Oklahoma Hosts Southeast Missouri State In Home Opener

After opening the season with a 2-1 mark last weekend on the road in Arizona, the Oklahoma baseball team returns to town to host Southeast Missouri State in their home-opening series this weekend. Beginning on Saturday at 1 p.m., the Sooners will welcome the Indians, who are opening their season against OU, to L. Dale Mitchell Park for a three-game set which will end on Monday. Sunday and Monday's game times are set for 2 p.m. Monday's start time was changed to accomodate SEMO's travel arrangements.

Setting The Scene

Dates: Feb. 21-23

First Pitches: Saturday at 1 p.m., Sunday and Monday at 2 p.m.

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

Location: Norman, Okla.

Radio: Saturday and Sunday's games will be broadcast locally on KREF (1400 AM) with Jim Byers calling the action. The broadcasts can also be heard on Oklahoma's official web site www.soonersports.com.

Television: None. Subscribers to the O-Zone, the subscription-based premium content area within SoonerSports.com, will be able to view a live webcast of Saturday and Monday's games.

LIVE STATS: Live Stats, which also can be accessed through soonersports.com, will be run throughout the series to provide fans live updates on the game's progress.

Rankings: Oklahoma and Southeast Missouri State are not ranked in any of the four major polls. The Sooners, however, did receive votes in the latest NCBWA poll.

SEMO SERIES NOTES: The Sooners are 3-0 all-time against the Indians ... The two teams were scheduled to play a three-game series last year at L. Dale Mitchell Park to open OU's season ... Poor weather conditions forced the series to be cancelled ... The three games in the series occurred two years ago when Oklahoma swept Southeast Missouri State at home on the second weekend of the season ... The Indians took the Sooners into extra innings in the first game before OU emerged victoriously, 5-4 ... Mark Roberts picked up his first win that season by pitching the final 2.1 innings ... Oklahoma's offense took off in the next two games with a combined 28 runs scored ... OU won the second game of the series 10-1 and the third game 18-5 ... Matt Bose went deep in the second game of the series for his first career home run.

Baseball Opens At Home With Special Promotions For Fans

Several special promotions will be featured throughout the Sooners' opening weekend at home. Baseball Bingo will be played each game of the series where fans get the chance to win prizes; K-cards (strikeout cards) will also be distributed to the first 200 fans through the gate at each game; every game a fan will have the chance to win a Russ Ortiz or Mark Redman Autograph baseball; and every Sunday, beginning this weekend, a fan will have the chance to win an Ortiz or Redman Autograph picture.

Every Saturday, beginning with the opener this weekend, will be Little League Day where kids have the opportunity to join the players on the field for the national anthem and take a lap around the bases after the game. Schedule posters will also be distributed prior to the contest on Saturday in addition to an autograph session following the game.

Sunday's game is designated as Church Bulletin Day. Fans that present a church bulletin at the gate will receive a regular adult general admission ticket for $2 ($3 off the regular price). The promotion is based on ticket availability and limited to a maximum of four people per bulletin.

Monday is $.50 cent hot dogs and small cokes day at the ballpark.

Last Time Out

Oklahoma knocked off seventh-ranked Arizona State, 6-0, Sunday afternoon and ended the Sun Devils' NCAA record 506 scoreless games streak in the process. ASU's impressive streak dated back to April 7, 1995, when the Sun Devils were last shutout 9-0 by USC. The Sooners got a dominating pitching performance from starter David Purcey who held the Sun Devils scoreless for the first seven innings before closer Jarod McAuliff came in and finished off the final two innings. Purcey and junior centerfielder Jeff Scuderi were Oklahoma's representatives on the all-tournament team. Oklahoma improved their season record and tournament mark to 2-1 and handed Arizona State their first loss of the season for the second-straight year.

Purcey shook off a rocky first inning, where he walked the first two batters he faced, to settle in and keep the Sun Devils off the bases. He allowed a swinging bunt single in the second inning and then went on to retire the next 16 straight before being lifted after seven innings. His day included two walks and six strikeouts and near flawless control with no wild pitches or hit-by-pitches.

Scuderi (3-for-5) got things started for the Sooners in the first inning with a leadoff triple. Outfield mate Aaron Ivey (1-for-5) followed with a productive at bat with a groundout to shortstop to drive in Scuderi for the first run. Scurderi's run scored gives him a run scored in each game of the tournament.

OU got back on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when Ivey led off the inning with a single and scored from second base on a RBI-single by junior third baseman Matt Bose (1-for-4). Following two pitching changes, junior designated hitter Eric Thornton (2-for-4) welcomed new ASU hurler Quentin Andes with a two-run homer to deep center field that travelled over 400 yards to extend OU's lead to 4-0.

The Sooners added two more runs in the ninth inning for the final margin of victory. Thornton and junior second baseman Kyle Bradburry (1-for-4) singled to start the inning and, after a walk to senior rightfielder Andrew McGuire (1-for-2) loaded the bases, Scuderi delivered a two-run scoring single to plate pinchrunner LaFringe Hayes and Bradburry.

Sooners At The Plate

Oklahoma's offense recorded a .216 batting average over the weekend and scored 15 runs and drove in 10 more ... The Sooners were successful at getting over 55 percent of their leadoff batters on base during the Coca-Cola Spring Classic ... They also had better than a 50 percent rate of having those leadoff men score ... Leading the way was junior centerfielder Jeff Scuderi who reached base all four times he led off an inning while coming around to score three of those times ... Junior designated hitter Eric Thornton gave a glimpse of the power he possesses over the weekend ... Two of his three hits during the tournament went for extra bases, including a double and a home run ... Senior rightfielder Andrew McGuire made the most of his tournament experience and hit at a .667 (4-for-6) clip ... McGuire hit safely in all three games, including a two-hit performance after coming off the bench in Saturday's game ... Regular starting second baseman Russell Raley had some productive at bats in his one start against Cal State Northridge during the tournament ... Raley contributed a sacrifice bunt, triple and RBI-single on the day ... His playing time was limited during the weekend because of illness.

Sooners On The Mound

The Oklahoma pitching staff is sporting a 4.67 ERA and has struck out 18 batters while walking 13 ... After the first weekend of play, Oklahoma's starting pitching trio of seniors Mark Roberts and Casey Brown and junior David Purcey combined for a 1.42 ERA, while giving up only three earned runs and 12 hits in 19 innings pitched during the Coca-Cola Spring Classic ... Opposing hitters only hit a combined .171 against the starting staff over the weekend ... Each of the starters also worked a minimum of five innings and walked only two batters at the most ... Brown enjoyed one of the best starts of his young career at OU ... He pitched a career-best seven innings and tied his low in earned runs allowed and walks in a start ... Sooner relief ace Jarod McAuliff came on to close out both of OU's two wins ... He earned his first save in Saturday's contest against CSUN ... Two newcomers made their debuts over the weekend ... Freshmen Charles Benoit and Ryan Mottern both got their first taste of action in Friday's season opener against Gonzaga ... Each pitcher tossed a scoreless frame in their first inning on the mound ...

Purcey Sweeps Weekly National Honors, Adds Conference Award

A day after being named national player of the week by Collegiate Baseball, Oklahoma junior pitcher David Purcey received more recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association and the Big 12 Conference on Tuesday. The NCBWA tabbed Purcey their national pitcher of the week to sweep the national awards. Purcey also earned Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week honors following his instrumental role in OU's 6-0 upset over No. 7 Arizona State on Sunday.

It was Purcey's impressive start that gave OU the momentum to accomplish the feat. The junior lefty held the explosive Sun Devils to only one hit, a swinging bunt-single, in his seven innings of work and retired the next 16-straight batters following the lone hit. He was one of two Sooners named to the all-tournament team for his stand out performance.

Purcey shook off a rocky first inning, where he walked the first two batters he faced, to settle in and keep the Sun Devils off the bases. The initial two walks were the only ones he issued the remainder of the contest as he also struck out six and exhibited near flawless control with no wild pitches or hit batters. His seven innings pitched tied his career high for the third straight start (dating back to his final two apperances of the 2003 season).

Purcey's conference pitcher of the week honor was the second of his career. The Dallas, Texas, native also garnered the noteriety his freshman year after going 2-0 and striking out 13 in his first two collegiate starts.

The last time the Sooners' had a player garner national player of the week honors was during the 2001 season when senior Greg Dobbs was credited with the honor by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association.

Streak Stoppers

The Sooners ended one of the most impressive college baseball streaks in NCAA history with Sunday's 6-0 win over No. 7 Arizona State. The shutout of the Sun Devils was the first time that ASU had been held scoreless in a NCAA record 506 consecutive games and only the fourth time since 1990. The last time Arizona State was shutout was nearly nine years ago when USC last accomplished the feat with a 9-0 blanking of ASU on April 7, 1995. Almost six years to the day that the streak began, the Sun Devils broke the previous standing mark of 349-straight games held by Coastal Carolina (1983-89) on April 7, 2001, when they scored at least one run in their 350th consecutive game.

During the streak, ASU was only held to one run in a game 16 times and averaged 9.4 runs per game. Arizona State faced many standout pitchers, including several who have gone on to successful Major League careers, during the streak, including Mark Prior (USC), Jeremy Guthrie (Stanford), Barry Zito (USC), Kirk Saarloos (Cal State Fullerton), Jason Young (Stanford), Ben Diggins (Arizona), Adam Johnson (Cal State Fullerton), Ryan Drese (Cal), Jeff Weaver (Fresno State), Chad Hutchinson (Stanford), Abe Alvarez and Adam Pettyjohn (Fresno State).

Purcey and Scuderi Selected To All-Tournament Team

Oklahoma junior pitcher David Purcey and junior centerfielder Jeff Scuderi were Oklahoma's representatives on the Coca-Cola Spring Classic All-Tournament Team following two team-topping performances during the event.

Purcey led the Sooners' to a monumental 6-0 win over seventh-ranked Arizona State in the tournament finale that ended a nine-year NCAA record streak of consecutive scoring games for the Sun Devils. The southpaw made his first start of the season and allowed only one hit and two walks while striking out six. He also retired a string of 16-consecutive batters at the end of his outing.

A highly-touted offensive player coming out of junior college, Scuderi didn't disappoint in his first few games at OU. Scuderi led the team in every offensive category on opening weekend as he batted .417 with four runs scored and three RBI, while posting a .667 slugging percentage and swiping three bases. He scored at least one run and stole at least one base in each game and was the only regular OU starter not to strike out during the tournament. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native, ignited many Sooner scoring opportunities by reaching base all four times he led off an inning throughout the weekend and coming around to score three of those times.

Chart Climbers

A pair of Oklahoma hurlers, senior Mark Roberts and junior Jarod McAuliff, have a chance to continue to leave lasting marks on the Oklahoma program. Both pitchers will have the opportunity this season to improve their standings on several of the school's career pitching charts.

Roberts, a four-year veteran on the squad, entered the season in 10th place on the all-time appearances list and moved into a tie with former Sooner Darrell "Doc" Rodgers (1982-85) with his 63rd outing on Friday. He needs only five more appearances to crack the top five. Serving in both starting and relief roles during his first three seasons, the Owasso, Okla., native is averaging 20.7 appearances a season which puts him on pace to break the career mark of 83 established by Evan Greusel from 1999-2002.

Roberts also inched closer to breaking into the school's top 10 in career strikeouts in his first start on Friday with five K's to give him 209 for his career. He needs only eight more to crack the top 10.

McAuliff made his mark on the school record books last year and sits primed to continue his assault on the career charts with another standout season. McAuliff's nine saves in 2003 placed him in third on OU's career saves chart and his 35 outings last year, which ranks third on the single-season list, placed him on the verge of the top 10 on the all-time appearances list.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Oklahoma Hosts Southeast Missouri State In Home Opener

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