No. 16 Sooners Open With 17-2 Win

Feb. 20, 2009

Oklahoma 17, Western Illinois 2 | Box Score |

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
WIU	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	1
OU	0	0	3	0	1	1	9	3	X	17	18	1

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Doyle (1-0)	6.0	7	2	2	0	9
L - Brough (0-1)	4.1	8	4	4	0	3

Batting Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - Ogle	4	1	2	4	1	0
OU - Baker	2	3	2	3	1	1

POSTGAME VIDEO
Golloway talks about potential opening-day nerves

The Sooners' head coach on Doyle's performance

OU's skipper discusses the numerous newcomer debuts

GAME NOTES
The Sooners finished the game 10-for-18 with runners in scoring position ... Nine different Sooners made their debuts on Friday, including five freshman ... Every starting position player recorded a hit, including seven batters with multiple-hit games ... Cameron Seitzer homered in his first career at-bat, a pinch hit three-run shot in the eighth inning ... The Sooners' pitching staff did not walk a batter in the season opener ... The last time the OU pitchers did not register a walk during game was on April 1, 2008 vs. Dallas Baptist ... The last time OU opened a season at home was in 2003 ... The Sooners are 21-1 with 19 straight wins when opening at home ... Overall, OU is 36-12 in season openers since 1962 ... The Sooners are 15-1 against the Leathernecks and have won 14 straight in the series ... After collecting three RBIs on Friday, Aaron Baker has 12 runs driven in in eight career games against Western Illinois ... The Sooners' 17 runs scored was the most since April 20, 2008 when they tagged Missouri for 20 ... The opening day total was the highest since 1998 when OU topped Missouri Southern, 20-7, on Feb. 7 at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

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NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 16 Oklahoma baseball team cruised in Friday's season opener with a 17-2 win over Western Illinois in front of 806 fans at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

“It's a rewarding start from the fact that we got everyone in the game,” said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway. “All of our players trained really hard through the fall and early spring. It was a nice day and what a great crowd to show up on opening day.”

The Sooners led 5-2 after six innings and broke open the game with nine runs in the seventh inning, keyed by freshman Tyler Ogle's bases-clearing double and senior J.T. Wise's two-run homer.

“It was great training for us to be in a tight ball game through six innings and then open it up,” added Golloway.

On the mound, junior Andrew Doyle (1-0) recorded the victory after six solid innings. The hurler didn't miss a beat from his strong finish during the 2008 postseason as he recorded nine strikeouts and did not walk a batter.

“He was really good and we knew that he would be,” said Golloway. “He is a poised veteran. He has paid his dues to be that guy on the weekend for us and set the tone.”

The Sooners' offense was led by the middle of the lineup which saw junior Aaron Baker collect two hits and three RBIs in the three hole and Ogle drive in four runs out of the cleanup spot.

OU finished with 18 base hits on Friday, including 10 for extra bases, to hand WIU's Austin Brough the loss.

The Sooner bats connected for four home runs (Baker, Bryant Hernandez, Cameron Seitzer and J.T. Wise), a team first since OU posted the same amount on March 30, 2006 at Kansas. The Sooners also had three triples (Matt Harughty, Jamie Johnson and Casey Johnson) and three doubles in the contest.

After Doyle left the game in the top of the seventh, the Sooners' bullpen followed suit.

Juniors Chase Anderson, J.R. Robinson and Jarrett Semler each threw a scoreless inning to finish off the Leathernecks. Western Illinois finished the game with eight hits but only saw two base knocks across the final five frames.

Oklahoma and Western Illinois will resume action in Norman on Saturday with a doubleheader slated for a noon start.

Following the doubleheader, the Sooners and Leathernecks will conclude the series on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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