No. 2 Baseball Back Home to Host Trojans

March 10, 2011

No. 2 OU (14-0) vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (6-6)
Game 15	Friday, March 11 (3 p.m.) vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
Game 16	Saturday, March 12 (2 p.m.) vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
Game 17	Sunday, March 13 (1 p.m.) vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
Location	Norman, Okla. \| L. Dale Mitchell Park
Tickets/Promos	$8 and $12 \| Mardi Gras, mini bats and OU fans
Radio	Sooner Sports Network \| KREF 1400 AM
TV	Sooner Sports Network - Cox Ch. 3 in OKC and Tulsa
Webcast	All-Access on SoonerSports.com
Live Stats	SoonersSports.com
Game Information	Game Notes \| 2011 Media Guide \| Baseball Blog \| Twitter

WEEKEND PREVIEW
• No. 2 Oklahoma (14-0) returns home following a five-game road trip to host Arkansas-Little Rock (6-6) this weekend.
• The three-game series starts on Friday at 3 p.m. First pitch on Saturday is set for 2 p.m. and the series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
• OU is ranked No. 2 by Collegiate Baseball and USA Today/Coaches this week and No. 3 by Baseball America and the NCBWA.
• The Sooners return seven position starters from the 2010 squad that finished 50-18 and advanced to the program's 10th CWS.
• Arkansas-Little Rock returns 16 letterwinners from the 2010 team that finished 29-25 overall (12-16 in the Sun Belt Conference: ninth). The Trojans are hitting .280 as a team, led by senior second baseman Jason Houston (.391, 8 RBI).
• Trojans' rotation: GM1 - RHP Garret Graziano (2-1, 2.08); GM2 - RHP Travis Henke (0-0, 3.00); GM3 - RHP Calvin Drinnen (1-1, 4.22)

THE SERIES
• The Sooners have won four straight over the Trojans, including last season's 14-5 victory in Norman on May 5. OU owns a 19-2 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 that year, after the Sooners claimed victory in games one and two. The Trojans also won a meeting in 1999. All 21 games in the series have been played at L. Dale Mitchell Park. OU has scored in double digits in 16 of the contests.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly (play-by-play) and OU letterwinner Ross Hubbard (color) can be heard this weekend on the Sooners' Flagship station, KREF 1400 AM and at SoonerSports.com. Air time is 30 minutes prior to first pitch.
• Saturday and Sunday mark the first of 13 locally televised games by the Sooner Sports Network (Cox Ch. 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa). Toby Rowland (KWTV News 9) will call the play-by-play with color analyst Casey Bookout (OU letterwinner 1996-1999)
• Live stats are available on the baseball schedule page and a paid webcast can be viewed on OU All-Access.

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
On Friday, first pitch is set for 3 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park and OU will host "Mardi Gras Night" and the first 250 fans will received beaded necklaces.
Saturday's game gets underway at 2 p.m. and marks "Mini Bat Day." The first 250 fans will receive OU baseball mini bats.
Sunday's finale is slated for a 1 p.m. start and OU will host "Spring Break Appreciation." On Sunday, the first 250 fans will receive OU baseball mini fans.

SINGLE GAME TICKETS ON SALE | More Info
Single game tickets for the 2011 baseball season went onsale to the public on Tuesday, March 1 at 8 a.m. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-GoOU.

OU ROTATION
• No. 1 RHP Michael Rocha 3-0, 0.78 ERA, 19 SO, 2 BB
• No. 2 RHP Bobby Shore 2-0, 4.22 ERA, 9 SO, 11 BB
• No. 3 RHP Burch Smith 2-0, 2.45 ERA, 17 SO, 2 BB

PLAYER TO WATCH - CAMERON SEITZER
The junior first baseman has hit safely in the last eight games and in 12 of the 14 contests this year. During the current hitting streak, he is batting .419 (13-for-31) with seven RBIs, including five multi-hit games and three-multi RBI games. Seitzer ranks third in the Big 12 with six doubles and fourth with 12 RBIs and 19 hits.
2011 Season Stats: .380, 0 HR, 12 RBI

ON DECK
OU hits the road for a top 10 matchup at No. 9 Arizona State. The two-game midweek set begins on Tuesday, March 15 at 8:30 p.m. CT. Game two is slated for an 8:30 p.m. first pitch on Wednesday, March 16 and will be televised by FSN Arizona. After the midweek games, OU returns home to begin Big 12 play against No. 14 Texas A&M (March 18-20).

LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners hit the road for the first time in 2011 and recorded five victories away from L. Dale Mitchell Park by outscoring the opposition 33-9. OU started things off with a 4-3 victory at UT-Arlington on Tuesday. On Thursday, the Sooners began play in the USD Tournament with a 4-0 decision over host San Diego State. On Friday, OU topped San Diego, 7-1, and followed it up with a 5-3 win over No. 14 Cal on Saturday. OU closed out the tournament with a 13-5 victory over San Diego State.

OGLE ON JOHNNY BENCH WATCH LIST
For the second straight season, junior catcher Tyler Ogle was named to the Johnny Bench watch list for the 2011 season. Ogle caught in 42 games last year as he hit .331 with 11 homers and 46 RBIs, while recording a .992 fielding percentage and throwing out 11 base stealers. The Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission released the Watch List for the 2011 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award delivered by Papa John's Pizza on March 10.

SOONERS MOVE UP TO NO. 2
OU moved up to No. 2 in the USA Today/Coaches' poll and stayed in the same spot in the Collegiate Baseball poll. The Sooners are No. 3 in the Baseball America and NCBWA polls. The No. 2 regular season ranking is the highest by an OU team since 1985, when the Sooners were also No. 2 on April 15, as ranked by Baseball America. That season also saw Oklahoma climb to the No. 1 spot two weeks earlier, while enjoying a top five rank on five other occasions that year. April 1, 1985 marks the only time OU has enjoyed a No. 1 regular season ranking on record. The only other time that the Sooners were the nation's No. 1 team was in 1994 and 1951, when they celebrated national titles.

14-0 RECORD START
The 14-0 start is the best for a Sooner club, topping the 12 straight wins to begin the 1998 season. Other double-digit undefeated streaks to begin a season include 1984 (11-0) and 1974 (10-0).

The 14-game winning streak is the best under head coach Sunny Golloway and the sixth double-digit streak in his tenure (13 in 2006, 11 in 2007, 11 in 2008, 10 in 2009 and 10 in 2010). Its also the 25th in program history and longest since 1985 (19).

OU LEADS BIG 12 IN HITTING
After 14 games, OU leads the Big 12 in batting average (.383), hits (189), runs (152) and home runs (17), while ranking third in earned run average (2.76).

BIG 12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
For the third straight week, an Oklahoma Sooner was named one of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Conference's Players of the Week. Senior Michael Rocha was named the pitcher of the week for games played through March 6. It marked the second career honor for Rocha and the fourth by a Sooner this season (Garrett Buechele named player of the week twice and Jordan John was the newcomer of the week). OU finished 2010 with four Big 12 weekly honorees. However, the 2011 season is the first to include a newcomer of the week.

OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION UP AFTER 14 GAMES
The No. 2 Sooners played 14 games in 17 days in the first three weeks of the season. One quarter of the regular season is already in the books and OU finds itself as the only undefeated team in Division I baseball at 14-0. The Sooners are also posting some impressive offensive numbers, below is a look at the stats compared with the 2010 CWS team.

Stat	2011	2010
W-L	14-0	13-1
Avg.	.383	.328
Hits	189	156
Runs	152	111
Homers	17	20
ERA	2.76	3.34

MISC NOTES
- OU leads the Big 12 with 17 home runs while the other nine teams in the conference have a combined 35.
- OU also leads the conference with 152 runs, the next closest team, Texas A&M, has scored 90 runs. The Sooners lead the Big 12 in hits with 189, while Oklahoma State is second with 141.
- The Sooner offense has outscored the opposition 152-49.
- Garrett Buechele, the Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 21 and28, leads the Big 12 with five homers. Except Nebraska and Texas A&M, he has more homers than the rest of the Big 12.He entered the week with more than No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Cal State Fullerton, No. 11 Virginia and No. 13 UCLA combined. He has as many homers as No. 9 Arizona State and No. 10 Clemson have each hit as a team.
- Buechele also leads OU and the Big 12 with a .492 batting avg., 29 hits, 23 RBIs, 45 total bases, a .763 slugging pct.
- Max White leads the Big 12 with 18 runs scored, while Tyler Ogle is tied for second with 15. Chris Ellison, Cale Ellis and Evan Mistich have scored 14 each and are tied for fourth, while Garrett Buechele and Cameron Seitzer are tied for seventh with 13.
- In 12 of the Sooners' 14 starts, the hurlers have lasted at least five innings, including three complete games by Jordan John, Bobby Shore and Michael Rocha.
- The Sooners' four-man rotation last weekend combined for 30 1/3 innings with five earned runs.
- OU has won its last 16 games at home dating back to 2010.
- Seven freshmen saw playing time after 14 games and 10 newcomers overall have taken the field
- Michael Rocha and the Sooner bullpen limited the Tribe to one hit on Feb.18, the fewest allowed since OU's last no-hitter, a combined effort on March 9, 2005 vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff
- OU will face 10 opponents from 2010 NCAA tournament
(23 games) in 2011, including five foes with 40-plus wins a year ago. OU also will face two 2010 CWS participants (Arizona State & TCU) and two Super Regional hosts (Texas and Arkansas).

OU NO. 5 IN PRESEASON POLLS
The Sooners were tabbed No. 5 in Baseball America's preseason top 25 poll. Oklahoma was also ranked No. 5 in the preseason by the NCBWA. The Sooners have been ranked in the top 10 by Baseball America, at some point in the season, in each of the last three years. Only the 1984-1987 Sooners can claim a better streak among the nation's top 10 in program history. The 2011 preseason ranking is the highest for OU since 1995 when it was coming off the program's second National Championship and entered the season as Baseball America's No. 3 team in the nation.

Polls: BA | USA | CB | NCBWA

SOONERS FAVORED TO WIN BIG 12 REGULAR SEASON
For the first time since 1995, Oklahoma is the preseason favorite to claim the Big 12 baseball regular season championship heading into the 2011 season, in a vote of the league's head coaches.

In 2010, the Sooners made their 10th College World Series appearance and first trip to Omaha since 1995. It marks the first time since 1995 that OU was selected as the top pick in the preseason poll. The Sooners have twice been picked No. 2 in the Big 12 preseason poll (1999 and 2001) with the highest prediction under Golloway coming in 2010 (fourth). In 1995, OU was the No. 1 team headed into the Big Eight season after winning the program's second National Chamionship the previous year.

WHO's BACK
The Sooners return seven position starters and two weekend starting pitchers from last year's College World Series team that won 50 games for the fifth time in program history. Included in that bunch is 2010 All-American Garrett Buechele at third base, 2010 Freshman All-American Max White at second base and 2009 All-American Ryan Duke (closer). OU welcomes back all but 14 of the 105 home runs hit last year and 32 of the 50 wins registered by the pitching staff.

BLAIR, BUECHELE, OGLE & ROCHA NAMED CAPTAINS
Seniors Elliott Blair and Michael Rocha and juniors Garrett Buechele and Tyler Ogle were voted as the 2011 captains by their teammates back in October during the team's annual visit to Willow Springs Boys Ranch in Chandler, Okla. Buechele is is the only two-time captain (2010).

BUECHELE A PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Junior Garrett Buechele was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Collegiate Baseball preseason All-America teams. It marks the first such selection for Buechele, who was tabbed a second team All-American following the Sooners' 2010 postseason run. Buechele led OU in every offensive category en route to the program's 10th CWS appearance and first since 1995. The Arlington, Texas, was selected in the 18th round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers.

He is the second Sooner to be named to a preseason list under head coach Sunny Golloway's watch (Ryan Duke in 2010).

DUKE TIED FOR CAREER SAVES LEAD
Ryan Duke, who is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list for the second straight year, recorded one save at the 2010 College World Series in OU's opening win over South Carolina and moved into a tie for first place on OU's all-time saves list (below). Duke finished with 12 saves, the nation's 12th best total in 2010 and ranked second in the Big 12. He led the Big 12 in saves with 16 in 2009 (ranked sixth in the nation), the second most in a single season by a Sooner (Jeff Bajenaru - 20, 2000).

Duke is the first Sooner in school history to have 10 or more in two seasons. Below is a look at where he ranks in OU history.

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

BASEBALL ON KREF 1400 AM IN 2011 | PDF of schedule
The 2011 season marks the second with KREF 1400 AM serving as the flagship station of Sooner baseball. The partnership provides expanded coverage for OU fans to listen to 54 regular season games live over the air and extends into postseason play.

Additionally, 23 of the games are set to be carried on the Sooners Sports' Network, enabling fans to listen to OU baseball on the radio state-wide. The state-wide coverage begins on April 1 against Texas Tech and will continue for each of the games in Big 12 play. The network schedule also includes OU's midweek games at home vs. Oklahoma State (April 5) and TCU (April 12).

The entire 56-game regular season schedule will also be broadcast live on the internet via Oklahoma All-Access, OU's premium content site.

2011 TELEVISION SCHEDULE | PDF of schedule
In 2011, 13 baseball games will be televised locally for the 2011 season by Sooner Vision and Sooner Sports Properties. The broadcasts will air via the Sooner Sports Network on Cox Channel 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Local sports personality Toby Rowland from KWTV News 9 (Oklahoma City) will call the play-by-play along with color analyst Kenny Mossman, Oklahoma Associate Athletics Director for Communications.

On top of the local coverage, the Sooners can also be seen nationally for three contests. In the last six years, 69 OU games have been seen on regional or national television, with 20 telecasts in 2010.

Sooner Sports Network-Cox Ch. 3 in OKC/Tulsa)
March 12 - Arkansas Little Rock (2 p.m.)
March 13 - Arkansas Little Rock (1 p.m.)
March 18 - Texas A&M (6:30 p.m.)
March 19 - Texas A&M (2 p.m.)
March 20 - Texas A&M (1 p.m.)
April 3 - Texas Tech (1 p.m.)
April 5 - Oklahoma State (6:30 p.m.)
April 12 - TCU (6:30 p.m.)
April 17 - vs. Oklahoma State (4:05 p.m.)
April 19 - Dallas Baptist (6:30 p.m.)
May 6 - Kansas (6:30 p.m.)
May 8 - Kansas (1 p.m.)
May 15 - New Mexico (1 p.m.)

Fox Sports Southwest
April 30 - at Texas (2 p.m.)
May 7 - Kansas (2 p.m.)

ESPNU
May 1 - at Texas (1 p.m.)

Cowboy Sports Network
April 15 - vs. Oklahoma State (7:35 p.m.)

SOONERS INK 14 FOR 2012 SEASON
Oklahoma baseball head coach Sunny Golloway announced the signing of 14 student athletes as part of the 2012 signing class on Wednesday. The recruits signed National Letters of Intent in the early signing period and are set to join the Sooners next fall.

Overall, 12 of the 14 recruits are rated by Perfect Game Crosschecker as prospects for the 2011 MLB Draft. Four of the signees have already been selected in the draft, including three last season.

Clayton Blackburn | RHP | 6-2 | 210
Edmond, Okla. (Edmond Santa Fe H.S.)

Brian Brightwell | OF/1B | L/L | 6-0 |185
Oklahoma City, Okla. (Putnam City H.S.)

Tony Calhoun | RHP/ INF | R/R | 6-1 | 180
Temecula, Calif. (Howard College)

Garrett Carey | SS | R/R | 6-2 | 210
Hutto, Texas (McClennan C.C.)

Mason Hope | RHP | R/R | 6-3 | 185
Broken Arrow, Okla. (Broken Arrow H.S.)

Adrian Houser | RHP | R/R | 6-3 | 200
Locust Grove, Okla. (Locust Grove H.S.)

Nick Lee | LHP/ OF | L/L | 6-0 | 190
San Antonio, Texas (Weatherford College)

Hunter Lockwood | C | R/R | 5-11 | 189
Bedford, Texas (Lawrence Dale Bell H.S.)

Damien Magnifico | RHP | R/R | 6-1 | 190
Mesquite, Texas (Howard College)

Austin O'Donnell | RHP | R/R | 6-0 | 210
Magnolia, Ark. (Northeast Texas C.C.)

Steven Okert | LHP | L/L | 6-3 | 215
Rowlett, Texas | Grayson County College

Jacob Rhame | RHP | R/R | 6-0 | 190
Corinth, Texas (Denton Guyer H.S.)

Nick Sawyer | RHP | R/R | Fr. | 5-10 | 180
Carrollton, Texas (Howard College)

Ty Washington | INF | R/R | 5-10 | 165
Richardson, Texas (Plano East H.S.)