Completed Event: Baseball versus (2) Georgia Tech on May 31, 2026 , Win , 15, to, 8
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Host Bluejays Tuesday at 3
March 05, 2007 | Baseball
NORMAN, Okla. -- The Sooners (9-4) will look to extend their seven-game winning streak with a pair of mid-week games against Creighton (5-4) this week in Norman.
The two-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday marks the conclusion of the current nine-game home stand for OU, who is a perfect 7-0 in games played at L. Dale Mitchell Park in 2007. Both games are slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch.
OU leads the all-time series with Creighton, 6-5, but lost the last meeting, a 2-1 series defeat, during the 2004 season.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
This week's games will be broadcast live via the internet by Yahoo. Chuck Kelly will call the play-by-play with color analysis from former Sooner DeWayne Vaughn. Pre-game coverage for all OU baseball games begins 15 minutes prior to the first pitch.
Fans can also E-mail the radio booth by clicking the following link - E-mail your questions to the radio booth and the OU broadcast crew will answer your questions during the Sooners' games.
In addition, live stats for all games this season can be viewed on Soonersports.com. A web cast of this week's games can be viewed live on the O-Zone, Soonersports.com's premium site.
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UPDATING THE SOONERS
Last week, OU recorded four straight victories over ranked opponents with a mid-week win over then-No. 11 Wichita State and a three-game sweep of then-No. 20 UC Riverside.
OU used the four wins last week to extend its winning streak to seven games. After topping the Shockers in Norman, 5-4, on Wednesday, OU easily defeated James Simmons, a Roger Clemens Preseason candidate, and the No. 20 Highlanders in the series opener on Friday, 14-5. The Sooners followed that up with an 11-5 victory on Saturday and completed the sweep with a 2-1 ninth-inning win on Sunday.
TICKETS AND PROMOTIONS FOR CREIGHTON SERIES
Seats to this week's game are available for $10 (reserved), $7 (general admission), $5 (youth and senior citizen) and $3 for groups of ten or more at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and at SoonerSports.com. The gates will open an hour and a half before first pitch. Tuesday's game marks the first $.50 hot dog and $.50 coke night of the season while supplies last.
SCOUTING CREIGHTON
The Bluejays were picked fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference behind Missouri State, Wichita State and Evansville. The Blue Jays' stats from 2007 are located on pg. 12.
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Creighton has not announced a starting rotation for the series but OU could see right-handed Josh Gow or left-handed Ben Mancuso. Neither hurler has pitched this season. Gow is a transfer from Virgina Commonwealth and Mancuso is 5-5 in his Creighton career in 14 starts (35 appearances).
Senior catcher Chris Gradoville leads Creighton with one homer and is tied for team lead with seven RBIs with senior third baseman Steven Winkelmann. Senior outfielder Andrew Small is the top hitter on the club with a .364 batting average.
The Sooners are 6-5 lifetime against the Bluejays but have struggled in the most recent meetings. Since winning five of the first six meetings in the series, the Sooners have lost four of the last five games. Each of those five games were played at L. Dale Mitchell Park and OU trails 2-5 in games played in Norman against Creighton.
PLAYER TO WATCH: AARON REZA
Since his return to the lineup, the Sooners are 7-0 as the shortstop is hitting.520 with 11 RBIs. Last week, in four wins against ranked opponents (No. 11 Wichita State and No. 20 UC Riverside), Reza hit .588 (10-for-17) with nine RBIs and five stolen bases.
OU-CREIGHTON GAME-BY-GAME HISTORY
Below is a game-by-game recap of the series between the Sooners and Bluejays. Refer to page six for individual career stats versus Creighton:
2004, March 14 - Norman, Okla. L, 9-7
2004, March 13 - Norman, Okla. W, 6-1
2004, March 12 - Norman, Okla. L, 3-2
2001, March 7 - Norman, Okla. L, 9-3
2001, March 6 - Norman, Okla. L, 14-12
1994, March 8 - Houston, Texas W, 8-0
1991, May 13 - Omaha, Neb. L, 5-2
1991, March 22 - Norman, Okla. W, 17-12
1982, March 10 - Omaha, Neb. W, 9-1
1982, March 10 - Omaha, Neb. W, 8-7
1973, May 28 - Tulsa, Okla. W, 8-1
NEXT UP
The Sooners will head to San Diego, Calif. for the 2007 Aztec Invitational. On Friday, OU will play host San Diego State at Tony Gwynn Stadium. On Saturday, OU will battle No. 22 San Diego at Petco Park (home of MLB's San Diego Padres). OU concludes the tourney on Sunday at Tony Gwynn Stadium with Michigan.
NINE-GAME HOME STAND
After spending the first six games of the season on the road, OU's return to Norman for the longest home stand of the season has been a successful one. OU is 7-0 at home this season and the club is hitting .344 and averaging over nine runs per game and 12 hits per game. On top of the nine-game home stand, OU started a stretch on Feb. 23 that features 17 of its next 21 games played at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
OU is 4-1 this season against top 25 teams, suffering a 13-2 loss to then-No. 4 South Carolina and recording a 5-4 victory over then-No. 11 Wichita State and a three-game sweep of then-No. 20 UC Riverside. The Sooners currently have five ranked teams, according to Baseball America's latest poll, left on its schedule that account for 12 of the remaining 43 regular season games. Those opponents are No. 13 Texas, No. 14 Wichita State, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Texas A&M and No. 22 San Diego.
In addition, the Sooners will once again have a tough schedule in 2007. Prior to Big 12 play, OU faces a challenging non-conference schedule that includes a total of seven teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2006 including South Carolina, UNC-Wilmington, Wichita State, San Diego, Michigan, TCU and UT-Arlington. Overall, the Sooners will face 13 opponents (23 total games) that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament, including two 2006 Super Regional teams (South Carolina and Missouri).
SOONERS SWEEP BIG 12 HONORS
Oklahoma juniors Aaron Reza (SS) and Heath Taylor (LHP) swept the Big 12 Player of the Week awards for games played from Feb. 27 through March 4, the league office announced on Monday. Reza shared player of the week honors with Blake Stouffer from Texas A&M while Taylor was the conference's top pitcher last week.
The accolades are career firsts for both Sooners and the first of the season for Oklahoma. It also marks the first time that Oklahoma has swept both awards within the same week since the inception of the Big 12. The last time two Sooners were tabbed conference player and pitcher of the week occurred during the 1994 season when Mark Redman and Rich Hills were honored by the Big Eight (May 19).
WINNING STREAK
After starting the season 2-4, the Sooners have rebounded to rattle off seven straight victories and improve to 9-4, the same record after 13 games a year ago. OU started the winning streak with a three-game sweep of Western Illinois in Norman. Last week, OU recorded four straight victories over ranked opponents with a win over No. 11 Wichita State and a three-game sweep of No. 20 UC Riverside. In the last seven games, OU is hitting .344 and averaging just over nine runs per game. The Sooners recorded four games with 10 or more hits and three games with 10 or more runs in the last seven games.
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Since Aaron Reza's return to the lineup, the shortstop is hitting .520 with 11 RBIs and the Sooners are 7-0. Last week, in four wins against ranked opponents (No. 11 Wichita State and No. 20 UC Riverside), Reza hit .588 (10-for-17) with nine RBIs. In that span, Reza was a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts and connected for his second career home run, while tying his career high for hits (3) in two games and setting a career high with four RBIs on March 2 against the Highlanders. He also scored five runs and recorded an .824 slugging percentage and a .632 on-base percentage in four games last week.
TAYLOR'S TRADE
Taylor, a transfer from Vernon Junior College, has been impressive out of the Sooners' bullpen this season. In two appearances against No. 20 UC Riverside last week, Taylor helped OU to two victories with 6 1/3 innings pitched. The reliever struck out 11 batters and limited the opposition to zero runs on one hit and three walks. On Friday, March 2, Taylor set a career high with seven strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Taylor did not allow a run or a hit in the appearance. On Sunday, March 4, Taylor lasted a season-best 3 2/3 innings and struck out four batters to record his fi rst victory as a Sooner. Taylor surrendered one hit and did not allow a run for his second straight appearance.
ONE-RUN GAMES
The Sooners have had early success in games decided by one run. OU is 5-0 in one-run contests and 4-4 when the game is decided by two or more runs. The Sooners have recorded one-run victories over Texas Pan-American (GM2), Western Illinois (GM1 and GM3), Wichita State and UC RIverside (GM3).
BAKER'S DELIGHT
The true freshman from Denton, Texas, who is second in the Big 12 Conference in batting average, extended his team-best hitting streak to 13 games on over the weekend against UC Riverside. Baker's five-game streak of multiple-RBI games came to an end against the Highlanders on March 4. Baker recorded 10 RBIs in that span. In game two of the Western Illinois series on Feb. 24, he was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle as he tied an Oklahoma record with five hits. Baker became the 22nd player in OU history to accomplish the feat and the first since Greg Dobbs had five base knocks in 2001 (UTA). Baker currently leads the Sooners in batting average (.462), slugging percentage (.769), on-base percentage (.533), hits (18), doubles (6), homers (2), RBIs (14) and total bases (30).
PORLIER POISED
The transfer from Tulane University has solidified his role as the Sooners' No. 1 starter with three straight starts of five or more innings and five or more strikeouts. Porlier won his third straight start against then-No. 20 UC Riverside on March 2. In that game, Porlier outpitched James Simmons, a Roger Clemen's preseason candidate, with 5 1/3 innings pitched and five strikeouts.
On Feb. 23, he tossed a season-best eight innings against Western Illinois. Porlier tossed a season-high 110 pitches to strike out seven in his second victory of the season. Porlier, who combined with freshman Garrett Richards for the shutout, limited WIU to three hits and one walk. Porlier leads the Sooners in wins (3), strikeouts (23) and IP (22 1/3).
HOME OPENERS SINCE 1962
With Friday's 1-0 win over Western Illinois, the Sooners have won 26 straight home openers dating back to 1982. In the past 46 seasons, the University of Oklahoma baseball team is 42-4 in the first home game of the season. The Sooners' only losses in a home opener came in 1962 (6-1 against Loyola), 1965 (1-0 against OSU), 1969 (3-0 against Kansas) and 1981 (6-5 against Southeastern State). Additionally, the Sooners have only dropped one three-game set (first home series) in that span - Oklahoma State in 1965 (1-2).
GAME CHANGES
In addition to the Wichita State game, originally slated for Feb. 27, being moved to Feb. 28 at 5 p.m., the OU baseball team announced two other changes in the home schedule. Game two of the mid-week series against UTPA on March 14 has been moved to a noon start (originally scheduled for a 3 p.m. first pitch). In addition, game three against Michigan State on March 18 has also been moved to a noon first pitch, originally slated for a 1 p.m. start. Please check the schedule page on Soonersports.com for the most up-to-date information.
SOONERS ON TELEVISION
Baseball fans can catch action of three OU baseball games this season on live television, including a national broadcast by College Sports Television on April 5 when the Sooners visit Baylor. The complete broadcast schedule includes:
Thursday, April 5 at Baylor (CSTV)
Saturday, April 14 vs. Nebraska (FSN)
Sunday, May 6 vs. Oklahoma State (SSN)
BASEBALL ON THE O-ZONE
With the exception of the Feb. 28 game against Wichita State and the March 3 game UC Riverside, every game of the home portion of the 2007 schedule can be seen live via webcasts carried by the O-Zone, Soonersports.com's premium site. For more information on the O-Zone, please visit the O-Zone central page.
BIG 12 COMMISSIONER'S HONOR ROLL
Fifteen members of the OU baseball team were named to the 2006 Fall Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. Aaron Ivey was the lone Sooner to record a perfect 4. 0 GPA. Also making the list were Elliott Blair, Brad Burns, Andrew Doyle, Jarod Freeman, Zach Hedges, Bryant Hernandez, Joseph Hughes, Brandon Moss, Ryan Mottern, Stephen Porlier, Drew Roberts, Jimmy Rollins, Jackson Williams and Cory Williamson. Student-athletes must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA for the semester to qualify for the list.
DRAFT DODGERS
In 2006, the Sooners' roster featured 12 players that were drafted at one point in their careers. That mark was second in the Big 12 to Oklahoma State's 14. This season, OU again ranks second in the conference with 10 draftees and those players are listed below as well as where that mark ranks in the Big 12:
Player Year - Round Team
Aaron Baker 2006 - 37th Minnesota Twins
Vincent Biancamano 2004 - 35th Kansas City Royals
Brad Burns 2004 - 37th New York Mets
Aljay Davis 2005 - 29th Chicago White Sox
Andrew Doyle 2006 - 39th Washington Nationals
Joe Dunigan 2004 - 41st Montreal Expos
Chris Henry 2004 - 41st Colorado Rockies
Antwonie Hubbard 2006 - 12th Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Ryan Mottern 2006 - 49th Cleveland Indians
Devin Shepherd 2006 - 5th Minnesota Twins
BIG 12 DRAFTEES
Texas - 11
OU -10
Texas A&M - 10
OSU - 8
Nebraska - 7
Baylor - 4
Missouri - 4
Texas Tech - 3
Kansas State - 2
Kansas - 1
DOWNLOAD THE 2007 MEDIA GUIDE
View the complete 2007 Oklahoma Baseball Media Guide by clicking here. This is the official source of information on the Sooners produced by the OU Athletics Media Relations Department. The cost for the 2007 Baseball Guide is $15 and it is available at the OU Bookstore (405) 325-3511 (ask for general book sales), at all home games or by calling Sooner Sports Properties (405) 325-6465.
FIVE CAPTAINS TO LEAD OU IN 2007
Five Sooners were selected by their teammates to captain the club in 2007. Seniors Aaron Ivey and Jimmy Rollins and juniors Ryan Mottern, Aaron Reza and Jackson Williams are among the 13 letterwinners returning for OU this season.
OU LOOKS TO BUILD ON 2006 REGIONAL
After only one full season as Oklahoma's baseball coach, Sunny Golloway already has the Sooners measuring their success by the number of times they get to pile up on the middle of the field for a celebration. In his first season, Golloway led the Sooners to their first super regional appearance since they went to the College World Series as the defending champions in 1995. The next step is getting back to that level. Click here to read the full article written by the Associated Press.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Oklahoma Sooners led the nation in fielding percentage (.983) in 2006 and as a result, the team won a regional championship and was one win away from the program's 10th College World Series appearance. The Sooners lost four starters from the playing field but return five starters in 2007.
Last year's percentage is second in school history behind the .986 mark established by the 1951 team. The Sooners' won the program's first national title that same year.
MOTTERN NAMED TO WALLACE WATCH LIST
Junior hurler Ryan Mottern (RHP) was named to the watch list for the 2007 Brooks Wallace Award, presented annually to the national college baseball player of the year. Mottern, a 2007 captain, is the third Sooner to make the list since it originated after the 2004 season. Former Sooners Eric Thornton and Steven Guerra were part of the watch lists in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Mottern is one of two pitchers that return this season with prior starting experience for the Sooners. Last season, the Palestine, Texas, native finished with a 4-2 mark in eight starts (13 appearances) scattered across 37 2/3 innings pitched. In that span, the right-hander struck out 36 batters and walked 22. Additionally, Mottern saw time as the Sooners' designated hitter and as an outfielder a year ago.
BIG 12 PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The University of Oklahoma baseball team was picked fifth in the Big 12 Conference Coaches' preseason poll as released by the league office on Jan. 29. OU received 46 points in the Big 12 poll, 11 points shy of fourth place Baylor.
Texas once again topped the list for the fifth straight year with 79 points, including seven first-place votes. Oklahoma State (70) followed the Longhorns at No. 2 with two first-place votes. Nebraska (64) and Baylor (57) rounded out the top four. Following the Sooners was Texas Tech (37), Texas A&M (34), Missouri (29), Kansas (22) and Kansas State (12).
The Sooners were also picked to finish fifth last season and ended the regular season in third place and was the last conference team standing in the NCAA Tournament, coming up one win shy of the College World Series. The last time OU was picked higher than fifth prior to a season was in 2003 when the Sooners were tabbed third.
2007 Big 12 Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll
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RADIO BROADCAST SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
The University of Oklahoma baseball team released its 2007 radio and internet broadcast schedule on Jan. 25. The entire 56-game regular season schedule will be broadcast live on the internet via Yahoo.
In addition, KOKC 1520 AM will again serve as the flagship station of Sooner baseball and 40-plus games are scheduled to broadcast live. Additionally, 11 of the games (listed below) are set to be carried on the Sooners Sports' Network, enabling fans to listen to OU baseball on the radio state-wide. For a list of affiliates in Oklahoma, visit the Sooner baseball page on SoonerSports.com.
Network Games:
Sunday, March 25 Texas A&M
Sunday, April 1 at Texas
Friday, April 6 at Baylor
Sunday, April 15 Nebraska
Sunday, April 22 at Kansas State
Sunday, April 29 Kansas
Friday, May 4 vs. Oklahoma State
Saturday, May 5 vs. Oklahoma State
Sunday, May 6 vs. Oklahoma State
Sunday, May 13 at Missouri
Sunday, May 20 Texas Tech
GOLLOWAY RANKS AMONG BEST ACTIVE COACHES
Head coach Sunny Golloway ranks in a tie for 11th all-time among winningest active head coaches (by winning percentage) heading into the 2007 season. In 10 seasons, Golloway is 392-184-0 (.681).
FORMER OU COACH, VERN RUHLE, PASSES
Former University of Oklahoma and Cincinnati Reds pitching coach Vern Ruhle (55) died Jan. 20 in Houston of complications from a donor stem cell transplant for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. Ruhle was Oklahoma's pitching coach from 1990-1995 and helped lead the Sooners to three College World Series appearances (1992, 1994 and 1995) and the program's second national title in 1994.
MINOR JOINS OU STAFF
Former Sooner and Major Leaguer Damon Minor is new to the Oklahoma baseball staff as a volunteer coach for the 2007 season.
Minor, who played at Oklahoma from 1993-1996, helped the Sooners win the 1994 National Championship and make a return trip to the College World Series in 1995, Minor, a 1996 All-America Honorable Mention, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1996. With the Giants, the former Sooner played on the Major League level from 2000-04. He enjoyed his best season in 2002 when San Francisco won the National League Championship and advanced to the World Series. During that season, Minor saw time in 83 games and connected for 10 home runs 24 runs batted in.
SOONERS FINISH 2006 RANKED NINTH
The University of Oklahoma baseball team recorded its highest top-25 finish since 1995 when Baseball America released its final poll of the 2006 season. The Sooners earned the No. 9 spot after coming within one win of advancing to the program's 10th College World Series appearance.
The 1995 OU team, which is the last squad to reach the CWS, finished the season as the No. 7 ranked team in the nation.
In the remaining final polls, the Sooners were ranked No. 10 by Collegiate Baseball and the NCBWA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) and No. 11 on the Sports Weekly/USA Today list.
2007 SIGNING CLASS TABBED FOURTH BEST
For the third time in the last four years, the Oklahoma baseball team's incoming class was ranked in the nation's top 10, coming in at No. 4 as released by Collegiate Baseball in Sept. The 2007 class trailed South Carolina, Miami (Fl.) and Florida.
Oklahoma's 2007 class consists of 18 newcomers and features two players drafted highly in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, freshman outfielder Devin Shepherd (fifth-round) out of Oxnard Union High School in California and freshman right-handed pitcher Antwonie Hubbard (12th-round) from Hooks High School in Texas.
SOONERS SIGN EIGHT FOR 2008
Oklahoma baseball head coach Sunny Golloway announced the signing of eight baseball players for the 2008 season to national letters of intent in November.
For the second consecutive year, the OU coaching staff landed a projected first-round draft pick in Blake Beavan. Beaven was a member of the USA Junior National Team in 2006. Last year, Oklahoma signed Devin Shepherd, one of the highest ranked prep outfielders in the country (drafted in the fifth round by the Minnesota Twins).
Although Beavan headlines the class, the other signees have
earned their share of accolades in their young careers. The group features seven high school prospects and one junior college transfer.
Below is a brief look at the Sooners' newcomers in 2008:
Blake Beavan, RHP, 6-7, 210
Irving, Texas (Irving H.S.)
Chad Colbert, INF, 5-10, 170
Allen, Okla. (Allen H.S.)
P.J. Dean, RHP, 6-3, 175
New Caney, Texas (New Caney H.S.)
Ryan Duke, RHP/INF, 6-0, 165
Corpus Christi, Texas (Calallen H.S.)
Matt Hoffman, OF/LHP, 6-2, 190
Tulsa, Okla. (Owasso H.S.)
Gary Poynter, RHP, 6-3, 220
Flower Mound, Texas (Weatherford J.C./Marcus H.S.)
Michael Rocha, RHP, 5-11, 190
Austin, Texas (Hays Consolidated H.S.)
Brandon Smith, INF, 5-11, 205
Norman, Okla. (Norman North H.S.)
OU BASEBALL HISTORY
Click here to view a complete overview of the history of baseball at the University of Oklahoma. Oklahoma is one of 12 schools to win multiple national titles and the Sooners nine College World Series appearances also ranks among the best in Division I baseball. Click the above link to learn more about the Sooners'postseason history, All-Americans and more.
Saturday, July 11
Thursday, June 25
Wednesday, June 24
Monday, June 22
