No. 11 OU Heads to Wichita State

April 7, 2009

No. 11 Sooners (25-7) at Wichita State (17-11)
Location	Wichita, Kan. \| Eck Stadium
Game 33	at Wichita State - Wednesday, April 8 - 7 p.m.
Radio	KOKC 1520 AM
Online Audio	Oklahoma All-Access
Live Stats	SoonersSports.com
Game Information	Game Notes \| 2009 Media Guide

NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 11 Oklahoma (25-7 overall) will look for its eighth win in midweek games this season on Wednesday, April 8 at Wichita State (17-11). First pitch at Eck Stadium is slated for 7 p.m.

The Shockers are 14-10 in non-conference action this season and host Saint Mary on Tuesday night in search of their third straight victory. WSU is 1-1 against Big 12 competition in 2009 with a win over Nebraska last week at home and a loss at Kansas on March 11.

Wichita State was picked third in the Missouri Valley Conference after winning the title a year ago with a 19-5 record. The Shockers were 48-17 last year after losing to Florida State in the Tallahassee Super Regional.   Returning from the 2008 team are 14 letterwinners.

GAME 33 - Wednesday, April 8
First Pitch: 7 p.m. CST
OU Starter: Garrett Richards - RHP (3-1, 7.77)
WSU Starter: Brian Flynn - LHP (1-1, 5.87)
Radio: KOKC 1520 AM
Live Audio: All-Access/Soonersports.com

PLAYER TO WATCH - GARRETT BUECHELE
OU's third baseman has been one of the Sooners' hottest hitters since Big 12 play began with a .447 clip and 10 RBIs. In addition, Buechele is riding a season-best 12-game hitting streak and is batting .449 in that span with 22 hits, including four homers and 13 RBIs.

WICHITA STATE SERIES INFORMATION
OU leads:  11-10
In Wichita:  WSU leads 8-1
In Norman:  OU leads 9-2
In postseason play: OU leads 3-1
Last Meeting: OU won 12-11, April 30, 2008 (Norman, Okla.)
First meeting: OU won 8-2, April 20, 1970 (Norman, Okla.)

MORE ON THE OU-WICHITA STATE SERIES
The Sooners last met the Shockers in Norman on April 30,2008 and OU won 12-11 in the only game played last season. The two were scheduled to play in Wichita on April 9, 2008, but rain cancelled the contest in Wichita for the second consecutive season. The Sooners have won the last four meetings, dating back to the two postseason victories in the 2006 Norman Regional.

- The two have met in each of the last seven seasons
- Last OU win at Eck Stadium was on April 14, 1992 (3-2)
- Last meeting in Wichita was on May 2, 2006 (lost 9-5)
- Six of the last 12 meetings were decided by one run
- Average margin of victory in 21 games is three runs
- OU's largest margin of victory is six runs (8-2) on April 20, 1970 (first series meeting in Norman)
- OU is 5-2 against Wichita State under Sunny Golloway

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Tuesday's game in Wichita can be heard live on KOKC 1520 AM with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play. The game will also be available on the internet via Oklahoma All-Access. Check SoonerSports.com for live stats.

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners posted a 3-1 mark last week which started with a 16-6 win over Nebraska on Monday. Over the weekend, OU won two games in a Big 12 series at Missouri. The Sooners began the three-game set with a 2-1 win, as Andrew Doyle out dueled Kyle Gibson. OU rallied to win game two, 7-4, before falling 5-4 in the finale.

UP NEXT
OU returns home to host Texas Tech over the weekend . The Sooners begin the series with the Red Raiders on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (Cox Ch. 7 in OKC and Cox Ch. 3 in Tulsa). On Saturday, game two is slated for a 4 p.m. first pitch. Sunday's series finale will begin at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on KOKC 1520 AM.

PROMOTIONS
The first 500 fans on Friday will receive “K” (strikeout) cards. On Saturday, fans can present their OU football spring game ticket at L. Dale Mitchell Park for $4 admission. In addition, the first 250 fans will receive an OU baseball team photo and the team will be available for autographs following the game. On Sunday, the first 500 kids will receive a Mascot Growth Chart.

SERIES WINS
The Sooners sit atop the Big 12 standings with a 6-3 record after winning each of their first three series in conference play (Kansas State, Nebraska and Missouri). The last time OU won three consecutive conference series to begin a season was in 1996 (Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa St.). OU has not lost a weekend series in the Big 12 or during non-conference play this season. It tied Washington State 2-2.

OU IN BIG 12 RANKS
The Sooners can be found up and down the Big 12 statistics for overall games released on April 6. The Sooners' offense leads all conference teams in batting average (.341), runs (310), hits (382), doubles (69), homers (57) and RBIs (282). Turn to page 6 for national rankings.

DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners have scored 10 or more runs in 14 of the 32 games this season with a 9.7 runs/game average . OU is 14-0 when they score 10-plus runs in a game in 2009. In addition, the Sooners are averaging 11.9 hits per game with double digit hits in all but 11 games. The Sooners are 19-2 when they connect for 10-plus hits in a contest. OU ranks fifth nationally in total hits and fourth in runs.

SCORING FIRST
OU has scored first in 19 games this season with a 14-5 record in those contests. The opposition has tallied the game's first run on 13 occasions but OU is 11-2 in those situations. The Sooners have scored first in five of the last six games and in six of the nine Big 12 games.

PITCHING STAFF RECEIVES BOOST
OU's pitching staff received a boost over the weekend as Antwonie Hubbard, Jeremy Erben and Stephen Porlier were all active at the same time for the first time this season. Porlier made his official return on March 24 two weeks ago after missing the entire 2008 season with shoulder surgery. Erben made his first appearance on Sunday, April 5 after missing the first 31 games with a strained ligament in his elbow. Hubbard missed three weeks with a stress reaction in his fibula and started Saturday's game against Mizzou.

While Hubbard's start lasted 1 2/3 innings, Porlier and Erben pitched well in extended relief. Porlier tossed 4 1/3 scoreless frames and Erben blanked the Tigers for 1 2/3 innings. Those two combined with the rest of the bullpen for a 0.68 ERA in 13 1/3 innings of action. Overall, the Sooners' pitching staff recorded a 2.08 ERA.

HOME RUN NOTES
OU has homered in eight of the last nine games with 32 in that span ... That total is more than half of the other teams' season totals in the Big 12.

With three home runs against Missouri, the Sooners have 57 this season, a mark that already has surpassed the 2008 total after 63 games ... The total also is the most in a season in the last seven years (OU had 76 in 2002).

OU has 30 homers in Big 12 play, marking the most in conference play since 2002 (30).

The Sooners have homered in all but eight games this season and have 12 games with multiple homers, including six in Big 12 play.

The Sooners tied a Big 12 record with 11 home runs during the series finale against Kansas State. OU hit five dingers in the first inning and four more in the seventh.

OU has 16 homers this season that led off an inning, including four from Jaime Johnson that began a game.

After 32 games last season, the Sooners had 28 home runs.

J.T. Wise ranks second in the Big 12 with 10 HR and is the first Sooner since Joe Dunigan (2007) to have double digits.

Despite the 1.78 HR/game average this season, the 2009 Sooners are still behind the school record of 114 homers hit in 1998 in 62 games, also a 1.8 average per game. That team had 74 dingers after 32 games.

Since the NCAA schedule expanded in 1972, OU already has more homers this season than 18 OU teams since that year.

DOUBLE PLAY MACHINE
The Sooners lead the Big 12 with 34 double plays turned this season in 32 games and rank 14th in the nation. OU has turned a double play in eight of the last 10 games (20 overall). In addition, OU has turned multiple double plays in seven games this season. In 2008, OU finished 12th in the nation with 65 double plays.

THE BIG INNING
The Sooners have hit through the batting order on 16 occasions this year and scored five or more runs in 13 different frames. OU is 10-1 when the plate five or more runs in a game. The only loss came in the second game of the San Diego series. The Sooners had two big innings (5-plus runs) in game three of the Western Illinois series and game three of the Kansas State series.

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 April 6. Johnson and Hernandez combine to rank atop five different categories in the conference. Johnson leads the Big 12 in runs (46) and total bases (89). In addition, he ranks sixth in the nation in runs scored. Hernandez leads the Big 12 in hits (55), RBIs (38) and batting average (.433). Hernandez ranks fifth in the country in hits and 19th in runs scored (41).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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