Oklahoma Ends Home Season With Texas-Pan American Series

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma Sooners (32-18) will end their 2004 home season this weekend with a pair of games against Texas-Pan American (22-29) at L. Dale Mitchell Park. Friday's series opener has been cancelled due to overscheduling in the Sooners' slate as a consequence of not suffering any rainouts this season. The series will now begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. and finish up on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.

Saturday's contest will mark the Second Annual University of Oklahoma Salute to the Military baseball game. Several special events have been planned to coincide with the game including an invitation-only baseball clinic for kids and various skills contests that will feature members of the armed services as contestants.

The day will begin with an invitation-only baseball clinic for kids conducted by Oklahoma coaches and players early Saturday morning. Selected military personnel will participate in a pre-game home run derby contest before honorary coaches join in on a ceremonial first pitch just prior to the 2:10 p.m. start time with the Broncs.

After the Sooners take the field with some of the young participants from the baseball clinic, a color guard will present a special performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner." During the game, a pitching contest will be held with select members of the military participating in the event.
Ticket prices have been reduced to $2 for those members of the military that attend the game (with proof by presenting their military identification card). The discount will also be available for active duty military personnel and civilian Department of Defense employees throughout the two-game series with the Broncs.

The weekend will conclude with a special Senior Day presentation in Sunday's season home finale. OU's five seniors will be honored in a pre-game ceremony for their loyalty and dedication to the Sooner program throughout their careers. Oklahoma team trading cards will also be given away to the first 200 fans through the gate.

Setting The Scene
DATES: May 15-16
FIRST PITCHES: Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
BALLPARK: L. Dale Mitchell Park (2,700)
LOCATION: Norman, Okla.
RADIO: The series will be broadcast locally on KREF (1400 AM) with Mike Treps calling the action. The games 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. Texas-Pan American is not ranked in any of the major polls.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN SERIES NOTES: Oklahoma owns an 8-3 edge in the series versus Texas-Pan American since 1963 ... All 11 contests have come in tournaments held in Edinburg, Texas ... The Sooners participated in the tournament for six consecutive years from 1983-88 ... OU and UTPA have not faced each other during OU head coach Larry Cochell's 14-year tenure in Norman ... The Sooners have outscored the Broncs by a 58-25 margin in the series ... The last time the two teams squared off was in the 1990 tournament ... The two teams split the tourney matchups with the Broncs emerging victorious in the first game, 7-6, before the Sooners rebounded with an 8-3 win in the second game.

Last Time Out
The 18th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners outplayed the 24th-ranked Wichita State Shockers, 7-3, en route to their fifth consecutive win Tuesday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

Junior right-hander Jarod McAuliff started on the mound for the Sooners and quickly broke down WSU's sluggers, but was pulled in the fourth inning after giving up three runs. Junior right-hander Daniel McCutchen (4-3) relieved McAuliff and finished the game without giving up a run.

Oklahoma took the early lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Ryan Mottern (3-for-4), the Sooners' left fielder, blasted a triple to left field, scoring junior third baseman Matt Bose (1-for-4), junior first baseman Ole Sheldon (2-for-4) and sophomore second baseman Russell Raley (0-for-4).

The Sooners scored again in the third off another Mottern hit, but he was picked off to end the inning before he could unleash any more fury on the Wichita State defense.

The Shockers drove in three runs off McAuliff in the top of the fifth, scoring two on a Logan Sorensen home run. However, the Sooners answered back in the bottom of the frame when Sheldon scored on a fielding error by the Wichita State left fielder.

Oklahoma added two insurance runs during their last at-bats in the eighth when Mottern scored on a fielder's choice single by sophomore pinch hitter Scott Rooker (0-for-1). Unfortunately for the Shockers, a throwing error by the shortstop allowed senior right fielder Andrew McGuire (2-for-3) to score his first run of the night.

Sooners At The Plate
Oklahoma is batting .289 on the season with 326 runs scored and 279 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 21 of the last 27 contests, including 10 or more hits for the sixth consecutive game ... The Sooners' successful series against the Wildcats over the weekend and against the Shockers on Tuesday improved their team batting average six 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 last weekend and another on Tuesday versus Wichita State, Thornton established a new season high eight game hitting streak ... He is batting .545 (12-for-22) with five runs scored and eight RBI during that stretch ... Sophomore shortstop Ryan Rohlinger is also currently riding an eight game hitting streak which matches his career high set earlier this season ... Rohlinger is batting only .286 (10-for-35) over the streak, but has scored nine runs and driven in 10 more ... Sophomore second baseman Russell Raley saw his career high 14 game hitting streak end last 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 ... Redshirt-freshman outfielder Blake Hurlbutt went deep for the first home run of his career last weekend against Kansas State ... Ryan Mottern enjoyed a career day at the plate on Tuesday versus No. 24 Wichita State ... The freshman leftfielder went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs, setting career highs in both hits and RBI ... His performance included a bases-clearing triple and a RBI-single in his first two at bats.

Sooners On The Mound
The Oklahoma pitching staff is sporting a 3.91 ERA and has struck out 417 batters while walking 182 ... In Big 12 Conference games only, OU sports a 4.16 ERA with 199 strikeouts and 91 walks ... The staff's overall ERA dropped seven points in its last four games 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 ... Speaking of walks, the staff allowed only one walk the entire game in Saturday's sandwich game of the Kansas State series ... It was the 10th time this season that the Sooners have issued only one free pass in a game ... With all the career pitching records that are falling, junior righthander Jarod McAuliff is quietly climbing his way up one single season list ... His 29 outings this year leaves him eight 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 ... Junior reliever Daniel McCutchen's four plus scoreless innings against Wichita State on Tuesday lowered his season ERA by 28 points ... The performance enabled him to take over the team lead in the category (amongst pitchers with seven or more appearances) ... McCutchen's bullpen ERA of 2.17 is also a team best (amongst pitchers with 10 or more relief appearances).

Reaching Another Milestone
Oklahoma's 12-3 win over Kansas State last 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.

Thornton Picks Up Sooners Fourth Big 12 Weekly Honor

Oklahoma junior designated hitter Eric Thornton was chosen as the Big 12 Conference's Player of the Week as announced by the league office on Tuesday. The McCloud, Okla., native captured the honor after helping ignite a three game sweep of Kansas State last weekend by leading Oklahoma in hitting with a .667 average. In addition to his team-leading average, Thornton also scored four runs and collected seven RBI. Missouri's Mark Alexander picked up the conference's Pitcher of the Week honor.

Thornton went 6-for-9 at the plate over the Sooners' three games against the Wildcats in addition to scoring at least one run and driving at least one run in each game. He also drew four walks to reach base safely in 10 of his 13 trips to the plate over the weekend. He did not strikeout in his 13 at bats over the weekend.

He went deep for two home runs, including his first career grand slam as a Sooner, and added two doubles to register a team-leading slugging percentage of 1.625. The two home runs improved his season total to seven which tied his career best mark for a season which he set in 2002 as a freshman at Oral Roberts.

His grand slam homer in the series opener set a personal season high in RBI as he also continued to tie a pair of career best marks throughout the weekend. He tied his career high in hits with three on Saturday and equalled his career best with two runs scored on Sunday.

The weekly honor was the fourth one accumulated by the Oklahoma program this season. Junior pitchers David Purcey and Jarod McAuliff both picked up Co-Pitcher of the Week awards for the weeks of February 9 and March 22, respectively, while junior first baseman Ole Sheldon was chosen as a Co-Player of the Week for the week of March 29.

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 record in Big 12 play this season to 3-0 with one save and a 3.09 ERA in six appearances.

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. He ranks first in hits, doubles, total bases and on-base percentage and is tied for first in RBI and tied for second in runs scored.

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 29 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 second for the conference game only mark with 14 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.

CAREER SAVES
1. 28 Jeff Bajenaru 1999-2000
2. 16 Jarod McAuliff 2002-Pres.

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
With Tuesday's 7-3 win over No. 24 Wichita State, Oklahoma continues to own a solid season mark of 16-5 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 the Shockers for the second of two games and Nebraska in a three-game series in Lincoln, Neb.

Additionally, OU is 8-3 this year against nationally-ranked teams.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Oklahoma Ends Home Season With Texas-Pan American Series

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors