zach Lekse

Starting shortstop.

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

Established a career-high nine-game hitting streak with a base hit in Sunday's game against No. 21 Baylor.

Batting .412 (14-for-34) over his current streak with four runs scored and four RBIs.

3 Sean Murphy

Starting at second base.

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

Currently in a two-week hitting slump in which he is batting .184 (7-for-38).

Ranks first on the team in stolen bases (9) and tied for first in runs scored (21), second on the team in total bases (51), sacrifice bunts (3) and home runs (5), third in slugging percentage (.459) and tied for third in RBIs (17) and fifth in hits (31).

6 Tommy Whiteman

Currently acting as the team's designated hitter.

Batting .200 (3-for-15) with two runs scored and two RBIs over the last week.

Leads the team in hits (35) and tied for first in runs scored (21), second in batting average (.327) and on-base percentage (.405), third in total bases (48) and tied for third in walks (11), fourth in slugging percentage (.449) and fifth in home runs (2).

8 Jerome Godsey

Starting centerfielder.

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

Currently in a two-week slump at the plate batting .222 (6-for-27) over the last nine games.

Ranks in the top five in every major offensive category.

9 Eliot Joyner

Has started in left field, in right field and at the catching position.

After posting a four-game hitting streak last week, has not picked up a hit in his last two games.

Tied for second on the team in doubles (7), tied for third in home runs (3) and fifth in slugging percentage (.442) and RBIs (16).

22 Jason Bartlett

Starting third baseman.

Perfect at the plate (4-for-4) on Sunday against No. 21 Baylor and added three runs scored and four RBIs.

Batting .529 (9-for-17) over the last five games.

Tied for first on the team in runs scored (21), second in walks (14) and stolen bases (8), third in on-base percentage (.402) and sacrifice bunts (2), fourth in batting average (.317), hits (32) and doubles (6).

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 versus Kansas State.

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

Leads the pitching staff in wins (5) and strikeouts (40), second in innings pitched (43.2), and fourth in opposing batting average (.228) and appearances (9).

28 Jeff Bajenaru

Team closer and starting rightfielder.

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

Hit two home runs within last week to give him a total of three on the season.

Ranks in the top five in every major offensive category except runs scored and total bases.

Ranks in the top five of every major pitching category.

32 Rick Park

Starting first baseman.

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

Has reached base in 24 of the 26 games he's played in this year.

Ranks first on the team in home runs (6), slugging percentage (.520) and total bases (52) and tied for third in walks (11).

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 against No. 15 Arizona State.

Tied for second on the team in appearances (10), third in innings pitched (37.1) and tied for third in strikeouts (23).

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.

Has suffered losses in his last two outings.

Ranks first on the team in innings pitched (55.0), second in strikeouts (31) and wins (3).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

SOONERS VS. THE LONGHORNS

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