Houston College Classic Preview

OU (3-1) vs. Rice (3-2), Houston (3-2), Tennessee (3-1)
Game 5	Friday, Feb. 29 vs. Rice at noon
Game 6	Saturday, March 1 vs. Houston at noon
Game 7	Sunday, March 2 vs. Tennessee at 11 a.m.
Location	Minute Maid Park \| Houston, Texas
Webcast	Live video on HoustonAstros.com
Listen Online	Live Audio in Oklahoma All-Access
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com / GameTracker
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF) \| OU Media Guide

HOUSTON, Texas - The Sooners return to the road this weekend to play in the 2008 Houston College Classic, presented by the Houston Chronicle. The tournament is hosted by Major League Baseball's Houston Astros and all of the games are set to be played at the team's home field, Minute Maid Park.

OU will kick things off on Friday at noon against No. 15 Rice in a rematch of the 2006 Houston Super Regional. On Saturday, OU will play another 2006 NCAA Tournament foe, Houston, at noon. The Sooners conclude the Houston College Classic with Tennessee on Sunday at 11 a.m.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
This weekend's games can be heard live on the internet, via Oklahoma All-Access on SoonerSports.com, with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play. Pre-game coverage for OU baseball games begins 30 minutes prior to the first pitch.

LIVE STATS
Live stats for all games this season can be viewed by clicking the link on the schedule page on Soonersports.com.

WEB CAST
A live web cast will be provided for each game of the tournament. Fans can purchase a monthly or yearly membership by visiting HoustonAstros.com.

UPDATING THE SOONERS
The Sooners have won three straight games since dropping the season opener at then-No. 1 UCLA last weekend.

Since scoring five runs off seven hits in the season opener, the OU offense has connected for 10 or more hits in each of the last three games and has combined for 20 runs in the those contests.

On the mound, OU pitchers have not allowed an opponent to total 10 or more hits in a game and have limited the opposition to three or fewer runs in each of the last three games.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS
Game 5: Friday, Feb. 29
Ryan Berry | RHP | So. | 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 8 Ks
vs.
Andrew Doyle | RHP | So. | 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.1 IP, 7 Ks

Game 6: Saturday, March 1
Chase Anderson | RHP | So. | 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 4.0 IP, 5 Ks
vs.
Jared Ray | RHP | Fr. | 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 6 IP, 7 Ks

Game 7: Sunday, March 2
Michael Rocha | RHP | Fr. | 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 6 IP, 7 Ks
vs.
Bryan Morgado | LHP | Fr. | 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 8 IP, 12 Ks

UP NEXT
The Sooners return to Norman to begin a seven-game home stand. The seven games in six days begins on Tuesday with North Dakota State at 3 p.m. On Wednesday, OU hosts North Dakota State for a double header at 3 p.m./6:30 p.m. Over the weekend, the Sooners welcome Western Illinois for a four-game set that starts on Friday and ends Sunday. Saturday will feature a doubleheader with the Leathernecks.

SCOUTING RICE
Record: 3-2
Ranking: 15 (Baseball America); 11 (Collegiate Baseball); 9 (NCBWA)
Series: OU leads 6-4

The Sooners and Owls will meet in a rematch of the 2006 Houston Super Regional on Friday afternoon. Rice won that three-game set, 2-1, and has won four of the last six meetings. The last regular season meeting was in 2006 at L. Dale Mitchell Park where the Sooners topped then-No. 1 Rice, 15-3.

The Owls enter this weekend having won their last three games. Most recently, Rice topped Houston at Reckling Park, 12-11. The Owls opened the season with a 2-1 series loss at then-No. 18 Long Beach State.

As a team, Rice is hitting .282 and has outscored its opponents 28-22. Senior first baseman J.P. Padron leads the Owls' offense with a .450 average, two home runs and seven RBIs.

On the mound, sophomore Ryan Berry is expected to get the start. Berry started the season opener at Long Beach State and registered a no decision. Berry tossed seven innings of scoreless baseball and struck out eight batters and allowed five hits. As a team, the Rice pitching staff has a 3.22 ERA.

SCOUTING HOUSTON
Record: 3-2
Ranking: NA
Series: OU leads 19-7

OU and Houston have not met since the 2006 NCAA Norman Regional. The Sooners won that meeting, 8-6, and have won the last five meetings in the series.

The Cougars opened the 2008 season with a 2-1 series win over Pacific at home. Earlier this week, Houston topped Texas State, 8-1, at home and lost at Rice, 12-11.

The Cougars' pitchers have a combined 4.26 ERA and freshman right-hander Jared Ray is expected to get the start against OU. Ray lasted six innings in his only start of the year, a no decision that saw him toss six innings and strike out seven batters.

Senior outfielder Jake Stewart leads the Cougars with a .572 clip and eight RBIs. As a team, Houston is hitting .315 and has outscored its opponents 35-27.

SCOUTING TENNEESSE
Record: 3-1
Ranking: NA
Series: OU leads 1-0

In the only meeting between the schools, OU topped Tennessee for the 1951 National Championship in Omaha, Neb. on June 17, 1951.

The Volunteers stand at 3-1 overall after winning taking two of three from Morehead State at home and most recently topped Furman, 2-1, on Monday.

Junior third baseman Cody Brown leads all Volunteers with a .538 batting average and four RBIs.

Freshman lefty Bryan Morgado (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will make the start on Sunday. Morgado struck out 12 in eight innings on Monday in the start against Furman. Morgado only allowed two hits and the only run was unearned.

QUALITY STARTS
On Wednesday, junior pitcher C.J. Blue became the third straight OU starter to put together a quality start of at least five innings. The only starter not to last five innings was sophomore Jeremy Erben, who lasted four innings in the season opener but struck out five and allowed one earned run. Solid pitching has been the key to success for OU this season, so far after four games, the pitching staff's ERA is under three and has compiled 40 strikeouts.

NEWCOMER DEBUTS
Junior hurler C.J. Blue became the eighth OU pitcher to make his debut so far this season. The Sooners have started four newcomers on the mound in each of their four games. In addition, OU has started seven different newcomers in the field.

NEWCOMER CONTRIBUTIONS
The OU baseball team has seen immediate results out of the 2008 class. Sixteen of the Sooners' 22 RBIs have been driven in by a newcomer and on the mound, 30 of the staff's 40 strikeouts have been recorded by a newcomer.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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