Hot Oklahoma Baseball Team Set To Face Kansas This Weekend

May 8, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. -

Dates: May 10-12

First Pitches: 7 p.m on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday, 1 p.m. on Sunday

Ballpark: Hoglund Ballpark (2,500)

Location: Lawrence, Kansas

Radio: The entire OU-Kansas 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 are ranked, however the Sooners are receiving votes in the three major polls.

Coaches: Oklahoma is coached by Larry Cochell, who is 444-269-1 in his 12 seasons with the Sooners, and 1,240-729-4 over his 35-year coaching career. Bobby Randall leads the Jaykawks and has compiled a career record of 474-519-1 in 17 years. Randall was the head coach at Iowa State from 1985-1995 before taking the KU job.

Series Notes: Oklahoma leads the all-time series against Kansas by a margin of 127-75-1 ... The Sooners are 54-38-1 all-time in road games versus the Jayhawks ... Under head coach Larry Cochell, Oklahoma is 25-18 versus Kansas ... OU has won 11 of the last 14 meetings against KU, including five of the last six ... Oklahoma swept Kansas a year ago in Norman by scores of 10-9, 4-3 and 10-4 ... Rocky Cherry earned a win against KU on Friday, Feb. 24, 2001 ... KU's last win over the Sooners was on April 16, 2000, in Lawrence ... KU pitcher Chris Jones graduated from Trinity Christian Academy in Dallas, the same school that sent David Purcey, Scott Rooker and Aaron Adair to Oklahoma ... Trinity Christian Academy won the Texas state championship in both 1999 and 2000 with that group.

Scouting Kansas

Kansas enters its series against Oklahoma with a 21-24 record, including 4-16 in conference play. The Jayhawks find themselves in the cellar of the rugged Big 12 Conference, but have won three consecutive games. KU started the season 10-0, but have had losing streaks of both seven and eight games this season. Kansas does battle its opponents however, boasting wins over nationally-ranked teams such as Texas A&M, Texas, Wichita State, Texas Tech and Nebraska. In Big 12 play, Baylor and Oklahoma State both swept the Jayhawks, and KU only played two games versus Missouri, both losses.

As a team, Kansas bats .280, 10th in the Big 12. Four Jayhawk regulars bat over .300, including sophomore Ryan Baty, who boasts a .341 batting average, 17 doubles and 46 RBI, all team-highs. Sophomore OF Matt Tribble is right behind him at .340 and first baseman Kevin Wheeler provides a powerful bat from both side of the plate, hitting a team-high eight home runs and driving in 41. Senior Ryan Klocksien has a .301 average with 13 doubles. Baty, Klocksien, Casey Spanish and Lance Hayes are all threats on the basepaths, each stealing 10-or-more bags.

Oklahoma can expect to see some combination of Jeff Davis, Dan Olson and Jake Wright on the mound for KU this weekend. Davis is 5-4 with a 3.87 ERA, two complete games and 51 strikeouts in 83.2 innings pitched. Olsen is 4-3 with an even 4.00 earned run average and Wright, although 3-5, has a 4.81 ERA and two complete games. Tom Gorzelanny has started at times for Kansas, but is a reliable reliever, picking up three saves. Chris Smart is also a key member of the Kansas bullpen, ammassing two saves and a 6.31 ERA.

Sooners Sweep Kansas State

The Oklahoma baseball team won a battle of big innings on Friday night, building an 11-0 lead after the first two innings and holding on for a 15-10 triumph. The Sooners cranked out a season-high 19 hits, Luke Alexander hit a grand slam in the first inning and Matt Bose went 3-for-4 with a career-high five RBI. David Purcey (4-3) notched the win after going 5.1 innings, allowing four hits and six runs - only one was earned - and striking out six.

On Saturday, Oklahoma earned a nail-biting, 6-4 victory over Kansas State, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning to take its second win in as many tries against the Wildcats. In the ninth, freshman Jarod McAuliff allowed a walk and a single and hit a batter to load the bases with no outs. However, the freshman from Stillwater, Okla., struck out three consecutive Wildcats, including Pat Maloney, who entered the game as the Big 12's top hitter, to seal the win and foil any Wildcat comeback. The save was the first of McAuliff's Sooner career.

Austin Mix (5-5) earned the win after pitching four innings and allowing just three runs on five hits. Mix struck out three before giving way to Buddy Blair, who allowed one KSU run over two innings and a third. OU cranked out 11 hits and turned a season-high four double plays in the contest.

Oklahoma got an outstanding pitching performance from sophomore Mark Roberts and run-ruled Kansas State 11-0 to complete its first Big 12 Conference series sweep since the 2001 Iowa State series (May 5-6). Roberts (6-3) pitched eight innings, struck out a career-high nine batters and scattered six hits en route to the win, which doubles his win total of three from a year ago. All the more remarkable was that Roberts was feared to be lost for the season after injuring a blood vessel in his neck just eight days ago at Texas Tech. Roberts' complete game was the first for an OU pitcher this season, as was the shutout. OU's last shutout was on April 27, 2001, a 5-0 blanking of Centenary.

Jason Fransz went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four runs batted in, while Denver Kitch was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Charlie Frasier and Ryan Richardson each hit solo home runs, while Reggie Willits had two hits and scored two runs.

OU's Ace Roberts Big 12's Best This Week

Mark Roberts was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for his play against Kansas State over the weekend, the league office announced Monday. Just eight days after suffering a frightening injury when he took a line drive to the base of his neck, Roberts returned to the mound and pitched a masterpiece against Kansas State. The Owasso, Okla., native pitched a complete game shutout, going eight innings, striking out a career-high nine batters and scattering just six hits. Both the complete game and the shutout were firsts on the season for the Oklahoma pitching staff and are all the more remarkable that they were done by a pitcher who was feared lost for the season.

Roberts is now 6-3 on the year with a 4.14 ERA and a team-high 63 strikeouts. In Big 12 Conference action, Roberts is 4-1 with an earned run average of 4.02. On April 27 at Texas Tech, Roberts took a line drive in the neck and suffered a soft tissue injury around the external carotid artery. He stayed at a Lubbock hospital for two nights and returned to Oklahoma the Monday after the incident for further tests and evaluation by OU's team physicians. When it was determined that no further treatment was required, Roberts was cleared to return to play. Usually OU's Friday night starter, Roberts started on Sunday against Kansas State and completely shut down the Wildcat bats en route to his sixth win of the season.

Greusel Leaving His Impression

When he entered OU's contest with K-State on May 3, Evan Greusel moved into a first-place tie 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 78 appearances, Greusel is deadlocked with teammeate Rocky Cherry. 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 215 strikeouts for his career, good for 10th on the all-time school list. Greusel is also tenth in school history with 255.1 innings pitched.

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. He earned his first save after getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam unscathed in the ninth against K-State on May 4. On the year, the Stillwater, Okla., native, is 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA and one save.

Purcey Named Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week In April

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 that week and went 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA and 13 strikeouts. On the season, he is 4-3 with a team-best 2.91 ERA.

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.

Jones Stays Busy

Brandon Jones has started in center field for 13 of the past 14 games and looks to be earning more playing time down the stretch for the Sooners. Jones is batting .281 with a double, a triple, three home runs and 11 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 .306 batting average, two homers, 10 doubles, 16 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.

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. Alexander's grand slam in the first inning against K-State on May 3 proved to be key in OU's 15-10 win. On the season, the Carthage, Texas, native is batting .326 with 11 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 33 RBI (fourth on the team).

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, five home runs, has driven in 38 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 six consecutive scheduled starts.

Austin Mixes It Up

Austin Mix, currently sixth in Oklahoma history with 255 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 five victories this season.

Oklahoma Trying to Make Bats Come Alive

With a team batting average of .299, Oklahoma is currently ranked eighth in the Big 12 Conference in team batting. Bayor leads the league with a .321 team batting clip. Jason Fransz's ranks 20th in the Big 12 with a .337 batting average and his 12 homers are good for fifth in the league. Fransz and Matt Bose are tied for fourth in the Big 12 with 16 doubles apiece.

Stealing Sooners

As has been his philosophy for many years, Larry Cochell has his players running. OU has stolen 69 bases so far this season, third in the Big 12 behind Texas and OSU. Sophomore Denver Kitch is the Sooners' leading base stealer, going 27-for-35 in 2002, good for second in the Big 12. Junior Reggie Willits also blazes on the basepaths, stealing 16 bases, seventh in the conference. Before his injury, Matt Arkison was a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts.

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Hot Oklahoma Baseball Team Set To Face Kansas This Weekend

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