Rocha, Sooners Blank Texas A&M

May 16, 2009

OU 9, Texas A&M 0 | Box Score |

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

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Rocha (5-2)	6.0	2	0	0	1	5
L - Hales (5-2)	6.0	9	6	6	1	3
S - none	-	-	-	-	-	-

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

GAME NOTES
For the fourth consecutive season, the OU baseball team spent the day with two children from the Special Spectators' program, a non-profit organization that provides seriously ill children and their families a chance to attend a behind-the scenes day at athletic events ... On Saturday, Caleb Pape and Conner Earnst spent a day with the baseball team prior to the game and then threw out the first pitch before enjoying the contest against Texas A&M (view photos in link above) ... OU's 39 regular season wins is the most since it won the same amount in 2006 and also ties the total set by the 1994 National Championship team ... The Sooners' bullpen pitched three shutout innings on Saturday ... In the last five games, OU relievers have allowed just two runs off nine hits ... Jamie Johnson's career-high hitting streak of 16 games ended on Saturday ... He had 25 hits and 16 RBIs in that span ... OU has recorded three Big 12 shutouts this season (two over Texas Tech) and five overall (Houston Baptist and Wichita State) ... The Sooners have double digit hits in all but 12 games this season ... In three of those four years that OU has won six or more Big 12 series, it hosted a NCAA Regional (2006, 2004 and 2000) ... OU won a program-best seven series in 2006, the same year it advanced to its first Super Regional.

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NORMAN, Okla. -- Michael Rocha tossed six innings of shutout baseball and No. 13 Oklahoma limited No. 16 Texas A&M to two hits in a 9-0 win on Saturday in front of 1,633 fans at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The victory clinches the three-game set for the Sooners (39-16 overall, 16-10 Big 12) and ties a program best for Big 12 series wins in a season with the 2006 squad (7). OU and Texas are the only teams to win seven series in Big 12 play this season.

The Sooners will look for the series sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m.

“We've won seven (series) in two out of the last four years,” said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway. “So I am proud of these young men. It's not an easy feat, I promise you. It is a grind every weekend in the Big 12.”

The Sooners and Aggies entered the weekend tied for fourth place in the Big 12 standings. After Saturday's action, OU is sitting in second place while Texas A&M (34-20) is fifth at 14-12.

While the OU offense connected for double-digit hits in the second straight game and scored nine runs, Rocha (5-2) keyed the victory with one of the best outings of his career.

In his first start since March 29 against Nebraska, Rocha was dominant with six innings of two-hit, shutout baseball. In his last two outings, Rocha has not allowed a run in 12 innings of work while giving up just five hits and two walks with 12 strikeouts.

“We saw what we needed to see last Friday in Tulsa,” added Golloway when referring to Rocha's last outing against Oklahoma State. “He came in relief of (Stephen) Porlier and threw six innings. We were driving back from Tulsa last Friday and said there's our No. 2 or No. 3 starter (next weekend). I think we picked him for the right spot.”

Rocha also benefitted from some timely hitting by Oklahoma's high-powered offense on Saturday.

One night after hitting three home runs and collecting six runs off 10 hits, the Sooners connected for 13 base knocks and scored nine runs in every way possible except the long ball. Aaron Baker and Casey Johnson led the way with three hits each and five RBIs combined.

One common theme in both games against Texas A&M was two-out hits. In each of the first two games of the series, the Sooners have five two-out RBIs. On Saturday, OU finished 6-for-14 in that situation while the Aggies were 1-for-9.

“Today was about manufacturing runs,” said Golloway. “Our guys are committed to do whatever we have to do to score runs. This team has been terrific at two outs and scoring runs.”

The Sooners handed Ross Hales his second loss of the season against five wins. Hales lasted 5 1/3 innings but surrendered six runs off nine hits and a walk.

Wise gave OU a 2-0 lead after he drove in a sacrifice fly in the first inning and collected his second RBI on a single in the third.

In the fourth, Trey Sperring gave the Sooners a 3-0 advantage on a RBI single through the right side of the infield.

The scoring continued in the fifth as Casey Johnson drove in two runs on a single and Baker followed with a two-run double in the sixth inning. Garrett Buechele (RBI double) and Casey Johnson (RBI single) capped the scoring in the sixth.

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