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University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Concludes Regular Season at Home
May 18, 2007 | Baseball
NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma Sooners (30-22 overall, 9-15 Big 12) will conclude the regular season at home this weekend against Texas Tech (27-25, 7-16).
Friday's opener at L. Dale Mitchell Park is set for 7 p.m. and will be followed by games on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. , respectively.
Texas Tech is currently 10th in the Big 12 standings while Oklahoma is tied for seventh with Baylor (9-15). The Sooners are also ahead of Kansas (8-15) and control their own destiny for the Big 12 Championship, which awards the top eight teams in the conference.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The three-game series will be broadcast live on the Sooners' flagship station, KOKC 1520 AM, with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and DeWayne Vaughn providing the color analysis. All three games will also be carried live on the internet via Yahoo. Pre-game coverage for all games, now begins 25 minutes prior to the first pitch.
Fans can 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.
Live stats for all games this season can be viewed on Soonersports.com. A live webcast of each game will also be available on the O-Zone.
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TICKETS AND PROMOTIONS FOR TEXAS TECH SERIES
Seats to this weekend'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.
The first 500 fans in attendance at Friday's game will receive a free OU fan banner. On Saturday, the first 500 fans will receive a free OU mini-bat and on Sunday, kids are invited to run the bases following the conclusion of the game.
UPDATING THE SOONERS
The Sooners dropped two games at then-No. 21 Missouri during a three-game set over the weekend. After falling 13-3 in the series opener, the Sooners recorded their third shutout of Big 12 play with a 5-0 victory in game two. In the series finale, OU was unable to overcome a four-run seventh by the Tigers, as a ninth-inning rally fell short in a 10-8 defeat.
OU returned home to host Stephen F. Austin on Monday at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Sooners connected for 14 hits in the 10-6 victory over the Lumberjacks. Aaron Reza and Aaron Ivey had three hits apiece and Andrew Doyle (1-0) earned the win in relief.
PLAYER TO WATCH: AARON IVEY
OU's senior outfielder is enjoying a career-best 12-game hitting streak, the second longest by a Sooner this season. Ivey is hitting .471 (24-for-51) in that span with six multi-hit games, 4 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders were picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches' poll behind the Sooners and currently sit 10th in the standings. After starting 5-6 in Big 12 play with a series win over Nebraska and split with Texas A&M, the Red Raiders have struggled with a 2-10 mark in the last four series. In that final span, Texas Tech's one series win came against Kansas.
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Sophomore left-hander Cory Large will be making his sixth start of the season (seventh appearance) on Friday against the Sooners. Large is 2-1 this season with a 6.62 ERA and 15 strikeouts across 17 2/3 innings pitched. In three Big 12 starts, Large is 0-1 with a 6.92 ERA.
Offensively, Texas Tech is led by sophomore outfielder Roger Kieschnick. The 2006 Freshman of the Year in the Big 12 Conference is hitting a team-leading .315 with 13 home runs in 2007. His 35 RBIs ranks third on the team behind Matt Smith and Kyle Martin. The trio of Kieschnick, Smith (11) and Martin (11) have combined for 35 of Tech's 52 home runs, a team total that ranks fourth in the conference.
OU leads the all-time series with Texas Tech, 27-21-1 but the two are tied at 18-18-1 since the formation of the Big 12 in 1997. The Sooners have won seven straight over the Red Raiders, including last year's three-game sweep in Lubbock. OU has won three of the last four season series agaisnt Texas Tech, but prior to that span, the Red Raiders won six consecutive series.
NEXT UP
OU awaits its fate for the Big 12 Championship (May 23-27) at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. Results from the league's 27-game round-robin conference schedule will determine the eight seeds for the Championship. Seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 will compete in pool play on one side of the bracket, while seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 will play in the other. The two teams with the best record within their bracket will advance to the Championship game, with the winner earning the Big 12's automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.
BASEBALL VISITS MIRACLE LEAGUE IN EDMOND
OU took the field Thursday night at Mitch Park to participate in two Miracle League games. The Sooners joined the Royals and Red Sox in game one and the Cardinals and Cubs in the second game. Each OU player paired up with a child from each team, ranging in age from five to late teens, and helped them play all positions in the field and take at-bats. The Miracle League, founded in 1997, is an organization that gives special-needs children an opportunity to play baseball. CLICK HERE to view photo galleries and video from Thursday's visit.
FOUR SOONERS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
Seniors Aaron Ivey, Joseph Hughes and Cory Williamson were named to the 2007 Academic All-Big 12 First Team on May 15. Junior Jarod Freeman was honored on the second team.
Hughes, Williamson and Freeman were each selected for the first time in their careers. It marked the third time in Ivey's career that he was selected to the first team and the third time be nominated with a 4.0 GPA. Ivey is one of four Sooners in program history to be named to the first team on three occasions, joining Casey Bookout (1997-99), Chris Ebright (1987-89) and Matt Reubel (1989-91).
OU STAFF LEADS BIG 12 IN STRIKEOUTS
For the second consecutive week, the Sooners' pitching staff leads the Big 12 in strikeouts with 424. Texas A&M is second with 414 and Kansas is third with 410. The OU staff, which is 12th in the country in strikeouts per game with an 8.4 average, features two of the conference best strikeout artists in Stephen Porlier and Nich Conaway. Porlier is tied for the Big 12 lead with 89 strikeouts, while Conaway is tied for fourth with 81. In 2006, OU recorded 480 strikeouts, the most since the 1998 season (548). At the end of last year's regular season, the Sooners had 397 strikeouts and recorded 80 K's in 11 postseason games.
SOONERS IN THE BIG 12
The Sooners rank fourth in overall batting average with a .303 team clip. OU's 4.57 team ERA ranks eighth in the conference and its .967 fielding percentage ranks sixth in the conference. Below is a look at the current standings:
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CONAWAY 7TH NATIONALLY IN STRIKEOUT AVERAGE
While OU's staff ranks 12th nationally with an 8.4 strikeout per game average, sophomore Nich Conaway is seventh in the country with a 12.2 average per nine innings. The hard-throwing righty has 81 K's in 60 innings of work. Conaway's 81 strikeouts is tied for fourth in the Big 12 and his 52 in conference play only, ranks third behind Stephen Porlier (54).
10 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
The number 10 has proven to be an important statistic in determining the Sooners' record this season. Oklahoma is 9-0 when they score 10 or more runs. In addition, when the Sooners record 10 or more hits on offense, they are 20-9 with losses to Western Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas (2), Oklahoma State (2) and Missouri (2). On defense, OU is 6-16 when it allows 10 or more hits and in comparison 0-8 when it allows the opponent to score 10 or more runs this season (South Carolina, Western Kentucky, Nebraska, TCU, KSU, OSU and Missouri-2). In comparison, OU is 24-6 when it holds the opposition under 10 base knocks.
OKLAHOMA/BIG 12 RPI's
Although not official, Boydsworld.com provides a weekly pseudo RPI system. OU is ranked No. 31 in the latest ranking released on Thursday, May 17. The Big 12 is rated the No. 3 power conference in the nation behind the SEC and the ACC. The Big 12 has five teams ranked in the top 30 along ahead of the Sooners (No. 4 Texas, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 19 Missouri, No. 23 Nebraska and No. 28 Kansas State. Oklahoma State (40), Baylor (42), Texas Tech (72) and Kansas (131) round out the conference's RPI's.
TOP 25 RANKINGS
OU was not ranked in the top 25 for the fifth consecutive week. Refer to page six for OU's week-by-week rankings.
WILLIAMS' SECOND HALF
Junior catcher Jackson Williams has been one of the Sooners' most productive sluggers in the lineup over the last 14 games with 19 RBIs. That total matches the amount of runs Williams drove in during his first 35 games of the season. During the last 14 games, Williams has hit safely in all but two games with a .379 clip and is slugging .586 with five doubles, two triples and a home run. Williams' 102 career RBIs is a team high after driving in 36 runs last season and 28 as a freshman.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
OU is outscoring its opponents 41-18 in the first inning of games played this season. OU is 10-5 when it scores in the first frame, (7-6 when opponent scores in the first) and when the Sooners tack on the game's initial run, they are 18-8 (12-14 when opponent scores first).
IVEY HONORED BY LOWE'S AND ESPN THE MAGAZINE
Last week, senior Aaron Ivey was named one of ten finalists for the Baseball Division of the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. In addition, Ivey became the second Sooner in program history to garner Academic All-District honors in consecutive seasons. Ivey was named a first team member by ESPN The Magazine and CoSIDA and is eligible for Academic All-America honors.
Ivey was a 2006 CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-American in 2006. Fan balloting is available, from May 10 through June 6, on the award's official website www.seniorclassaward.com, and will be combined with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the 2007 award.
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IVEY STREAKING
Aaron Ivey's current 12-game hitting streak is a career high and the second longest streak by a Sooner this season (Aaron Baker - 22) and tied for the third longest in the last three seasons (2005-2007). Ivey currently leads the Sooners with a .362 batting average and 20 stolen bases. Ivey has hit safely in 17 of the last 18 games with eight multiple-hit performances in that span. In addition, the Oklahoma City native has stolen 15 bases in the last 17 games after swiping five in the first 31 games.
PORLIER MAKING HIS MARK
Sophomore Stephen Porlier continues to make his mark in his first season in Norman. Porlier is tied for the Big 12 lead in strikeouts with 89 and ranks second in Big 12 games only with 54 K's. Porlier has four or more punch outs in 13 of his 14 appearances this season, including a season-high 12 batters against Texas A&M on March 23 and 11 versus Baylor on April 5. He has lasted five or more innings in 12 of his 13 starts. On April 27 against Kansas, Porlier threw his fifth scoreless outing of 2007 with seven innings of four-hit ball. He tossed the first complete game shutout of his career on April 14 against Nebraska with six strike outs. The four-hit shutout was the first for a Sooner since Daniel McCutchen shut down UC Riverside (10 IP) on March 3, 2006.
SOONERS VISIT WITH SPECIAL SPECTATORS
As Sooner fans across the country tuned in to watch the No. 23 Oklahoma baseball team battle Nebraska on Fox Sports Southwest on April 14, three fans in particular enjoyed the victory from beginning to end with the team in Norman. Alec Cochran, Ruben Contrares and Tyler Row enjoyed a behind the scenes tour of a typical gameday on top of the Sooners' victory thanks to the efforts of an organization called Special Spectators. Click here to read the rest of the story as well as see photos and videos from the day.
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
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