Sooners And Shockers Square Off In The First Of Two Non-Conference Battles

No. 24 Wichita State (34-12) visits Norman for the first of two non-conference battles with No. 18 Oklahoma (31-18) on Tuesday.

The contest is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Sooners plan to return the home game next Tuesday as they travel to Eck Stadium in Wichita for a single game on May 18.

Setting The Scene
DATE: May 11
FIRST PITCH: Tuesday at 7 p.m.
BALLPARK: L. Dale Mitchell Park (2,700)
LOCATION: Norman, Okla.
RADIO: The game will be broadcast locally on KREF (1400 AM) with Mike Treps calling the action. The game can also be heard on Oklahoma's official web site www.SoonerSports.com.
TELEVISION: None.
LIVE STATS: Live Stats, which can be accessed through SoonerSports.com, will be run during the series to provide fans live updates on the game's progress.
RANKINGS: Oklahoma is ranked 18th by Baseball America, 24th by the NCBWA and 23rd by Collegiate Baseball. The Sooners are also receiving votes in the latest Sports Weekly/ESPN poll. Wichita State is ranked at its highest by the NCBWA who has the Shockers 14th, followed by the Sports Weekly/ESPN poll at 17 and Collegiate Baseball at No. 24.
WICHITA STATE SERIES NOTES: Wichita State leads the all-time series at 6-5 ... Wichita State owns a 6-3 record against Oklahoma during Sooner head coach Larry Cochell's tenure ... The Sooners, however, hold a 3-1 edge in games played in Norman ... Prior to taking the head coaching position at Wichita State, Gene Stephenson was at Oklahoma for five years as an assistant coach ... Stephenson helped lead OU to five Big Eight titles and five College World Series appearances from 1972-1977 ... The Shockers and Sooners resumed their rivalry in 2002 after a seven year hiatus ... WSU has won four of the last five contests ... OU held on for a 5-4 victory over WSU in the first of a two game home-and-home set last year ... The Shockers recovered for a 9-5 win later in the season at home ... Casey Brown made his first career start in the second contest in Wichita ... Brown suffered the loss in the contest after earning the victory over WSU in the first contest of the year between the two schools ... Brown picked up the win in relief in OU's 5-4 win in Norman ... Jarod McAuliff was credited with a save in the game.

Last Time Out
Nineteenth-ranked Oklahoma swept Kansas State with a 12-3 victory Sunday afternoon at L. Dale Mitchell Park. OU skipper Larry Cochell recorded his 1,300th career head-coaching victory in the final blowout win of the weekend. Cochell becomes only the ninth NCAA Division I baseball coach to reach this milestone. Only five of those, including Cochell, are still active.

Junior first baseman Ole Sheldon (2-for-5) scored three runs and batted in another to lead the Sooner sluggers and senior right-handed pitcher Mike Swindell (4-2) won his second straight start and pitched a career-high seven innings.

Oklahoma struggled early with KSU senior right-hander Jim Ripley (4-6) who retired the first three batters in the first inning and struck out junior center fielder Jeff Scuderi (0-for-1) with the bases loaded for the final out in the second.

The Sooners got their bats going, however, and clinched victory with a four-run third inning. After two outs, Sheldon reached base with a single to center and then advanced to third after two consecutive passed balls. Junior designated hitter Eric Thornton (2-for-3) walked and sophomore shortstop Ryan Rohlinger (1-for-3) singled to center, scoring Sheldon for the first run of the game.

Freshman catcher Josh Stinson (2-for-3) walked to load the bases and then junior third baseman Matt Bose (1-for-3) reached first on a throwing error by the Wildcats' shortstop, scoring Thornton. Sophomore left fielder Scott Rooker (2-for-5) grounded to the pitcher, but reached first on Ripley's throwing error, scoring Stinson and Rohlinger for the final runs of the inning.

Oklahoma kept the scoring buffet filled in the next frame when sophomore second baseman Russell Raley (0-for-5) scored on a Sheldon triple. Two batters later, Sheldon scored on a sacrifice bunt by Rohlinger.

The Wildcats clawed back in the top of the sixth, scoring two runs from a home run by junior left fielder Terry Blunt. Oklahoma answered back with one run in the bottom of the sixth and two more in the seventh. Kansas State scored their final run in the eighth when Blunt drove a pitch straight back to Oklahoma junior reliever Daniel McCutchen to reach base and scored on Wildcats' sophomore right fielder Steve Murphy single to left.

Oklahoma finished the game strong scoring three runs in their final at-bats. Thornton hit his second home run of the weekend with a solo shot over the right field fence. Rohlinger and Bose walked. Rooker reached first on a fielding error by the Kansas State first baseman, with the miscue allowing Rohlinger to score his second run of the day and sixth of the series. Freshman center fielder Blake Hurlbutt (2-for-4) then singled to left scoring Bose, the Sooners' final run.

Sooners At The Plate
Oklahoma is batting .288 on the season with 319 runs scored and 273 RBI ... In Big 12 games only, the Sooners are hitting at a .289 clip with 165 runs scored and 140 RBI ... OU's offense has produced double-digit hit efforts in 20 of the last 26 contests ... The Sooners' successful series against the Wildcats over the weekend improved their team batting average five points overall and 11 points in Big 12 games only ... The team's .364 batting average and six home run output during the Kansas State series marked its best totals in each category in a Big 12 Conference series this season ... The 44 runs scored by the Sooners in the series against the Wildcats was the most recorded by an OU team in a conference series in Big 12 play ... It was also the most in a conference series dating back to a four game set against Kansas in 1987 when Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference ... On Friday night, OU recorded a season high 21 runs scored and 17 RBI ... The Sooners' leading hitter last week was junior designated hitter Eric Thornton ... He batted .667 (6-for-9) with four runs scored and seven RBI, including two home runs, during the series ... With at least one hit in each of the three games, Thornton tied his season high seven game hitting streak ... He is batting .579 (11-for-19) with five runs scored and eight RBI during that stretch ... Sophomore second baseman Russell Raley saw his career high 14 game hitting streak end on Saturday ... Raley hit at a .437 (25-for-60) clip with 17 runs scored and eight RBI during the stretch which finished tied as the second longest streak on the team this season ... Freshman catcher Josh Stinson continued to be one of the team's top offensive performers with a standout weekend performance against Kansas State in which he batted .625 (5-for-8) with four runs scored and seven RBI, including two home runs ... Over the last month, Stinson is batting .395 (17-for-43) with 11 runs scored and RBI ... Senior rightfielder Andrew McGuire held on to his team lead in home runs by hitting his eighth shot over the weekend against the Wildcats ... It marked the third week in a row that he has gone deep in league action ... He has now doubled his 2003 total in the category.

Sooners On The Mound
The Oklahoma pitching staff is sporting a 3.92 ERA and has struck out 412 batters while walking 174 ... In Big 12 Conference games only, OU sports a 4.16 ERA with 199 strikeouts and 91 walks ... The staff's overall ERA dropped six points over the weekend as well as 17 points in Big 12 action ... The Sooners' 3.00 team ERA during the series against the Wildcats marked the fourth time this season that OU has recorded an ERA of three or less during a conference series ... The other series were against Texas, Kansas and Missouri ... The bullpen has walked only five batters over the last two Big 12 series ... With all the career pitching records that are falling, junior righthander Jarod McAuliff is quietly climbing his way up one single season list ... His 28 outings this year leaves him nine shy of breaking the single season appearances record of 36 held jointly by former Sooners Jeff Bajenaru (2000) and Bucky Buckles (1994) ... McAuliff is averaging a little over two appearances a week which should just put him on target to break the record with at least four expected weeks left in the season ... He fell just one outing shy of tying the mark last year with a career best 35 ... With his six frames of work in Friday night's affair, senior righty Mark Roberts has lasted at least six innings in 12 of his 13 starts this season ... His eight strikeouts in the game also gave him eight or more in a game for the eighth time this season ... He additionally picked up his career high tying seventh win in the 21-6 blowout victory ... Roberts' 7-4 record matches the same mark that he established as a sophomore in 2002.

Reaching Another Milestone
Oklahoma's 12-3 win over Kansas State on Sunday clinched head coach Larry Cochell's second milestone victory in the last two weeks. The win marked the 1,300th of his career which has only been achieved by eight other coaches in Division I history, including four active head coaches.

Nearly two weeks ago, OU's win over Arkansas-Little Rock captured his 500th victory as the Sooners' head coach. The 500-win plateau is the first time in his career that the 14-year OU captain has surpassed the milestone at any one school. In his six other head coaching assignments at the Division I level, the closest he came to amassing 500 victories was at Oral Roberts where he collected 428 wins in 10 seasons with the Golden Eagles.

Leaving His Mark
After becoming the school's all-time innings pitched leader three weeks ago, senior righthanded pitcher Mark Roberts captured his second Oklahoma career record by becoming OU's career strikeout king last Friday. Roberts struck out eight batters in his latest start against Kansas State to break the record held jointly by former Sooners Austin Mix (2000-03) and Mark Redman (1994-95). The Owasso, Okla., native now owns the record with 295 strikeouts over his four year career.

Making A Difference Down The Stretch
Mike Swindell is making one of the biggest impacts on the team down the stretch for the Sooners. The senior pitcher picked up his second Big 12 Conference win of the season on Sunday against Kansas State by pitching a career high seven innings and allowing only two runs on five hits.

It was his second win in as many starts in Big 12 action. Prior to Swindell's two consecutive conference starts, the previous three starters on the mound in the conference series finale failed to earn the victory.

Sunday's win improved Swindell's numbers in Big 12 play this season to 3-0 with one save and a 3.09 ERA in six appearances.

Thornton Still On A Tear
Junior designated hitter Eric Thornton continues to emerge as one of the Sooners' most menacing offensive threats. Thornton led the team in hitting last week with a .667 (6-for-9) average with four runs scored and seven RBI. Over the three game set against Kansas State, he also led the team in slugging and on-base percentage and was tied for the lead in hits, doubles, home runs, RBI and walks.

The standout performance raised his season batting average 23 points to its current mark of .343 which ranks second on the team. Over the past month, the McCloud, Okla., native has seen his average climb 87 points by hitting at a .466 (27-for-58) clip with 11 runs scored and 21 RBI. He has also hit four of his seven home runs on the season during that stretch.

League Leader
Not only does Ole Sheldon own the top spot on several of the Sooners' offensive statistics sheet, but the junior first baseman is also making an assault on Big 12 Conference's leaderboard. Sheldon leads the league in hitting in games overall and conference games only.

The Roseburg, Ore., native has consistently appeared at or near the top of numerous other conference games only categories as well. As of May 3, he ranked first in hits, tied for second in doubles and RBI, third in total bases, tied for fifth in runs scored and sixth in on-base percentage.

Sheldon also appears among the league leaders in three other overall games categories. He is second in hits, eighth in doubles and 10th in total bases.

Sheldon leads the Sooner squad in batting average, hits, doubles and RBI.

King Of The Hill
Junior closer Jarod McAuliff became OU's all-time appearances leader with his 84th career outing during the Texas A&M series. He passed former Sooner Evan Greusel who previously held the record with 83 appearances from 1999-2002.

McAuliff's 28 appearances this season put the Stillwater, Okla., native over the mark in only his third year. His appearances total currently ranks first in the Big 12 Conference in games overall and he is also tied for the conference game only mark (as of May 3) with 13 appearances in league action.

As the team's designated closer over the last two years, McAuliff made his largest move up the appearances chart last year by making 35 outings out of the bullpen. The total fell two outings shy of establishing a new single-season mark.

He saw most of his action in relief as a freshman in 2002 when he made 24 outings on the mound. He averaged 29.5 appearances during his first two years and is already two outings shy of that mark this year with 27.

McAuliff also has a chance to break another school pitching record. The Stillwater, Okla., native currently stands in second place on the career saves list. He trails the leader, Jeff Bajenaru (1999-2000), by 12 saves.

A Season Of Firsts
The 2004 Sooner baseball squad has already accomplished several firsts in program history and several other feats that haven't happened in quite a while. Here's a brief look at what this team has already accomplished to this point of the season:
Oklahoma took two out of three at No. 13 Texas A&M to capture its fourth-straight conference series, a first in the Sooners' Big 12 Conference history.
The series win over the Aggies was the first time since the 2000 season that OU has won two conference road series. During the 2000 season, the Sooners were victorious in three Big 12 road series.
Earlier in the season, the Sooners swept three straight league opponents for the first time since 1984. That year Oklahoma won a pair of two-game sets against Oklahoma State and Kansas and a four-game series over Kansas State.
Oklahoma wrapped up its fourth Big 12 Conference series sweep this weekend by taking all three games from Kansas State. The accomplishment tied the 2000 squad for the most conference series sweeps in Big 12 play.
Oklahoma put together a nine-game winning streak in Big 12 play which is the first time since 1986 (when OU was a member of the Big Eight Conference) that the Sooners had won nine straight league games.

Tough On The Competition
Oklahoma continues to own a solid season mark of 15-5 against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament last year. The record also includes victories over nationally-ranked foes Cal State Fullerton, Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Texas and Oral Roberts.

OU is slated to face two more teams this season that advanced to regionals last year including Wichita State and Nebraska.

Additionally, OU is 7-3 this year against nationally-ranked teams.