Baseball Opens Regional Friday at 1 p.m.

No. 11 OU (44-15) in NCAA Norman Regional
Game 60	vs. Oral Roberts- Friday, June 4- 1 p.m.
NCAA Brackets	Interactive \| Printable
Location	Norman, Okla. \| L. Dale Mitchell Park
Tickets	Online at SoonerSports.com
Radio	Sooner Sports Network - KREF 1400 AM
TV	Friday - Cox Ch. 3 in OKC and Tulsa
More Info	Norman Regional Central Page
Live Stats	SoonersSports.com
Web Audio/Video	Free on SoonerSports.com
Game Information	Game Notes \| 2010 Media Guide \| Baseball Blog \| Twitter

NCAA REGIONAL PREVIEW
•No. 11 Oklahoma (44-15) is hosting its second straight NCAA Regional and third in the last five years this weekend against Cal (29-23), North Carolina (36-20) and Oral Roberts (35-25). The Sooners will meet No. 4 seed Oral Roberts in the first round of the NCAA Norman Regional on Friday, June 4 at L. Dale Mitchell Park at 1 p.m. The second game on Friday at 7 p.m. will feature No. 2 seed Cal against No. 3 seed North Carolina. The winners of those two games will face off on Saturday at 7 p.m. (losers at 1 p.m.).

• The Sooners also hosted regionals in Norman in 1975 and 1977 before L. Dale Mitchell Park opened in 1982. The first regional at LDM was in 2006, which resulted in OU's first and only Super Regional appearance. On three different occasions, the Sooners have hosted a regional in Oklahoma City at the Bricktown Ballpark (1995, 2000 and 2004).

• The winner of the Norman, Okla., Regional advances to meet the winner of the Charlottesville, Va., Regional in NCAA Super Regional action. The four teams at Charlottesville are Virginia (No. 5 National Seed), Ole Miss, St. John's and VCU. The sites of the next round will be announced on June 7 at 10 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.

• A winner in nine of the last 10 outings, OU is ranked as high as No. 11 this week by Baseball America and the NCBWA polls (No. 13 in Collegiate Baseball and USA Today/ESPN Coaches' ). OU's 42 regular season wins is the most by an OU team since 1989.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play can be heard all week long on the Sooner Sports Network (KREF 1400 AM) in Oklahoma City and Norman and free online at SoonerSports.com.
• Live stats, audio and video are available for free on SoonerSports.com.
• Friday's game will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network on Cox Channel 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa with Toby Rowland and Kenny Mossman calling the action.

OU ROTATION
No. 1 RHP Michael Rocha 7-1, 3.02, 56.2 IP, 15 BB, 45 SO
No. 2 RHP Zach Neal 8-3, 4.52, 87.2 IP, 20 BB, 76 SO

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and Damon Minor on color analysis can be heard for both games on the Sooner Sports Network (KREF 1400 AM) in Oklahoma City and Norman and free online at SoonerSports.com.

• Tuesday's game will be simulcast live on television via the Sooner Sports Network on Cox Channel 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. A live webcast for Tuesday's game can be found on OU All-Access.

• Live stats are available on SoonerSports.com via the baseball schedule page.

OU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
OU is 70-62 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The 2010 Norman Regional will the be the sixth in the last seven years and 33rd overall. OU won its fifth regional title (1976, 1992, 1994 and 1995) in 2006 under current head coach Sunny Golloway.

Oklahoma last won the National Championship in 1994 and captured its first title in 1951. OU is one of 13 schools to win multiple national titles in Division I baseball. The Sooners also advanced to the College World Series in 1951, 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975 when the tournament was played in a district format.

With nine College World Series Appearances, the Sooners made their first appearance in the NCAA Super Regional round in 2006 against then-No. 1 Rice. The format originated in 1999.

OU is 22-11 in the opening game of its 32 regional appearances, winning three of the last four. The Sooners beat Southern Miss in the 2005 Oxford Regional, Vanderbilt in the 2008 Tempe Regional and Wichita State last season in Norman. The one loss came in 2006 against TCU in Norman.

OU is 11-9 in the NCAA Tournament under Sunny Golloway.

PLAYER TO WATCH - GARRETT BUECHELE
The sophomore All-Big 12 third baseman has hit safely in each of the last eight games and in 29 of the last 31 contests. During his eight-game streak, Buechele is hitting .514 (18-for-35) with nine RBIs and four homers. He leads the Sooners in nearly every offensive category and ranks in the top 10 in six Big 12 categories.

2010 Season Stats: .393 BA, 15 HR, 61 RBI

MORE ON ORAL ROBERTS
- 35-25 overall - 2nd in Summit League
- Game 1 Starter: RHP Bryce Smolen (9-3, 4.26 ERA)
- 21st NCAA Appearance - 13th straight
- One College World Series appearance (1978)
- OU leads the overall series, 31-28, and won the last meeting 5-4 in 2004. However, ORU has won three of the last four meetings and has split the last 10 games in the series.
- OU is 16-14 at home against ORU.
- The Sooners and Golden Eagles have met in one NCAA Regional, the 2000 Oklahoma City Regional at Bricktown Ballpark. The Sooners won both of those games (6-5, 9-7) to eliminate ORU then lead by current OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway, who led the Golden Eagles from 1996-2003.
- 18 of the 59 meetings have been decided by one run with OU holding a 10-8 advantage.

MORE ON CAL
- 29-23 - 6th in Pac 10
- Game 1 Starter: LHP Justin Jones (10-5, 3.77 ERA)
- 11th NCAA Appearance - Last: 2008
- 5 College World Series appearances (1947, `57, `80, `88 and `92)
- 2 National Titles (1947 and 1957)
- OU leads 3-1 after winning the last meeting in 2009, a 9-6 Sooner victory.
- All four meetings in the series have been in Norman.
- Three of the four games have been decided by three runs or less with OU holding a 2-1 advantage, including a win in the only one-run contest in 1990 (9-8).
- Cal and OU have never met in the postseason.

MORE ON NORTH CAROLINA
- 36-20 - T-8th in ACC
- Game 1 Starter: RHP Matt Harvey (7-3, 3.10 ERA)
- 25th NCAA Appearance - Ninth straight
- 8 College World Series apps. (1960, `66, `78, `89 and 2006-09)
- OU and North Carolina have never met in a regular season or postseason contest.

QUICK HITS
- The last time OU won 40 regular season games in back-to-back seasons was 1988 and 1989.
- After 59 games, OU's overall record is three games ahead of last year's pace which concluded with OU's first national seed in the NCAA Tournament.
-The Sooners won 22 of their 42 games at home but also had a winning record on the road with a 20-8 mark.
- OU ranks second in the Big 12 in hitting (.314) and third in ERA (3.79) and fielding percentage (.976). OU leads the conference with 90 home runs.
- The OU pitching staff ranks second n the Big 12 with 515 strikeouts and has 25 games with 10 or more K's, including 13 of the last 33 and a season-high 19 versus Arkansas-Little Rock.
- The Sooners have homered in 48 of the 59 contests with 25 multiple-homer games. OU has homered in 16 of the last 17 games, including its second 14-game streak of 2010 (first was March 2 to March 26).
- OU 20-1 when scoring 10 or more runs, including nine of the last 20 games. OU has scored 186 runs in the last 20 games.
- The OU bullpen is 18-2 (lost to Missouri and OSU) with 14 saves on the season and a 2.70 ERA and 260 Ks in 230.1 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 fourth in the Big 12 with 14 homers and seventh with a .634 slugging percentage.
- Garrett Buechele's career-high 19 game hitting streak ended on May 8. It included 10 multiple-hit games, five homers, 23 RBIs and a .391 batting average (34-for-87).
- Buechele (15) is third in the Big 12 in homers ahead of Seitzer and freshman Max White (14). Both White (.636-6th) and Buechele (.679-3rd) rank in the top 10 in slugging percentage in the Big 12.
- Ryan Duke is a perfect 11-for-11 in save situations this year and ranks 16th in the nation in that category (2nd in Big 12).
- Jeremy Erben's scoreless streak ended after 22 2/3 innings on April 1 vs. Texas. He has not allowed a run in 17 of his team-leading 27 relief appearances with a 6-1 record (three saves).
- Zach Neal tossed the Sooners' first complete game of 2010 with a nine-inning performance at Texas Tech. He has 51 Ks and 13 walks in his last 10 starts (65 IP).
- Caleb Bushyhead (SS) is the only Sooner to play in all 59 games and he leads the team with 58 starts.
- Bushyhead registered one hit in 22 games last season and has 73 hits in 2010. He is second on OU with 21 multi-hit games and had an 18-game hitting streak (career high) snapped in the Big 12 tournament.

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners went 2-1 in the Big 12 Championship with wins over Kansas and Kansas State. The Sooners' lone loss came against Baylor, which played for the title on Sunday. OU has gone 2-1 in the pool play format on three occasions but has not advanced to the title game since winning the Big 12's initial tournament in 1997.

BIG 12 SERIES WINS
The Sooners won seven Big 12 series in 2010, second behind Texas for the Big 12 lead. OU has reached the mark for the fifth time since conference play began in 1997. In each of those five years, OU has hosted a regional (2010, 2009, 2006, 2004 and 2000). Golloway has been the head of three of those campaigns, including the 2006 Super Regional run.

LATE-INNING PRODUCTION
OU has scored 196 of its 475 runs, or 41 percent, in the sixth inning and later. In addition, the Sooners have outscored the opposition, 90-33, in the eighth and ninth innings combined, which includes 17 home runs.

BLAIR NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Oklahoma junior outfielder Elliott Blair was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Third Team on May 25. It marks the 12th time a member of the OU baseball program has collected Academic All-America honors. Blair, a petroleum engineering major, is one of four players from the Big 12 to appear on the first, second or third team. He was tabbed All-District VI first team honoree on May 6 by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Aaron Ivey (2007) was the last Sooner to be named an Academic All-American.

SCORING FIRST
OU has scored first in 24 of the last 51 games and in 28 overall, with a 23-5 record in those contests. The opposition has tallied the game's first run in 31 games and OU is 21-10. In Big 12 play, OU scored first in just seven games (GM2 at Nebraska, GM1 at Texas Tech, GM3 at Texas A&M, GM2 vs. Kansas State and GM3 vs. Oklahoma State). OU was 4-1 in those contests.

ONE-RUN GAMES
The Sooners have recorded one-run victories in nine games this year. OU is 10-5 in those situations in 2010 and the Sooners are 59-24-1 (.708) 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).

MIDWEEK SUCCESS
The Sooners have had success in the midweek games under head coach Sunny Golloway. OU won 13 out of 14 midweek games this season with three wins over ranked opponents (twice over TCU and once versus Arkansas). OU is 13-1 this season and 57-10 all-time under Golloway. OU was 12-3 in midweek contests last season.

WITH TWO OUTS
The Sooners have come up with some clutch hitting throughout the season, hitting .322 as a team with two outs on the board. In addition, OU has connected for 194 two-out RBIs, nearly half of the 438 total on the season. Garrett Buechele (.430) leads the group with 29 RBIs with two outs, including nine home runs. Danny Black follows with 21 and three homers. Max White (19), Cameron Seitzer (15), Tyler Ogle (15), Chris Ellison (14), Caleb Bushyhead (12), Ross Hubbard (12), Cody Reine (12) and Cale Ellis (11) round out the double digits.

HOME VS. AWAY
The Sooners have recorded 22 of their 39 wins in the friendly confines of L. Dale Mitchell Park. OU is hitting .326 at home with 11 hits per game and nine runs scored per contest, including 48 homers. In addition, the Sooner hurlers have combined for a 3.73 ERA. On the road, OU is 22-9 (14-6 away, 8-3 neutral) and is hitting .303 with 11.6 hits and 7.3 runs per game, including 42 homers. The pitching staff has a 3.85 ERA away from home.

DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners have recorded 10 or more hits in 37 of the first 59 games of the season, including a season-high 19 vs. Mississippi State and UAPB (March 30). OU is 33-4 in those games and is averaging 10.9 hits per game despite losing five regular starters from last season's club. OU is also averaging eight runs per game with 21 games with 10 or more scores, including nine out of the last 20 games. OU posted 26 in game one of the UAPB series, the most since exploding for 29 runs on March 22, 2009 at Kansas State. OU is 20-1 when scoring 10 or more runs.

TIME FOR A RALLY
The Sooners have come from behind to win 24 of the 59 games this season. Of Sunny Golloway's 214 wins at OU, 110 (.514) have been in come-from-behind fashion, including 22 last year.

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 is second in the Big 12 with 11 saves and is the first Sooner in school history to have 10 or more in two seasons. He ranks 16th in the nation as of May 31 with 11 saves.

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

1. 28 - Jeff Bajenaru, 1999-00
2. 27 - Ryan Duke, 2008-present

THE BIG INNING
OU has hit through the batting order already 23 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), Kansas State (GM1 and 2), Arkansas-Little Rock, Memphis (GM2 and 3) , Kansas (GM1) and Kansas State (Big 12 Champ.). 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 24 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, Kansas State (GM1 and 2), Arkansas-Little Rock, Memphis (GM2 and 3), Kansas (GM1) and Kansas State (Big 12 Champ.).

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.

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.

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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Baseball Opens Regional Friday at 1 p.m.

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