Sooners Face Stiff Competition At Lamar Tournament

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Feb. 26, 2003

NORMAN, Okla. - No. 29/30 Oklahoma (3-1) hits the road for the first time in 2003 as it travels to Beaumont, Texas, this weekend for the Lamar Tournament. The tournament field, which includes host school Lamar (8-2), No. 22/30 Ohio State (0-0) and Southwest Missouri State (3-1), will present the Sooners with arguably its toughest competition of the season to date. All three teams won more than 36 games last year and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

OU opens its tournament slate on Friday against SMS at 2 p.m. at Vincent-Back Stadium. The Sooners' second game pits them against the only other nationally-ranked team in the tournament field as they face the Buckeyes at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Oklahoma will then finish with Lamar on Sunday at 2 p.m. before heading back home.

DATES: Feb. 28 - March 2
FIRST PITCH: Friday at 2 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
BALLPARK: Vincent-Beck Stadium (3,500)
LOCATION: Beaumont, Texas
RADIO: Saturday and Sunday's contests will be broadcast locally on KREF (1400 AM) with radio veteran James Hale calling the action. The broadcast can also be heard on Oklahoma's official web site www.soonersports.com.
TELEVISION: None.
RANKINGS: Oklahoma is ranked 29th in the Collegiate Baseball poll and 35th in the NCBWA poll. Ohio State cracked the NCBWA top 25 poll this week at No. 22 and sits just behind OU in the Collegiate Baseball poll at No. 30. Lamar and Southwest Missouri State begin the week unranked, however the Bears did receive votes in the latest NCBWA poll.
SMS SERIES NOTES: Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 2-1, against Southwest Missouri State ... The only time the two teams have met during OU head coach Larry Cochell's tenure was back in 1993 ... The Sooners topped the Bears 7-5 in a single game in Norman ... OU and SMS split a home and home series back in 1989 to account for the other two games of the series ... Oklahoma won the first game 11-4 in Norman and fell 19-3 later that year in Springfield. OSU SERIES NOTES: Saturday's contest will mark the first meeting between Oklahoma and Ohio State during Cochell's stint at OU ... The Buckeyes will be the first of two teams from the Big Ten Conference that the Sooners will face this season ... Michigan visits Norman next weeked (March 7-9) for a three-game set ... Cochell owns a 6-2 record against Big Ten opponents over the last 13 years.
LAMAR SERIES NOTES: Oklahoma owns a 5-3 record over Lamar in the all-time series ... The series is tied 3-3 during Cochell's 13-year stretch ... Last year, OU took two of three from LU in Norman ... Oklahoma dropped the first contest 8-4, but then rebounded to salvage the final two games, 10-1 and 12-8 ... Hurlers David Purcey, Jarod McAuliff, Austin Mix, Buddy Blair and Mark Roberts all faced the Cardinals during last year's series ... Several Sooners had promising offensive outings during the series ... Matt Bose batted .600 (6-for-10) with two runs scored and seven RBI ... Eddie Cornejo batted .500 (6-for-12) with four runs scored and RBI ... Denver Kitch hit at a .364 (4-for-11) clip with five runs scored and two RBI ... The two teams last met in a tournament setting in 1993 at the Lake Area Classic in Lake Charles, La. ... The Sooners lost their final game of the classic, 6-2, to the Cardinals.

Last Time Out

The Oklahoma baseball team captured two more wins on the young season after sweeping a Saturday doubleheader against Sam Houston State at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Infielders Eddie Cornejo and Matt Bose provided the offense for the Sooners in game one with a pair of three-hit efforts and five RBI, while junior third baseman Jay Yaconetti's two-run homer put a close contest out of reach late in the second game. Junior righthander Mark Roberts (2-0) picked up his second victory on the year in the first game after giving up only one unearned run through seven innings and junior righty Mike Swindell (1-0) was the winning pitcher in game two.

In game one, Oklahoma exploded for five runs in the third inning to grab an early lead. After two-consecutive errors and a walk loaded the bases for OU, Cornejo singled home two of the baserunners. Senior first baseman Luke Alexander (1-for-4) kept the rally alive by following with a two-RBI double in the next at bat. Alexander then scored three batters later on a base hit by sophomore designated hitter Tyler Johnson (2-for-4).

Sam Houston State plated its final two runs of the second game to tie the game at 4-4 in the sixth frame before Oklahoma pulled away for good. Cornejo doubled home senior right fielder Matt Arkison (1-for-3) and senior center fielder Reggie Willits (0-for-2), who had drawn back-to-back walks, in the bottom of the inning for a 6-4 Sooner edge and Yaconetti sent his two-run shot to right field to cap off Oklahoma's scoring in the eighth inning.

About Southwest Missouri State

At 3-1 on the season, the Southwest Missouri State Bears enter the tournament as one of the better teams in the field. Possessing an explosive offense that is batting .303, the Bears have registered double digit hit totals in three of their four contests. Senior outfielder Clay Wheeler leads the team with a .500 batting average, however junior shortstop/closer Shaun Marcum, who is hitting at a .467 clip, leads the team with two home runs and five RBI.

On the mound, the Bears boast two of the most prominent hurlers in the country with junior righthander Bob Zimmerman and senior righty Brad Ziegler. Zimmerman spent his second straight summer pitching for the USA National Team last year, while Ziegler was drafted in the 31st round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Ziegler has sprinted out to a fast 2-0 start with a 2.40 ERA in his first two starts. Zimmerman suffered a lesser fate in his first start of the season as he gave up six runs in four innings of work to take the loss in the only blemish on the team's record.

About No. 22/30 Ohio State

Ohio State (0-0) has yet to hit the field this season as the Lamar Tournament will open the Buckeyes' 2003 season. The 2002 Big Ten Tournament champs that posted an overall record of 38-20-1 last season return four starting position players and 12 pitchers for another NCAA Tournament run. At the plate, infielder/outfielder Christian Snavely is the team's top returning hitter after finishing second on the club last year with a .360 batting average, 12 home runs and 45 RBI. As a team, OSU batted .310 with 61 homers and 373 RBI last year.

A slew of All-Big Ten performers return this year on the mound for the Buckeyes. 2002 Freshman All-American and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Scott Lewis (8-2, 2.84 ERA, 91 SO, 92.0 IP) and first team all-conference selection Nate Smith (6-1, 3.12 ERA, 59 SO, 66.1 IP) lead an experienced staff that recorded a 4.43 ERA with 17 complete games and eight shutouts.

About Lamar

Lamar (8-2) enters the tournament as the most experienced team in the field on the year. The Cardinals' two losses in its first 10 games have come at the hands of Arkansas-Little Rock (3-1) and Texas-Pan American (3-2). They recently took two out of three from UALR at home over the weekend.

Through the team's first 10 games, the Cardinals are batting .349 with two home runs and 83 RBI. Lamar is outscoring its opponents by a 99-32 margin and have already posted six double-digit run totals. Junior outfielder Jordan Foster leads the team in hitting with a .423 average with 11 runs scored and RBI.

The Cardinals are also registering impressive pitching figures. They own a 1.51 team ERA and are holding opponents to a .227 batting average. Their top performer is junior lefty Josh Gray who has a 3-0 record and 1.93 ERA in three starts on the year.

Diamond Notes

*The Sooners were forced to cancel their fifth contest of the season due to inclement weather on Sunday. In OU's nine-game homestand to begin the season over the last three weeks, the Sooners have only been allowed to play four games.

*Making good on their word to utilize their team speed to cause havoc on the bases this season, the Sooners were successful in all eight stolen base attempts in Saturday's doubleheader. OU is a perfect 13-of-13 in the stolen base department on the year.

*Senior second baseman Eddie Cornejo tied a career high with three RBI and three hits in the first game of a doubleheader against Sam Houston State and went on to lead the Sooners in batting average, hits, RBI and on base percentage for the weekend.

*Junior starting pitcher Mark Roberts exhibited near flawless control by not issuing a walk, hitting any batters or throwing a wild pitch in picking up his second win in as many starts on the season in game one on Saturday. For the season, Roberts has only issued one walk in 14 innings.

Sooners At The Plate

As a team, Oklahoma is batting .265 with five home runs and 24 RBI ... Five different individuals have accounted for the five homers on the season ... OU's offensive performance over the weekend raised their season batting average by eight points ... The team got some clutch hitting during Saturday's doubleheader as they collected three two-out RBI base hits to total five RBI on the day ... Junior left fielder Tyler Johnson, who leads the team in hitting with a .400 average, ranks 16th in hitting in the Big 12 Conference ... Senior second baseman Eddie Cornejo sits not too far behind in a tie for 19th with a .375 mark ... Senior center fielder Reggie Willits ranks fourth in on base percentage in the Big 12 Conference standings ... Senior first baseman Luke Alexander sits in 10th place in the league standings in slugging percentage ... Cornejo led the Sooners in hitting for the week registering the top batting average (.571), hit (4) and RBI (5) total and on base percentage (.700).

Sooners On The Mound

The Sooner pitching staff is currently sporting a 2.50 ERA and has struck out 28 batters while walking only 13 ... The team's ERA ranks first in the Big 12 Conference ... The team's solid pitching performance over the weekend lowered the staff's ERA by a full run ... Oklahoma's starting pitchers have lasted at least six frames in three of the four contests to begin the season ... Juniors Mike Swindell, Charlie House, Mark Roberts and Buddy Blair rank among the league leaders in ERA ... Swindell sits in a tie for first with a 0.00 ERA ... House sports a 1.80 average through two games for a tie for eighth place ... Roberts is in 14th place with a 2.57 ERA ... Blair is tied for 16th with a 3.00 ERA ... Sophomore lefthander David Purcey is the league leader in opponent batting average with a .083 average ... Swindell also ranks in the top 10 in the category with a .188 opponent batting average, good enough for eighth place.

Topping The Charts

Oklahoma's pitching staff finds itself at the top of the Big 12 Conference team ERA standings through the first three weeks of the season. With a league-leading 2.50 ERA through four games, the Sooners outdistance their closest conference foe, Texas A&M, by 22 points. OU is also holding its opponents to one of the lowest opponent batting averages in the league as their .250 average is good enough for a tie for third place.

The Sooners' pitching performance during its latest weekend series against the Bearkats of Sam Houston State aided the staff's stats. Oklahoma lowered its team ERA by a full run over the previous week by holding SHSU to only three earned runs in 18 innings of work.

The individual performances of several members of the staff have contributed to the staff's early season success. Juniors Mike Swindell, Charlie House, Mark Roberts and Buddy Blair each rank in the top 20 in the Big 12 in ERA.

Dynamic Duo

The Sooners' top two hitters in the batting order, right fielder Matt Arkison and center fielder Reggie Willits, have been very effective at reaching base regularly and scoring runs for the Sooners so far this season. The pair of senior outfielders are tied for the team lead in runs scored with five and sit in first and second place on the team in walks. Willits, last year's leadoff hitter, has drawn a team-best five bases on balls and Arkison, this season's leadoff man, is not far off the pace with four walks. Arkison is the only Sooner to score a run in each of the four games this season and has drawn at least one walk in three of the four contests. Combined, the outfield duo has accounted for 39 percent of the team's total runs scored.

Mr. Versatility

Matt Bose has made several 2003 debuts for the Sooners on the young season. The do-it-all sophomore from Midland, Texas, started the season opener at third base, where he picked up Freshman All-American accolades last year. In the second game against Texas-San Antonio on opening weekend, Bose played at the opposite corner for his first start at a position other than third base in his collegiate career.

Bose returned to start at third base in the first game of the doubleheader against Sam Houston State last weekend before moving behind the plate for the second game of the twinbill.

Bose started 59 games at the hot corner last year and played some at first base over the summer while competing for the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Face Stiff Competition At Lamar Tournament

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