Sooners Heat Up Collegiate Summer Leagues

Several Sooner baseball players are busy this summer heating up the bases in collegiate summer baseball leagues from Alaska to Texas. These players are looking to improve on this past season's successes by playing with others to improve their game. The season typically ends in late July, giving the players the chance to get in one last at bat before school starts in August.

After excelling early on for their respective teams, juniors Russell Raley and Ryan Rohlinger were recently selected to participate in their league All-Star games. Raley, the Big 12's reigning all-conference second baseman, started for the Rogers Hornsby team which suffered a 7-3 defeat to the Tris Speaker squad in the Texas Collegiate League All-Star Game. Raley was representing the Hornsby Division-leading Graham Roughnecks.

Rohlinger, who is playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League, was picked as a reserve for the East Division All-Stars. The league's 42nd annual All-Star festivities take place this weekend at Eldredge Park in Orleans, Mass.

A pair of Sooners are playing in the newly formed Texas Collegiate League, which is in its inaugural season. In addition to Raley, sophomore outfielder Aaron Ivey has started in 19 games for the Mineral Wells Steam and has accumulated 14 runs scored, seven RBI and nine stolen bases. With a .312 batting average, Raley is the second-leading hitter for the Roughnecks while also contributing 12 runs scored and 10 RBI in 21 starts.

Joining Rohlinger on the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox is senior right-handed pitcher Daniel McCutchen. McCutchen has received four starting assignments for the Red Sox and has posted a 2-1 record with a 1.54 ERA. Included in his season totals are 23 strikeouts in as many innings pitched.

Rohlinger acheived his All-Star status by hitting at a .262 clip, good enough for a tie for third best on the team. He is also perfect on the basepaths in six stolen base attempts and has scored 11 runs while driving in nine more. The Sooners' starting shortstop has made 23 starts at the position and 10 more at second base.

McCutchen and Rohlinger's team will enter the All-Star break in second place in the league's Eastern Division.

Also enjoying an impressive summer on the mound in the Cape Cod League is Charles Benoit. A sophomore left-handed pitcher, Benoit currently owns a 2-1 mark with a 1.44 ERA and one save as one of the Orleans Cardinals' top relievers. His ERA ranks second best on the team.

Fellow sophomore hurler Ryan Mottern continues to perform dual roles this summer with the Lacrosse Loggers of the Northwoods League. While sporting a 2-1 record and a 4.91 ERA on the mound, Mottern has also had the opportunity to contribute offensively in his three starts in the field, as he proved he was capable of for the Sooners last season.

After competing for the Athletes In Action squad in New York last summer, junior outfielder Scott Rooker joined the AIA club in the Alaska Baseball League this year. He has made the most of his 17 starts by recording eight runs and 11 RBI.

Also playing in Alaska is sophomore outfielder Chad Lembeck. Lembeck has scored 10 runs, collected 16 RBI and stolen five bases in 28 games for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots.

Versatile junior utility player Jon Shackelford is catching this summer for the El Dorado Broncos in the Jayhawk League.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Heat Up Collegiate Summer Leagues

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