Oklahoma Baseball Team To Face Kansas State In Pivotal Big 12 Series

May 2, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - Dates: May 3-5

First Pitches: 7 p.m on Friday and Saturday, 1 p.m. on Sunday

Ballpark: L. Dale Mitchell Park (2,700)

Location: Norman, Oklahoma

Radio: The entire OU-Kansas State series can be heard on KREF-1400 AM, as well as through OU's official athletic website, soonersports.com. James Hale and Chad Cochell will call the action.

Rankings: Neither Oklahoma nor Kansas State are ranked.

Coaches: Oklahoma is coached by Larry Cochell, who is 441-269-1 in his 12 seasons with the Sooners, and 1,237-729-4 over his 35-year coaching career. Mike Clark leads the Wildcats and has compiled a record of 413-447 in his 16 seasons at K-State. He is 683-563 over his 22-year coaching career, including a seven-year stint at N.E. Okla. A&M.

Series Notes: Oklahoma leads the all-time series against Kansas State by a margin of 159-60-1 ... The first meeting between the schools was in 1913, a 1-0 KSU win in Manhattan ... Oklahoma won 27 consecutive games against Kansas State, from 1982 through 1988 ... In the series history, Oklahoma is 83-20-1 all-time versus the Wildcats at home ... K-State's last win in Norman was on May 14, 1993, a span of 15 games ... K-State's last series win in Norman was during the 1971 season ... Under head coach Larry Cochell, OU leads the series with Kansas State by a margin of 29-11... During the 2001 season, Kansas State won two of three games from Oklahoma, with scores of 5-3 KSU, 5-2 KSU and 6-2 OU ... Seniors Rocky Cherry and Evan Greusel were handed losses by the Wildcats a year ago, and junior Austin Mix earned the win ... OU swept the 2002 series by scores of 6-4, 4-1 and 11-7 ... KSU pitching coach Mike Hensley is a 1988 graduate of Oklahoma, where he earned first-team All-Big Eight honors and preseason All-America honors as a Sooner ... K-State features six Oklahomans on its roster: Eric Rollins (Ada), Ryan Baldwin (Tulsa), Tim Doty (Oklahoma City), Jeremy Rogers (Morris), Jason Long and Gabe Luttrell (Midwest City) ... Rogers played at Seminole State College with OU's Reggie Willits ... Long was a high school teammate of OU infielder Denver Kitch at Yukon High School ... KSU's Mitch Walter was a junior college teammate of OU's Charlie Frasier at Santa Rosa JC ... KSU's Tim Foley played the last two seasons at Riverside CC and won two state championships with current Sooners Jason Fransz and Eddie Cornejo.

Scouting Kansas State

Kansas State enters this critical Big 12 Conference series with Oklahoma having won three of its last four games and boasting a 23-20 overall record. The Wildcats are currently tied with the Sooners for eighth in the conference, both schools having 8-10 league marks, so this three-game set might be the most important of the year for OU. K-State won two of three games against Baylor last weekend and has won Big 12 series versus both Nebraska and Texas Tech. Texas swept the Wildcats and Oklahoma State and Texas A&M both won two out of three against KSU this season. K-State has fallen to such national powers as Wichita State, Miami, Rutgers and Florida International in out-of-conference tilts.

The Wildcats feature two of the more imposing offensive talents in the Big 12 Conference in Pat Maloney and Ty Soto. Maloney leads the league in batting with a .410 average and has team-highs of 10 home runs, 12 doubles and 45 RBI on the season. Soto, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, has a .368 batting average, 36 runs batted in and 10 two-baggers. Tim Doty, of Putnam City North High in Oklahoma City, has hit six homers and has driven in 36 men this season, while Ryan Baldwin has brought home 35 teammates. As a team, Kansas State bats .314.

On the mound, Kansas State will throw Ross Hawley on Friday, Brock Smith on Saturday and Kevin Melcher in Sunday's final game. Hawley is a righty with a 1-4 record, a 5.67 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched. Smith is a left-hander who has a 3-5 mark on the season and an even 6.00 ERA. Melcher is arguably the club's ace, going 5-4 on the season with a 2.77 earned run average and 45 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched, both team highs. Mitch Walter (3-2, 3.37 ERA, five saves) and Franco Pezely (4-2, 2.88 ERA, three saves) are valuable relief pitchers out of the K-State bullpen. The Wildcats' team ERA is 5.16.

Sooners Take Two From McNeese State

The McNeese State Cowboys visited Norman for a two-game mid-week series, but Oklahoma proved to be unhospitable hosts, beating MSU by scores of 7-2 and 4-2 on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, OU ripped 17 hits and notched a convincing 7-2 win over McNeese State. The Sooners didn't waste any time in establishing a big lead, registering eight hits and scoring five runs in the first inning. In his first start since March 13, Buddy Blair (3-0) pitched seven innings and allowed just one run on six hits en route to the win. Blair struck out a season-high-tying five batters and six Sooners notched multiple hits in the game. Jarod McAuliff pitched an innings and two-thirds of perfect relief, while striking out four.

Oklahoma topped McNeese State by a score of 4-2 on Wednesday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Michael Bradbury (3-1) made the start for the Sooners and pitched 4.2 innings, surrendered two runs - one earned - on six hits and struck out three en route to the win. Austin Mix pitched effectively, going 2.1 innings and allowing just one hit, and Curtis White got a Cowboy to ground into a game-ending double play to pick up his second save.

Oklahoma Swept by Texas Tech

The Oklahoma baseball team was swept in a crucial Big 12 series at Texas Tech this past weekend. The Sooners dropped a 9-3 decision to Tech in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Dan Law Field. Mark Roberts and Red Raider starter Steve Gooch engaged in a pitching battle for the first two innings, however Tech exploded for nine runs between the third and seventh frames and cruised to the 9-3 win. Chris Jakubauskas belted his sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the ninth, however it wasn't enough to overcome the Red Raiders.

Tech won the second end of the Saturday doubleheader by a score of 9-4. The Red Raiders took an early 4-0 lead and seemingly had answers for everything Oklahoma could muster, and then some. OU scored two runs in both the fourth and seventh frames, however Tech answered with two and three runs of its own in both of the ensuing innings. David Purcey pitched five innings for the Sooners, struck out three and allowed six runs in a losing effort.

Texas Tech completed the three-game sweep with a 10-5 win on Sunday in front of 4,244 at Dan Law Field. The Red Raiders stormed out to a 4-0 lead and although OU battled to get back into the game, Tech held on for its third win in the series. Down 6-4 in the eighth inning, the Sooners had runners on both second and third with just one out, but weren't able to bring anyone home. The last time OU was swept in a three-game weekend series was against arch-rival Oklahoma State a year ago (May 11-13, 2001). Austin Mix was handed the loss for OU, going three innings and a third, allowing five runs - three earned - on five hits and striking out one.

OU's Ace Roberts To Return This Season

Mark Roberts has been released from an Oklahoma City hospital and has been cleared to return to play this season. Roberts suffered a soft tissue injury and damaged a blood vessel in his neck when he was hit with a line drive last Saturday at Texas Tech. After being treated at a Lubbock hospital, Roberts returned to Oklahoma on Monday and after being evaluated by OU's team physicians, it was determined that no further treatment is required. Roberts should return to action in approximately seven days.

Prior to his injury, the sophomore from Owasso, Okla., had a 5-3 record and a 4.66 ERA. Roberts' five wins are the most on the team, his 54 strikeouts are the most on the club and he pitched a team-high 63.2 innings.

Purcey Named Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week

Oklahoma freshman David Purcey was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for his play during the week of April 15-21. Purcey, a left-hander from Dallas who coincidentally turned 20 years old on the same day he received the award, made the first two starts of his collegiate career last week and went 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA and 13 strikeouts.

Against TCU on Tuesday, April 16, Purcey pitched six innings and struck out five Horned Frogs while allowing just one run on five hits. He followed that performance by shutting down Oral Roberts on Sunday, April 21, and notching his second win in as many games. Purcey pitched seven frames against the Golden Eagles, struck out a career-high eight batters and allowed just three unearned runs.

Purcey currently boasts a team-high six saves on the season, which is the most ever for an OU freshman and sixth-most for all Oklahoma pitchers in a season. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder from Dallas' Trinity Christian Academy was selected in the 20th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft by the Seattle Mariners, however chose to attend Oklahoma.

Greusel Leaving His Impression

When he entered OU's contest with TCU on April 16, Evan Greusel moved into second place in the OU record books in appearances. Greusel pitched two perfect innings against the Horned Frogs to notch his first save of the season. Currently with 77 appearances, Greusel is just one game behind teammeate Rocky Cherry's school-record of 78 appearances. Cherry earned the school mark last year when he surpassed Casey Mendenhall's 71 appearances as a Sooner. Greusel, a senior from Diamond Bar, Calif., currently has 212 strikeouts for his career and needs just three more to move into the top 10 on the all-time school list. Greusel is now tenth in school history with 252.2 innings pitched.

Jones Stays Busy

Brandon Jones has started in center field for 10 of the past 11 games and looks to be earning more playing time down the stretch for the Sooners. Jones is batting .288 (15-for-52) with a triple, three home runs and nine RBI on the season. He is also a talented wide receiver and punt returner for Oklahoma's nationally-ranked football team.

Bob Stoops' squad held its annual Red-White scrimmage on April 20 and Jones came away with seven catches and two touchdown grabs. The night before in Tulsa, Jones hit a towering home run against Oral Roberts, his second of the season.

Walk-Off Willits

One of Oklahoma's top players and most clutch performers this season has been junior Reggie Willits. Willits has recorded two game-winning, walk-off base hits during the 2002 slate and has established himself as Mr. Clutch for the Sooners. In OU's 6-5 win over Baylor in the second leg of an Easter doubleheader, Willits knocked a base hit into right field to bring home Ryan Richardson and seal the game, and the series, for Oklahoma.

Against Missouri on March 8, the junior transfer from Seminole State College had a RBI base hit to tie the game in the ninth inning, and in the 12th, Willits roped a single to center for the game-winning RBI. He currently has a .303 batting average, two homers, eight doubles, 14 stolen bases and 20 RBI. The switch hitter belted his home runs in consecutive games (vs. TCU and UTA), one from each side of the plate.

Oklahoma Closing In On 2000

In its 97th season of intercollegiate baseball, the University of Oklahoma has 1,974 all-time wins, which ranks No. 25 among all American colleges and universities. At the start of the 2002 season, Fordham University led the way with 3,109 wins over 141 seasons and in the Big 12 Conference, only Texas (2nd overall, 2,617 wins), Texas A&M (1,981 wins) and Oklahoma State (1,986 wins) began the season with more all-time wins than the Sooners.

Cool Hand Luke

Junior Luke Alexander turned some Sooner Magic into a win on April 5 at Nebraska's Hawks Field. The Sooners had been leading the game 4-1, but a three-run eighth brought the Huskers back even. Alexander ended any hopes of an NU comeback win by smashing his third home run of the season into the left field seats. The Sooners held on for a 5-4 win and for one night at least, Alexander was the hero. He nearly hit another game-winning home run in the ninth inning of the following day's game, however a stiff wind carried the ball foul. On the season, the Carthage, Texas, native is batting .325 with 11 doubles, a triple, five home runs and 29 RBI.

Bose A Freshman All-America Candidate

OU head coach Larry Cochell snared two gems from the Lone Star State last recruiting season in Matt Bose and David Purcey. Bose, a third baseman from Midland, has smacked a team-high 16 doubles, four home runs, has driven in 31 runs (second on the team) and is improving every day at the hot corner. Bose's RBI base hit in the seventh inning against Texas on April 12 was the first game-winning hit of his OU career.

Cherry Chasing Mound Marks

Akready OU's all-time leader in appearances with 78, Rocky Cherry is now setting his sights on OU's all-time records for wins and innings pitched. Cherry currently has 23 wins as a Sooner, good for seventh in school history. Cherry's pitching coach, Ray Hayward, is third with 26 wins during his career (1980-83) and Bob Shirley holds the all-time school mark with 31 wins. Cherry's 271.1 innings pitched place him in seventh place all-time. The next former Sooner that he'll pass? Hayward, who pitched 275 innings as a Sooner. Cherry is currently battling tendinitis in his right elbow and has missed four consecutive scheduled starts.

McAuliff Picking Up College Game Quickly

Freshman Jarod McAuliff came to OU as the most highly-touted high school pitcher in the state of Oklahoma, and as a freshman at the collegiate level, has been just as dominant. McAuliff made his first start of the season against Baylor on March 31, going seven innings, scattering nine hits and allowing just one BU run en route to the win. On the year, the Stillwater, Okla., native, is 1-2 with a 5.50 ERA.

Austin Mixes It Up

Austin Mix, currently sixth in Oklahoma history with 251 strikeouts over his two-plus years as a Sooner, has surpassed his win total for all of last season. The junior from Coppell, Texas, won three games in 2001 and has earned four victories this season.

Oklahoma Trying to Make Bats Come Alive

With a team batting average of .288, Oklahoma is currently ranked ninth in the Big 12 Conference in team batting. Bayor leads the league with a .319 team batting clip. Jason Fransz's ranks 20th in the Big 12 with a .337 batting average and his ten homers are good for fifth in the league. Fransz and Matt Bose are tied for third in the Big 12 with 15 doubles apiece.

Stealing Sooners

As has been his philosophy for many years, Larry Cochell has his players running. OU has stolen 67 bases so far this season, fourth in the Big 12 behind Texas, OSU and Texas Tech. Sophomore Denver Kitch is the Sooners' leading base stealer, going 27-for-34 in 2002, good for second in the Big 12. Junior Reggie Willits also blazes on the basepaths, stealing 14 bases, eighth in the conference. Before his injury, Matt Arkison was a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Oklahoma Baseball Team To Face Kansas State In Pivotal Big 12 Series

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