University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Host Lions Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Sooners Host Lions Tuesday at 7 p.m.

March 29, 2010 | Baseball



 No. 9 Oklahoma (20-3) vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff (3-12)
 Location  Norman, Okla. | L. Dale Mitchell Park 
 Game 24  Tuesday, March 30 - 7 p.m.
 Game 25  Wednesday, March 31 - 7 p.m.
 Tickets | Promos  OU Ticket Office | $.50 hot dogs, cokes and more
 Radio  Sooner Sports Network - KREF 1400 AM (Wed. only)
 TV  SSN - Cox Ch. 3 (OKC and Tulsa) - Tues. and Wed.
 Live Stats  SoonersSports.com 
 Webcast  Oklahoma All-Access - Game 1 (FREE), Game 2 (All-Access)
 Internet Audio  FREE on SoonersSports.com  
 Game Information  Game Notes | 2010 Media Guide | Baseball Blog | Twitter

MIDWEEK PREVIEW
•No. 9 Oklahoma (20-3) has won 15 of its last 17 games and returns to Norman to begin a five-game home stand this week, starting with Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-12) on Tuesday and Wednesday... The Lions snapped a five-game losing streak on Sunday with a 12-4 win over Southern at home. UAPB is familiar with Big 12 competition after losing two games to Missouri last midweek.

• OU sits second in the Big 12 standings at 3-1 and is off to its best start under Sunny Golloway and best in program history since 1985. The Sooners are ranked as high as No. 9 this week (season high) by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll and Collegiate Baseball.

• Arkansas Pine Bluff returns 22 letterwinners from the 2009 team that was 21-33 overall (13-11, second in SWAC west) ... The Lions were picked third in the conference preseason poll and are off to a 3-12 start after losing two of three to Southern last weekend.
Tuesday – RHP Gregory Daiville (0-3, 17.18) | Wednesday -- LHP Brad Tarter (0-1, 29.84)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and Damon Minor on color can be heard Wednesday on the Sooners Sports Network (KREF 1400 AM) and free online for both games at SoonerSports.com.
• Both games will be televised live on the Sooner Sports Network on Cox Channel 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. A live webcast for the games can be found on OU All-Access.
• Live stats are available on SoonerSports.com via the baseball schedule page.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Sooners and Lions first met in 2005 on March 8 and 9 in Norman when OU recorded its last no-hitter, a combined effort by Kevin Duke, John Brownell, Daniel McCutchen, Ryan Mottern, Will Savage and P.J. Sandoval in game two ... OU and UAPB last met in 2008 on Feb. 26 and 27 ... OU has won all four meetings in Norman with a combined 58-13 advantage.

PLAYER TO WATCH - CASEY JOHNSON
The junior tied his career-best hitting streak of 11 games on Sunday with a single at Nebraska. Johnson has four multiple-hit games and a .375 average (15-for-40) in that span with two doubles, a homer, seven RBIs, a .500 slugging percentage and four walks. Johnson first hit safely in 11 straight games back in his freshman season.

2010 Season Stats: .313, 2 HR, 10 RBI

OU ROTATION
No. 1 Anthony Collazo (LHP) 0-0, 2.84, 6.1 IP, 4 BB, 10 SO
No. 2 Ryan Gibson (LHP) 2-2, 5.12, 19.1 IP, 6 BB, 17 SO

TICKETS
Tickets are available for purchase online at SoonerSports.com or by calling 800-456-GoOU.
Baseball Ticket Info | Purchase Online | L. Dale Mitchell Park | Seating Chart | Views

PROMOTIONS
Tuesday marks the third $.50 hot dog and coke night of the season ... On Wednesday, two lucky fans will win a free round of golf at Jimmie Austin G.C.

QUICK HITS
- OU ranks third in the Big 12 in ERA (3.48) and fourth in batting average (.316). OU leads the Big 12 with 30 home runs.
- The OU pitching staff ranks second in the Big 12 with 219 strikeouts and has 12 games with 10 or more Ks.
- For the second time under Sunny Golloway, the Sooners have won each of the first two Big 12 series to begin the year. In 2009, OU won the first four conference sets.
- The Sooners have homered in 14 of the last 16 contests with 20 in that span, including five multiple-homer games.
- The OU bullpen is 9-0 with nine saves on the season with a 2.45 ERA with 107 Ks in 88.1 IP.
- OU has stolen at least one base in 11 of the last 15 games. The Sooners stole eight bases on March 13 vs. TAMUCC, the most in a game since OU had eight on Feb. 12, 2006 versus Western Illinois. Chris Ellison ranks sixth in the Big 12 with eight swipes.
- Garrett Buechele ranks in the Big 12's top 10 in five offensive categories.
- Buechele (6) ranks third in home runs and Cameron Seitzer (5) is right behind him. Both have surpassed their 2009 totals.
- Seitzer's career-best 11-game hitting streak ended in the loss to Nebraska. Seitzer leads OU with a .377 batting average.
- Ryan Duke is a perfect 8-for-8 in save situations this year and leads the nation in that category.
- Jeremy Erben leads the Big 12 with five wins and a 0.35 ERA, both marks rank second nationally. He has not allowed a run in the last nine outings, spanning 22 innings.
- Buechele (3B) and Caleb Bushyhead (SS) are the only Sooners to start every game.
- Bushyhead registered one hit in 22 games last season and already has 29 hits after 23 games in 2010. Bushyhead ranks second on OU with 10 multiple-hit games.
- Casey Johnson's 11-game hitting streak is the fourth longest active streak in the Big 12 as of March 29.
- Oklahoma has started 18 different players in the lineup after Jack Mayfield made his first start vs. UCLA.
- Buechele, Erben, Ross Hubbard and Chris Ellison were named to the Whataburger Collegiate Classic all-tournament team.

UP NEXT
OU continues the five-game home stand with a Big 12 series against No. 7 Texas. The three-game set begins on Thursday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. Game two is also slated for a 6:30 p.m. on Friday, while the finale will begin at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners won their second consecutive Big 12 series after claiming victory in two games over the weekend at Nebraska. OU won the opener handily on Friday, 10-2, behind Zach Neal's 11 strikeouts and followed it up with another strong pitching performance on Saturday in a 4-1 win. The Sooners dropped the finale on Sunday, 10-0.

ERBEN ON PITCHER WATCH LIST
Jeremy Erben is one of seven hurlers from the Big 12 named to the Pitcher of the Year watch list on March 23 as presented by the College Baseball Foundation. This is the second year for the award and it will be presented in Lubbock, Texas, on July 2 as part of the College Baseball Awards Show. He leads the Big 12 in wins (5) and ERA (0.35) and was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for games played through March 7.

WINNING STREAKS
The 10-game winning streak from Feb. 28-March 13 marked the fifth time under OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway that the Sooners have won 10 or more consecutive games and the 26th in program history.

BEST START SINCE 1985
After 23 games, OU is off to its best start under head coach Sunny Golloway. The last time the Sooners started a season with a 20-3 record was in 1985. That team was 23-3 before suffering its fourth loss of the season.

LATE-INNING PRODUCTION
OU has scored 74 of its 173 runs, or 43 percent, in the sixth inning and later. In addition, the Sooners have outscored the opposition, 36-8, in the eighth and ninth innings combined, which includes seven home runs.

SCORING FIRST
OU has scored first in eight of the last 15 games and in 12 overall. OU has a 10-2 record in those contests. The opposition has tallied the game's first run in 11 games, but OU is 10-1 (Nebraska on March 28).

ONE-RUN GAMES
The Sooners have recorded one-run victories in six games this year. OU is 5-1 in those situations this year and the Sooners are 55-20-1 (.730) under head coach Sunny Golloway. The Sooners' skipper entered 2010 with the best winning percentage among Big 12 coaches over the last five years (.721).

THE BIG INNING
OU has hit through the batting order already seven times this season, twice in game two of the SDSU series, and once each against Richmond, Mississippi State, Texas A&M-CC, UMass (GM2) and Nebraska (GM3). 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 seven different frames, twice in game two of the SDSU series and once versus Valparaiso, Western Illinois, Mississippi State, Baylor and Nebraska.

TIME FOR A RALLY
The Sooners have come from behind to win 10 of the 23 games this season. Of Sunny Golloway's 190 wins at OU, 96 (.505) have been in come-from-behind fashion, including 22 last year.

DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners have recorded 10 or more hits in 14 of the first 23 games of the season, including a season-high 19 vs. Mississippi State. OU is averaging 10.7 hits per game despite losing five regular starters from last season's club. The Sooners are also averaging 7.5 runs per game with seven games with 10 or more scores, including the 17 posted in game two of the San Diego State series, the most since exploding for 29 runs on March 22, 2009 at Kansas State.

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).

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 (below). Duke led the Big 12 in saves with 16 last year (ranked sixth in the nation), the second most in a single season by a Sooner (Jeff Bajenaru - 20, 2000).

He currently leads the nation in 2010 with eight saves.

1. 28 - Jeff Bajenaru, 1999-00
2. 24 - Ryan Duke, 2008-present

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.




 

 

 

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