OU Sweeps Series with Leathernecks

Feb. 22, 2009

Oklahoma 21, Western Illinois 9 | Box Score |

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
WIU	1	4	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	9	13	2
OU	4	2	2	2	8	0	0	3	X	21	24	1

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Chowning (1-0)	2.0	2	1	1	1	2
L - Hill (0-1)	1.0	8	6	6	0	0

Batting Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - J. Johnson	4	3	4	2	1	1
OU - Hernandez	4	3	3	4	0	1

GAME NOTES
The Sooners have scored 59 runs after four games this season and it took nine games to reach that total last season ... In addition, OU has eight homers in 2009, a total that was also reached after nine games last season ... Seven different Sooners have homered in 2009 ... Jamie Johnson leads OU with 13 runs scored in 14 at-bats this season ... Bryant Hernandez hit safely in every game of the WIU series ... OU leads the all-time series with WIU, 18-1, and has won 17 straight over the Leathernecks ... The last time an OU team started a season 4-0 was in 1998 ... That Sooner team rattled off 12 straight wins to begin the campaign.

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NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma finished the four-game series against Western Illinois with a strong offensive performance on Sunday en route to a 21-9 victory at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The No. 16 Sooners pounded out a season-high 24 hits and was led by Jamie Johnson, who was 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs, and Bryant Hernandez, who finished 3-for-4 with a career-high four RBIs.

The two juniors are leading OU in hitting after four games. Johnson, who was a double away from hitting for the cycle on Sunday, holds the top batting average at .714 while Hernandez is a close second at .643. Hernandez also leads the team with two homers, equaling his previous career total before 2009.

OU finished the four-game set against Western Illinois with 59 runs scored off 60 hits, including 15 doubles and eight home runs.

“I think for the most part, when we had our starters in there, we were pretty sharp,” said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway about the weekend series. “There are some things we did really well and some things we still need to work on. The guys that are returning, our starters (from 2008), have a lot of experience and its showing up early."

On Sunday afternoon, the Leathernecks made things interesting in the second inning with Drew Laidig's grand slam off OU starter Garrett Richards. The homer gave WIU a 5-4 lead but it was short lived as the Sooners answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame and 12 more across the next three frames, including an eight-run fifth inning.

The explosive fifth inning, where the Sooners batted around the lineup for the third time this season, started with Johnson's RBI triple to left-center field and was followed by Matt Harughty (RBI single), Aaron Baker (RBI double), Tyler Ogle's two-run homer, a two-run double by Hernandez and Garrett Buechele's RBI groundout.

Reliever Jason Chowning (1-0) notched the win for Oklahoma following his two innings out of the bullpen. Chowning allowed one run off two hits and a walk opposite WIU's David Hill (0-1), who took the loss in the start. Hill was tagged for six runs off eight hits in just one inning of action.

Chowning entered the game in the fourth inning after Richards struggled early with five runs allowed on seven hits and two walks. Richards settled down and struck out two batters in his final inning of work. Tyson Seng and Levis Rhoades were also effective out of the bullpen. Seng allowed one hit in two innings and Rhoades closed out the final 1 1/3 with one hit and a walk.

The Sooner relievers were effective in the four-game series and allowed just four runs off 10 hits while three of the four starters lasted at least five innings.

“We have a very deep pitching staff,” added Golloway. “We have 18 arms that we can go to and the good thing is that they are going to compete for innings by their performance, and work hard.”

Each of the Sooners' position starters connected for at least one hit and six of them recorded multiple-hit days. Harughty finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs, Ogle was 2-for-3 with four RBIs, Buechele had two hits and two RBIs and Kaleb Herren was 3-for-4 with an RBI hitting out of the ninth spot in the lineup.

The Sooners return to action on Tuesday as they travel to California to play at San Diego for a 4 p.m. showdown with the No. 11 Toreros. OU and San Diego meet again on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT.

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