No. 10 Baseball Welcomes Nebraska

March 27, 2009

No. 10 Sooners (21-5, 2-1) vs. Nebraska (15-8-1, 3-3)
Location	Norman, Okla. \| L. Dale Mitchell Park
Game 27	Sunday, March 29 - 1 p.m.
Game 28	Sunday, March 29 - 4:30 p.m.
Game 29	Monday, March 30 - 3 p.m.
Tickets \| Promos	OU Ticket Office \| Weekend promotions
Live Stats	SoonersSports.com
Webcast	Oklahoma All-Access - All three games
Internet Audio	Oklahoma All-Access - All three games
Game Information	Game Notes \| 2009 Media Guide

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Sooners (21-5 overall, 2-1 Big 12) have won their last three games and face Nebraska, who is coming off a 2-1 series victory over Oklahoma State last week, for a three-game Big 12 series in Norman this weekend.

The conference series is the first for Oklahoma at home this season. It has been pushed back two days due to inclement weather expected in the Norman area. After Sunday's doubleheader, OU and Nebraskas will conclude the series on Monday at 3 p.m.

OU moved up in each of the major polls and is ranked as high as No. 10 this week in the NCBWA poll. The Sooners come in at No. 11 in the USA Today/ESPN poll, No. 12 by Baseball America and No. 15 by Collegiate Baseball.

Nebraska (15-8-1) is 3-3 in Big 12 play after being picked seventh in the preseason coaches' poll. The Huskers return 15 letterwinners from a 2008 team that was 41-16-1 overall and finished third in the conference with a 17-9-1 mark.

NU SERIES INFORMATION
OU leads: 111-92-1 (since 1942)
In Big 12 play: NU Leads 23-12-1
In Norman: OU leads 41-25 (since 1962)
In Lincoln: OU leads 34-41-1 (since 1962)
Last Meeting: Tied 8-8, March 23, 2008 (Lincoln, Neb.)

GAME 27 - Sunday, March 29
First Pitch: 1 p.m. CST
OU Starter: Andrew Doyle - RHP (2-2, 4.55)
NU Starter: Casey Hauptman - RHP (2-0, 4.21)
Radio: KOKC 1520 AM
Live Audio: All-Access/Soonersports.com
Live Video: All-Access/Soonersports.com

GAME 28 - Sunday, March 29
First Pitch: 4:30 p.m. CST
OU Starter: Michael Rocha - RHP (3-1, 4.35)
NU Starter: Jordan Roualdes - LHP (3-1, 3.86)
Live Audio: All-Access/Soonersports.com
Live Video: All-Access/Soonersports.com

GAME 29 - Monday, March 30
First Pitch: 3 p.m. CST
OU Starter: TBA
NU Starter: TBA
Live Audio: All-Access/Soonersports.com
Live Video: All-Access/Soonersports.com

MORE ON THE OU-NEBRASKA SERIES
The Sooners last met the Cornhuskers in a three-game series in 2008 at Hawks Field in Lincoln. OU lost the first two games of the series before tying NU in the finale. The game ended after 10 innings with a travel curfew.

OU has struggled against Nebraska since Big 12 play started, having won just three of the series meetings (2006, 2004 and 1997). Nebraska leads the Big 12 meetings, 23-12-1, but 21 of the contests have been decided by three runs or less, including 10 one-run games.

The last time OU won a series at home against Nebraska was in 1997. The Sooners are 41-25 at home against the Huskers since 1962.

PLAYER TO WATCH - AARON BAKER
The junior first baseman is riding a six-game hitting streak that features three multi-hit games and two multi-RBI performances. Baker is hitting .384 in that span with three homers. In addition, he leads the team with 23 walks, a mark that ranks second in the Big 12.

TICKETS
Seats remain for the Nebraska series and gates will open 90 minutes prior to first pitch. Tickets purchased for Saturday's game are valid for either game of the doubleheader on Sunday. In addition, tickets purchased for Friday' game are valid for Monday's game. 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 on the plaza level of the Asp Avenue parking garage.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
All three games will be available on the internet via Oklahoma All-Access. A live webcast for each game will also be available on All-Access. Live stats will be provided on SoonerSports.com.

LAST TIME OUT
OU trailed 1-0 after Central Arkansas' first at-bat but quickly countered in the bottom half with five runs en route to a 12-6 win at home on Tuesday. Garrett Buechele led the Sooner offense with three hits and three RBIs.

UP NEXT
The Sooners have three days off before their next game at Missouri on Friday, April 3. The series continues with game two on Saturday, April 4 and concludes on Sunday, April 5.

BIG 12 SERIES OPENERS
The series win over Kansas State marked the fourth time in five years that OU was victorious in its first conference series of the season. The last time OU won back-to-back conference series to begin a season was in 1997. The Sooners topped Iowa State and Kansas to begin that campaign.

RECORDS FALL IN SOONERS' 29-4 VICTORY
The Sooners' school record 11 home runs in Sunday's finale at Kansas State tied a Big 12 record (OSU hit 11 versus Chicago State) and was two shy of tying an NCAA record. OU hit five home runs in the first inning of that game after putting 17 batters at the plate to score 13 runs (one run shy of tying school record). In the fifth inning, OU hit four more dingers to plate 11 more runs. Refer to page four of the notes for additional notes on the Sooners' homers.

29 RUNS!
The Sooners' 29 runs in Sunday's victory is tied for the fourth most runs scored in school history and the most since 1986. OU scored 20-plus runs for the second time this season and the sixth time under head coach Sunny Golloway, three of those games against Big 12 opponents.

HITS GALORE
The Sooners' 27 hits on March 22 at KSU was the most hits recorded by an OU team since Feb. 17, 1991 (29 vs. Kearney State). The total is three shy of the school record of 30, set on March 22 1989 vs. Northern Iowa. The Sooners also had 27 hits on March 6, 1986 against Southwestern State. Under Golloway, OU has recorded 20 or more hits in nine games (two this season), including four against Big 12 opponents.

SCORING RUNS
The Sooners have scored 10 or more runs in 12 of the 26 games this season with a 10 runs/game average . OU is 12-0 when they score 10-plus runs in a game in 2009. In addition, the Sooners are averaging 12.27 hits per game with double digit hits in all but eight games. The Sooners are 17-1 when they connect for 10-plus hits in a contest. OU ranks third nationally in total hits and runs this season.

13-0 AT HOME
Oklahoma won its 13th home game in as many chances on March 24. The perfect start is the second best by an OU team at home. The 1974 Sooners started the home campaign 17-0. In 1975, Oklahoma opened the home slate with a 12-0 mark.

OU IN BIG 12 RANKS
The Sooners can be found up and down the Big 12 statistics for overall games released on March 26. The Sooners' offense leads all conference teams in batting average (.348), runs (260), hits (319), doubles (63), homers (42) and RBIs (234). Turn to page 6 for national rankings.

ONE-TWO PUNCH
OU has a productive 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup and the proof is in the Big 12's overall statistics and the national rankings released on March 23. Johnson and Hernandez combine to rank atop seven different categories in the conference. Johnson leads the Big 12 in hits (43), runs (43), homers (9), triples (3), total bases (85) and slugging percentage. In addition, he leads the nation in runs scored and ranks in the top 10 in total bases (2nd), hits (4th), runs per game (7th) and homers (7th). Hernandez leads the Big 12 in hits (43) and batting average (.422). Hernandez ranks fourth in the country in hits and ninth in runs scored.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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