Baseball Home Opener Set for Tuesday

No. 17 Oklahoma vs. UT-Arlington
Location	Norman, Okla. \| L. Dale Mitchell Park
Game 8	Tuesday, March 2 - 3 p.m.. CT
Radio/TV	none
Internet Audio	FREE on SoonersSports.com
Live Stats	SoonersSports.com
Promotions	$.50 hot dogs and cokes while supplies last
Tickets	Single game tickets on sale starting March 2
Game Information	Game Notes \| 2010 Media Guide \| Baseball Blog

TUESDAY PREVIEW
• The No. 17 Sooners (6-1) return to Norman for the home opener on Tuesday, March 2 against UT-Arlington (2-4) at 3 p.m. Six of OU's nxt seven games will be played inside the friendly confines of L. Dale Mitchell Park, including this weekend's Sooner Classic.
• The Sooners are ranked No. 17 this week by Collegiate Baseball and No. 22 by the NCBWA and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll.
• OU opened the season with seven road games and is 6-1 after topping Valpo and Richmond in the Jacksonville Invite last week. | Starter: LHP Ryan Gibson (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 9 SO)
• UTA is 2-4 after winning two out of three games at home against Missouri State | Starter: RHP Preston Beck (first appearance)
• The Mavericks return nine letterwinners from last year's team that was 30-26 overall and 19-13 in the Southland Conference (fifth). UTA was picked to finish sixth in the Southland this season.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and Damon Minor on color can be heard free online at SoonerSports.com for Tuesday's game.
• Live stats are available on SoonerSports.com via the baseball schedule page.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Sooners are seeking revenge after dropping an 8-5 contest at UT-Arlington last season. The defeat snapped the Sooners' four-game winning streak against the Mavericks. The series has been about streaks as UTA won six straight games from 2002-2004 and OU won 10 straight from 1989-2001.

• The first meeting was a 9-3 victory for OU during the 1972 home opener on March 7. Overall, 13 of the contest have been decided by three runs or less, with OU owning a 7-6 advantage, including a 3-3 mark in one-run games.

PLAYER TO WATCH - DANNY BLACK
The junior second baseman is just one of several newcomers contributing early in the season. Black is the only Sooner to hit safely in all seven games and he ranks second on Oklahoma's roster with 10 hits and seven RBIs. Black has made every start at second base and has one error.

2010 Season Stats: .370 batting average, seven RBIs

UP NEXT
OU hosts the Sooner Classic (March 4-7) against South Florida (Thursday and Saturday at 3 p.m.), Western Illinois (Friday at 3 p.m.) and Stephen F. Austin (Sunday at 3 p.m.)

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners went 2-1 in the Jacksonville Invitational wrapping up a seven-game road trip to begin the 2010 campaign at 6-1. OU topped Valparaiso, 12-9, in the opener and also posted an 11-3 victory in Sunday's finale against Richmond. The Sooners' lone loss of the weekend came on Saturday opposite host Jacksonville in a 4-3 defeat.

HOME OPENERS
Since 1962, OU is 44-4 in home openers and has won 28 straight, including a 4-0 mark under head coach Sunny Golloway. The last lost came in 1981 against Southeastern State L, 5-6). During OU's four openers under Golloway, the offense has outscored the opposition 39-8.

JUST FOR OPENERS - AFTER 7 GAMES
The Sooners' 6-1 start is the best under Sunny Golloway when looking at the first seven games of a season. The 2006 and 2009 clubs were 5-2. The last time OU started 6-1 was in 2004, Golloway's first year back to Norman as an assistant. That team was 8-1 before suffering its second loss.

5-0 STARTS
Despite suffering its first loss on Feb. 27, OU won five straight games to begin 2010. The last time an OU team started a season 5-0 was in 2009 when the Sooners rattled off five straight wins to begin the campaign. In 1998, OU recorded its longest undefeated streak to start a season with a 12-0 mark.

COAST-TO-COAST
In the first two weekends of the season, the Sooners traveled coast-to-coast with stops in San Diego, Calif., and Jacksonville, Fla. The total mileage covered in those trips to and from Norman total is 5,158. The trek from Norman to San Diego in week one was a round trip of 2,750 miles, while the journey to Jacksonville covers 2,408 miles.

SCORING FIRST
OU has scored first in four of the five games this season with a 3-1 record in those contests. The opposition has tallied the game's first run on two occasions, but OU is 2-0 in those situations.

THE BIG INNING
OU has hit through the batting order already three times this season, twice in game two of the SDSU series and once against Richmond. OU accomplished the feat on 23 occasions last year. That 2009 team also scored five or more runs in 22 different frames. In 2010, OU has scored five or more runs in three different frames, twice in game two of the SDSU series and vs. Valpo.

TIME FOR A RALLY
The Sooners have come from behind to win two of the seven games this season. Of Sunny Golloway's 174 wins at OU, 88 (.506) have been in come-from-behind fashion, including 22 last year.

DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners have recorded 10 or more hits in six of the first seven games of the season. OU is averaging 12.4 hits per game despite losing five regular starters from last season's club. The Sooners are also averaging 9.14 runs per game with three games with 10 or more scores, including the 17 in game two of the San Diego State series, the most since exploding for 29 runs on March 22, 2009 at Kansas State.

OU ranks second in the Big 12 in batting average (.341), hits (87) and runs (64).

SINGLE GAME TICKETS AVAILABLE MARCH 2
Single game tickets for all 2010 baseball regular season home games go on sale Tuesday, March 2. Season tickets are also on sale. To order tickets, visit SoonerSports.com or call (800) 456-GoOU.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Prior to the season, OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway discussed the fact that the 2010 team was the deepest he has tutored in 13 years as a DI head coach. During the opening weekend, Golloway used all 33 players that traveled to San Diego, including 15 newcomers. OU used 30 in week two at the Jacksonville Invitational. Only two players on the 2010 35-man roster have not seen action (Jordan John and Michael Whitney).

BUECHELE, ERBEN & HUBBARD NAMED CAPTAINS
Seniors Jeremy Erben and Ross Hubbard and sophomore Garrett Buechele were voted as the 2010 captains by their teammates back in October during the team's annual visit to Willow Springs Boys Ranch in Chandler, Okla. All three are first time captains.

TOUGH SCHEDULE
Overall, Oklahoma will face 11 opponents, for a total of 27 games, that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament, including four non-conference opponents in Arkansas, Jacksonville, San Diego State and TCU.

Five of the 11 NCAA participants from 2009 (Arkansas, Kansas State, San Diego State, TCU and Texas) recorded 40 or more wins a year ago, while Arkansas (College World Series), TCU (Super Regional) and Texas (College World Series) advanced deep into the tournament.

DUKE ON PRESEASON LISTS
Junior closer Ryan Duke was named a 2010 preseason All-American by the NCBWA and was also selected to the Stopper of the Year watch list. Duke was named a third team All-American in 2009 and is the first Sooner since David Purcey in 2003, now with the Toronto Blue Jays, to appear on a preseason AA list.

DUKE MOVING UP SAVES LIST
Ryan Duke recorded two saves on the opening weekend to move into sole possession of second place on OU's all-time saves list. Duke had the second best season in Sooner history in regards to saves recorded with 16 in 2009 (Jeff Bajenaru - 20, 2000). Duke led the Big 12 in that category in 2009 and ranked sixth in the nation. He currently is tied for the Big 12 lead in 2010 with three saves.

1. 28 - Jeff Bajenaru, 1999-00
2. 19 - Ryan Duke, 2008-present

SINGLE GAME TICKETS AVAILABLE MARCH 2
Single game tickets for all 2010 baseball and softball regular season home games go on sale Tuesday, March 2. To order tickets, click here or call (800) 456-GoOU.

DRAFTED SOONERS
Eight current Sooners have been drafted in their careers (third most in Big 12 this season), including four newcomers on the 2010 squad that were selected in 2009. (Danny Black, Ryan Gibson, Chad Kettler and Bobby Shore). Last season, OU led all Big 12 programs with nine players selected off the 2009 roster. Below is a look at the eight Sooners and when and where they were drafted:

Danny Black 2009 - New York Yankees - 42nd Rd.
Jason Chowning 2007 - New York Yankees - 43rd Rd.
Jeremy Erben 2006 - Cincinnati Reds - 41st Rd.
Ryan Gibson 2009 - Florida Marlins - 48th Rd.
Kaleb Herren 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers - 44th Rd.
Chad Kettler 2009 - Los Angeles Dodgers - 24th Rd.
J.R. Robinson 2008 - Toronto Blue Jays - 31st Rd.
Bobby Shore 2009 - Baltimore Orioles - 40th Rd.
Michael Whitney 2005 - Baltimore Orioles - 18th Rd.

BASEBALL ON KREF 1400 AM IN 2010 | RADIO SCHEDULE (PDF)
The 2010 season marks the first with KREF 1400 AM serving as the flagship station of Sooner baseball and the new partnership provides expanded coverage for OU fans to listen to 50-plus regular season games over the air. Additionally, 22 of the Big 12 games are set to be carried on the Sooners Sports' Network, enabling fans to listen to OU baseball on various stations across the state starting on April 1, nearly double the amount from previous seasons.

The entire 56-game regular season schedule will be broadcast live for free on SoonerSports.com.

SOONER SPORTS NETWORK TO TELEVISE 20 OU GAMES | TV SCHEDULE (PDF)
The University of Oklahoma will locally televise 20 home baseball games for the 2010 season. The broadcasts will air via the Sooner Sports Network on Cox Channel 7 in Oklahoma City and Cox Channel 3 in Tulsa. The games will be simulcast with the OU radio broadcast on the Sooner Sports Network with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and DeWayne Vaughn providing the color analysis. The first game can be seen on Wednesday, March 10 against Houston Baptist at 3 p.m.

OU FOURTH IN BIG 12 COACHES' POLL | Big 12 Coaches' Poll | Feb. 16 Media Teleconference
The No. 22 Oklahoma baseball team was picked fourth in the 2010 Big 12 Coaches' preseason poll released on Feb. 16. The Sooners' projected finish is the highest under head coach Sunny Golloway and the best since a third-place vote in 2003.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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