University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Closes Home Stand Tuesday at 7 p.m.

OU Closes Home Stand Tuesday at 7 p.m.

May 03, 2010 | Baseball

 No. 14 Oklahoma (32-12, 10-9) vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (22-21)
 Location  Norman, Okla. | L. Dale Mitchell Park 
 Game 45  Tuesday, May 4 - 7 p.m.
 Tickets | Promos  OU Ticket Office | Free admission
 Radio  Sooner Sports Network - KREF 1400 AM
 TV  none
 Live Stats  SoonersSports.com 
 Webcast  none
 Internet Audio  FREE on SoonersSports.com  
 Game Information  Game Notes | 2010 Media Guide | Baseball Blog | Twitter

MIDWEEK PREVIEW
•The No. 14 Sooners (32-12) host Arkansas-Little Rock (22-21) on Tuesday as first pitch is slated for 7 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park. OU and UALR are meeting for the second consecutive season and 21st time in the all-time series. Tuesday is “Fan Appreciation Day” at L. Dale Mitchell Park and admission is free.

• A winner in five of the last six outings, OU is ranked as high as No. 14 this week by the NCBWA poll (No. 17 - USA Today/ESPN Coaches', No. 17-Collegiate Baseball and No. 18-Baseball America). After 44 games, OU has one game behind the pace set last season after 44 games. The 2009 squad finished with a 43-20 overall record, including a No. 7 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

• Arkansas-Little Rock returns 11 letterwinners from the 2009 club that was 16-34 overall and 7-21 in the Sun Belt Conference (11th). The Trojans are 2-8 in their last 10 games after splitting a pair of games last week at home against Stephen F. Austin (L, 3-2) and New Orleans (W, 4-3). UALR was scheduled to play two more games against New Orleans but was rained out over the weekend.
The Trojans have faced one other Big 12 school on the season and dropped a 9-8 decision on March 30 at Kansas. They have faced one ranked team on the season and topped then-No. 15 Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss., on April 7.

UALR ROTATION
No. 1 RHP Daniel Golden (2-3, 6.39 ERA)

OU ROTATION
No. 1 LHP Ryan Gibson (4-2, 3.97 ERA)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and Damon Minor on color analysis can be heard Tuesday on the Sooners Sports Network (KREF 1400 AM) in Oklahoma City and Norman and free online at SoonerSports.com.
• Live stats are available on SoonerSports.com via the baseball schedule page.

SERIES HISTORY
•The Sooners have won three straight over the Trojans, including last season's doubleheader sweep (11-7 and 16-6) in Norman on March 3. OU owns an 18-2 advantage in the series and its last loss to Arkansas-Little Rock came in 2002. UALR recorded a 4-2 win in the third game of the series after the Sooners claimed victory in games one and two. The Trojans also won a meeting in 1999.
- All 20 games in the series have been played at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
- OU has scored in double digits in 15 of the contests.
- Five of the games have been decided by three runs or less with OU holding a 4-1 advantage

PLAYER TO WATCH - CALEB BUSHYHEAD
The sophomore shortstop is riding a six-game hitting streak with four multiple-hit games in that span. Bushyhead is hitting .379 in that span (11-for-29) with nine RBI, including a home run and three doubles. Bushyhead is the only Sooner to appear in all 44 games and he leads the squad with 43 starts.

2010 Season Stats: .329, 4 HR, 28 RBI

QUICK HITS
- OU ranks third in the Big 12 in ERA (3.93) and fourth in fielding percentage (.974) and hitting (.309). OU leads the conference with 62 home runs.
- The OU pitching staff ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 389 strikeouts and has 20 games with 10 or more K's, including eight of the last 18.
- The Sooners have homered in 34 of the 44 contests with 18 multiple-homer games. OU homered in 14 straight games from March 2 to March 26.
- The OU bullpen is 14-2 (lost to Missouri and OSU) with 11 saves on the season and a 2.84 ERA and 197 Ks in 177.1 IP.
- Cameron Seitzer hit for the cycle in the Sooners' 26-3 win over UAPB. Seitzer had a homer and a triple in the second inning.
- Seitzer ranks fifth in the Big 12 with nine homers and sixth with a .629 slugging percentage.
- Garrett Buechele has hit safely in the last 16 games (.396), a career high and the longest streak by a Sooner in 2010.
- Buechele (9) is tied for fifth in the Big 12 in homers with freshman Max White and Seitzer. Both White (.655) and Buechele (.634) rank third and fourth, respectively, in slugging percentage in the Big 12.
- Ryan Duke is a perfect 10-for-10 in save situations this year and ranks fourth in the nation in that category with 10.
- Jeremy Erben's scoreless streak ended after 22 2/3 innings on April 1 vs. Texas. He has not allowed a run in 11 of his 18 relief appearances with a 6-1 record (one save).
- Zach Neal tossed the Sooners' first complete game of 2010 with a nine-inning performance at Texas Tech. The last Sooner to throw a complete game was Garrett Richards in the 2009 NCAA Norman Regional on May 29 vs. Washington State.
- Neal has 35 Ks and six walks in his last six starts (43 1/3 IP).
- Caleb Bushyhead (SS) is the only Sooner to play in all 44 games and he leads the team with 43 starts.
- Bushyhead registered one hit in 22 games last season and has 54 hits in 2010. He is second on OU with 16 multi-hit games.
- OU has started 19 different players in the lineup after Cale Ellis made his first start vs. Texas on April 2.

UP NEXT
OU returns to Big 12 play in the Bedlam Series, presented by Oklahoma Farm Bureau and the Oklahoman. Game one in Tulsa at OneOK Field is set for 7:30 p.m. Games two and three will be played at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City on Saturday (7:05 p.m.) and Sunday (4:05 p.m.).

LAST TIME OUT
The No. 15 Sooners posted three victories in four games last week, including an 2-1 series victory over No. 20 Kansas State over the weekend. Prior to scoring 38 runs off 48 hits against the Wildcats, OU topped Dallas Baptist, 14-0, to complete the season sweep of the Patriots.

TWO HOME GAMES ADDED TO SCHEDULE
OU added two games to the regular season schedule in order to make up for games lost in March against Baylor due to inclement weather. The two non-conference home games include Arkansas Little Rock on May 4 and Texas Southern on May 19. Both games will get underway at 7 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The OU Athletics Department will celebrate Fan Appreciation Day at both games with free admission into the park.

BLACK NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Oklahoma junior second baseman Danny Black was named the Big 12 Player of the Week for games played through May 2 as voted on by a panel of media covering the conference.  T.J. Walz (Kansas) was named the league's top pitcher for the week. It marks the first career honor for the Roseville, Calif., native and the second by a Sooner this season after Jeremy Erben collected a pitcher of the week honor on March 8.

Black hit safely in all four of OU's contests, with three multiple-hit games, and drove in seven RBIs as the Sooners posted a 3-1 record last week.  He hit .533 in that span (8-for-15) while slugging at a 1.133 clip with 17 total bases (two home runs, a double and a triple) and two multiple-RBI games.  Black also walked once for a .563 on-base percentage and did not commit an error while starting all four games at second base.

LATE-INNING PRODUCTION
OU has scored 142 of its 351 runs, or 40 percent, in the sixth inning and later. In addition, the Sooners have outscored the opposition, 63-25, in the eighth and ninth innings combined, which includes 12 home runs.

SCORING FIRST
OU has scored first in 14 of the last 36 games and in 18 overall. The Sooners have a 15-3 record in those contests. The opposition has tallied the game's first run in 26 games and OU is 17-9. In Big 12 play, OU has scored first in just four games (GM2 at Nebraska, GM1 at Texas Tech, GM3 at Texas A&M and GM2 vs. Kansas State).

WITH TWO OUTS
The Sooners have come up with some clutch hitting throughout the season, hitting .329 as a team with two outs on the board. In addition, OU has connected for 158 two-out RBIs, nearly half of the 326 total on the season. Garrett Buechele leads the group with 21 RBIs with two outs, including five home runs. Danny Black follows with 18 RBIs and three homers while Max White (15), Chris Ellison (12), Cale Ellis (11), Cody Reine (11), Cameron Seitzer (11), Caleb Bushyhead (10) and Tyler Ogle (10) have all collected 10 or more two-out RBIs.

HOME VS. AWAY
The Sooners have recorded 17 of their 32 wins in the friendly confines of L. Dale Mitchell Park. OU is hitting .314 at home with 10.5 hits per game and 8.6 runs scored per contest, including 36 homers. In addition, the Sooner hurlers have combined for a 3.97 ERA. On the road, OU is 15-7 (11-6 away, 4-1 neutral) and is hitting .305 with 11 hits and 7.3 runs per game, including 26 homers. The pitching staff has a 3.88 ERA away from home.

ONE-RUN GAMES
The Sooners have recorded one-run victories in six games this year. OU is 6-3 in those situations in 2010 and the Sooners are 56-22-1 (.715) 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 18 times this season, including three times in game one of the UAPB series, twice in game two of the SDSU series and twice against Dallas Baptist in Norman. Other games include Richmond, Mississippi State, Texas A&M-CC, UMass (GM2), Nebraska (GM1), UAPB (GM2), Missouri (GM3), TCU (GM2), Texas A&M (GM3) and Kansas State (GM1 and 2). 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 19 different frames, including a season-high 10 runs in game one of the UAPB series (second inning). OU had three five-plus run innings in that UAPB game and also accomplished the feat twice in game two of the SDSU series, against Dallas Baptist in Norman and in game three vs. Kansas State. OU had one each versus Valparaiso, Western Illinois, Mississippi State, Baylor, Nebraska, Missouri, TCU, Texas A&M and Kansas State (GM1 and 2).

TIME FOR A RALLY
The Sooners have come from behind to win 17 of the 44 games this season. Of Sunny Golloway's 202 wins at OU, 103 (.509) have been in come-from-behind fashion, including 22 last year.

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

DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners have recorded 10 or more hits in 28 of the first 44 games of the season, including a season-high 19 vs. Mississippi State and UAPB (March 30). OU is 25-3 in those games and is averaging 10.8 hits per game despite losing five regular starters from last season's club. The Sooners are also averaging eight runs per game with 16 games with 10 or more scores, including the 26 posted in game one of the UAPB series, the most since exploding for 29 runs on March 22, 2009 at Kansas State. OU is 15-1 when scoring 10 or more runs.

EXTRA INNINGS UNDER GOLLOWAY
OU is 1-1 in extra-inning games this season after winning in 13 innings on April 25 at Texas A&M. The game was the longest in terms of innings in the Sunny Golloway era and the longest for an OU team since May 16, 2002 vs. Okahoma State.

OU is 16-3-1 overall since Sunny Golloway took over the helm of the Sooner program at the end of the 2005 season. One of those losses came at Oklahoma State (11 innings) earlier this year. The other two losses included Arkansas (April 28, 2009) and Mizzou (April 19, 2009. The Sooners tied Nebraska in 2008. OU was 3-1 in 2009 in games played in extra innings.

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 Big 12 with 10 saves and is the first Sooner in school history to have 10 or more in two seasons. He ranks fourth in the nation as of April 25 with 10 saves.

Below is a look at where he ranks in OU history.

1. 28 - Jeff Bajenaru, 1999-00
2. 25 - Ryan Duke, 2008-present

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.

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 is second in the Big 12 in wins (5) and ERA (0.61) and was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for games played through March 7.

OGLE ON JOHNNY BENCH WATCH LIST
Sophomore catcher/DH Tyler Ogle was named to the Johnny Bench watch list for 2010 on March 2. Ogle caught in 10 games last year, including eight starts behind J.T. Wise (2009 winner). Wise became the first Sooner to collect the award in program history and just the second in Big 12 history.

BLAIR - Spring Chick-fil-A Community of Champions
Junior Elliot Blair, a petroleum engineering major, was named by the Big 12 Conference, in conjunction with Chick-fil-A, to the Spring Community of Champions. During the fall, winter and spring terms, one student-athlete from each institution has been honored based on the following criteria:

Academics: An academic standard of a 3.00 grade point average or higher must be maintained.
Community Service: The designated student-athlete should be involved with at least one community service program.
Leadership/Sportsmanship: The student-athlete should demonstrate leadership and sportsmanship on and off the field.

The institution of the student-athletes' on this list will be awarded $3,000 each year from Chick-fil-A for their efforts.

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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