Erben, Offense Roll in Series Opener

March 28, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
BU	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	5	0
OU	0	6	4	0	0	0	0	1	X	11	13	1

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Erben (1-0)	7.2	4	2	2	3	7
L - Volz (3-2)	2.1	9	9	9	1	2
S - none	-	-	-	-	-	-

Batting Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	3B
BU - Campbell	3	1	2	0	1	0
OU - Harughty	4	2	3	2	0	1

Sooner Baseball Central

2008 OU Baseball Media Guide

NORMAN, Okla. -- Sophomore starter Jeremy Erben recorded his first victory of the year and OU's offense provided plenty of run support in an 11-2 win in the series opener over No. 20 Baylor on Friday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

Erben (1-0) lasted a season-high 7 2/3 innings and the OU offense piled up six runs in the second inning and four more in the third to record its first Big 12 win of the season. The Sooners are 19-7-1 overall and 1-2-1 in conference action. The Bears dropped to 15-8 overall and 2-5 in Big 12 play.

"We strung some hits together and got men in scoring position and got some key hits," said OU head coach Sunny Golloway. "Our guys bounced back and had a great approach offensively today.

"We outhit Nebraska last weekend but didn't have much to show for it because we didn't get hits with men in scoring position. Coach (Tim) Tadlock should get a lot of credit for how our offense was ready to get after Kendal Volz today."

OU jumped on top early and often after tying a season high with six runs scored in the bottom of the second inning.

The Sooners batted around the lineup to post six runs in an inning for the fourth time this season. Jamie Johnson doubled in the first run of the frame and was followed by Matt Harughty's RBI single to right field. Kendal Volz and the Bears recorded the first out of the inning on Trey Sperring's pop out after four consecutive hits to begin the inning, but a bunt single by Tyson Seng and a sacrifice fly by Mike Gosse followed. OU closed out the scoring in the second with a RBI single up the middle of the infield by Aaron Baker.

The Sooners' offensive outburst continued in the third with four more runs to increase the lead to 10-0. Harughty's one-out triple scored Jamie Johnson and Gosse plated two runs on a single and Aljay Davis plated another run on a fielder's choice.

Baylor starter Kendal Volz (3-2) was chased after 2 1/3 innings and a career-high nine runs allowed. The OU offense added two more runs on the Bears' bullpen and improved to 7-0 when scoring 10 or more runs this season. The Sooners' also connected for 10 or more hits for the 17th time in 27 games.

In his third start of the season, Erben recorded a season-high seven strikeouts on 112 pitches, also a season high. The New Braunfels, Texas, native previously started against UCLA in the season opener and versus Nebraska on the road last weekend in the Big 12 opener. On Friday, the hurler did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and held Baylor scoreless for his first 6 1/3 innings of action.

All but one OU starter drove in a run, and Gosse and Davis led the way with three RBIs apiece and Harughty had a game-high three hits.

The Big 12 series continues on Saturday at 2 p.m. and will feature OU's Andrew Doyle (4-2, 2.50 ERA) against BU's Shawn Tolleson (2-1, 2.99 ERA). The game can be heard live on the Sooners' flagship station, KOKC 1520 AM, with Chuck Kelly and DeWayne Vaughn providing the on-air talent.

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