OU Hosts Washington State Friday

Washington State (10-4) at No. 25 OU (14-2)
Game 17	Friday, March 14 - 6:35 p.m.
Games 18-19	Saturday, March 15 - 2 p.m./5:30 p.m.
Game 20	Sunday, March 16 - 1 p.m.
Location	Norman, Okla. \| L. Dale Mitchell Park
Radio	Sooner Sports Radio Network
Online	Live Audio and Video in Oklahoma All-Access
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com / GameTracker
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF) \| OU Media Guide

NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 25 Oklahoma (14-2) has won its last 11 games and will look to extend that streak this weekend with a four-game series against Washington State (10-4). The Sooners and Cougars will begin the four-game set on Friday, March 14 at 6:35 p.m. The series resumes on Saturday with a doubleheader slated to begin at 2 p.m. The series finale on Sunday is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
All four games of the WSU series are scheduled to be broadcast live on the Sooners' flagship station, KOKC 1520 AM, with Chuck Kelly and DeWayne Vaughn providing the on-air talent. The games will also be available on the internet via Oklahoma All-Access, SoonerSports.com's premium paid site.

WEB CAST
A live web cast will be available for all four games on Oklahoma All-Access.

LIVE STATS
Live stats are available for all games this season on SoonerSports.com.

TICKETS
Seats remain for this week's game and gates will open 90 minutes prior to first pitch. Tickets are available at the gate, online or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-GoOU. The office is open from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located on the plaza level of the Asp Avenue parking garage.

PROMOTIONS
FRIDAY: The first 500 fans will receive free OU pom poms.

SATURDAY: Fans will receive a free OU baseball poster while supplies last and, weather permitting, the team will sign autographs following the second game of the doubleheader along the third base line.

SUNDAY: Kids run the bases for free (weather permitting).

UP NEXT
The Sooners begin Big 12 action next weekend at Nebraska (March 21-23) in a three-game set. Prior to the weekend series, OU will travel to Tampa, Fla., to battle South Florida in a two-game, mid week series (March 18-19) at Red McEwen Field.

UPDATING THE SOONERS
The Sooners have won 11 straight games since losing to then-No. 9 Rice on Feb. 29. OU's only other loss in 2008 came at then-No. 1 UCLA in the season opener.

OU ranks third in the Big 12 in overall ERA with a 2.99 mark and at the plate, it ranks fourth with a .306 clip. The Sooners are tied for second in fielding percentage with a .969 mark.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCH-UPS
Game 17: Friday, March 14 - 6:35 p.m.
WSU: Jared Prince | RHP | Jr. (1-0, 6.23 ERA, 13.0 IP, 5 Ks)
vs.
OU: Chase Anderson | RHP | So.
1-0, 5.40 ERA, 15.0 IP, 12 Ks

Game 18: Saturday, March 15 - 2 p.m.
WSU: Chad Arnold | RHP | Fr. (1-2, 11.32 ERA, 10.1 IP, 6 Ks)
vs.
OU: TBA

Game 19: Saturday, March 15 - 5:30 p.m.
WSU: Jayson Miller | LHP | Sr. (2-0, 3.72 ERA, 19.1 IP, 17 Ks)
vs.
OU: Michael Rocha | RHP | Fr. (2-0, 2.75 ERA, 19.2 IP, 15 Ks)

Game 20: Sunday, March 16 - 1 p.m.
WSU: James Wise | RHP | Fr. (0-0, 4.91 ERA, 11 IP, 6 Ks)
vs.
OU: Andrew Doyle | RHP | So. (3-1, 2.16 ERA, 25 IP, 22 Ks)

SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE
Record: 10-4
Ranking: NA
Series: WSU leads 3-1

The Sooners and Cougars last met during the 1987 season in Norman, Okla. The two played a two-game series that year and WSU won both games (16-14, 5-4). The Sooners only win in the series came in 1977 at a tournament in Las Vegas. OU won that game 5-4, avenging the first meeting between the two in 1976, a 6-1 WSU victory at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

Washington State enters the weekend with an 10-4 mark. The Cougars dropped their last two games at Wichita State on Wednesday (6-4) and at Kansas State on Tuesday (9-6).

Offensively, WSU is hitting .335 as a team and entered the week leading the Pac 10 Conference in batting average. WSU is led by senior first baseman Jim Murphy (.396 avg., 7 HR, 20 RBIs).

On the mound, the Cougars hold a 4.57 ERA and will throw junior RHP Jared Prince. The hurler lasted four innings in his last start against Kent State and has a 1-0 record after three starts. Prince has a 6.23 ERA and has struck out five batters in 13 innings pitched.

MORE ON THE STREAK
The 11-game winning streak ranks in a tie for 11th all-time in program history. The Sooners have outscored their opponents 98-43 during the streak.

The last time OU won 11 games in a row was in 2007 and the longest winning streak under head coach Sunny Golloway is 13, accomplished in 2006.

The Sooners have laced together streaks of 10 or more wins on 20 occasions since 1962, with the 24-game streak in 1975 still standing as the school record.

SOONERS BREAK INTO TOP 25
OU's nine-game winning streak was noticed around the country as evident in this week's polls. The Sooners are ranked No. 25 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, marking the first time this season that they have appeared in the top 25. The Sooners are also receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' and NCBWA (media) polls.

OU SHOWS POWER AT THE PLATE
Not expected to be one of the team's strengths entering 2008, the Sooners have exhibited home run power after 16 games. OU's 18 homers ranks second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma State (20) and the total is nearly half of what the Sooners produced in 2007 after 58 games (37 HR). Ten different Sooners have connected for a dinger and senior Mike Gosse leads the way with five, which ranks second in the conference.

10 OR MORE IS A PLUS
The Sooners have had 10 or more hits in nine games this season and have scored 10 or more runs on five occasions. OU is undefeated in those contests and is averaging 7.8 runs per game in 2008.

In comparison, opponents have connected for 10-plus hits in four games. OU is 3-1 in those contests with the only loss coming against Rice. In addition, the Sooners' season high for runs allowed is seven, surrendered in both losses (UCLA and Rice).

HOT START
OU (14-2) is off to its best start after 16 games since the 1998 season when it started 14-2.

QUALITY STARTS AND RELIEF
The Sooners have found success on the mound early as a result of quality starts by their pitchers. Only four starts have been under five innings (three starts lasted four innings) and the starting rotation is 11-1 overall. The OU bullpen has been doing its part as well. In 57 innings, the relievers have struck out 55 batters with a 1.89 ERA. The Sooner pen has a 3-1 record with five saves, led by senior closer Jake McCarter (1-0, 5 saves).

NEWCOMER CONTRIBUTIONS
The OU baseball team has seen immediate results out of the 2008 class with 63 of the Sooners' 114 RBIs driven in by a newcomer. On the mound, 11 of the 16 starts and 12 of the 14 wins have been made by a newcomer.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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