Baseball Back Home Against Texas Tech

March 31, 2011

No. 7 OU (19-6, 2-3 Big 12) vs. Texas Tech (17-8, 4-2 Big 12)
Game 26	Friday, April 1 (6:30 p.m.) vs. Texas Tech
Game 27	Saturday, April 2 (7 p.m.) vs. Texas Tech
Game 28	Sunday, April 3 (1 p.m.) vs. Texas Tech
Location	Norman, Okla. \| L. Dale Mitchell Park
Tickets/Promos	$8 and $12 \| OU baseball bracelets, keychains and sunglasses
Radio	Sooner Sports Network \| KREF 1400 AM
TV	Saturday - ESPNU \| Sunday (SSN) - Cox Ch. 3 in OKC and Tulsa
Webcast	Friday and Sunday - All-Access on SoonerSports.com
Live Stats	SoonersSports.com
Game Information	Game Notes \| 2011 Media Guide \| Baseball Blog \| Twitter

WEEKEND PREVIEW
• No. 7 Oklahoma (19-6, 2-3 Big 12) is back home to host Texas Tech (17-8, 4-2) in a three-game Big 12 series this weekend.
• Friday's series opener at L. Dale Mitchell Park is slated for 6:30 p.m. Saturday is set for 7 p.m. and Sunday's finale is at 1 p.m.
• OU is ranked No. 7 by NCBWA, No. 10 by Baseball America, No. 11 by USA Today/Coaches and No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball.
• The Sooners return seven position starters from the 2010 squad that finished 50-18 and advanced to the program's 10th CWS.
• Texas Tech returns 11 letterwinners from the 2010 team that finished 28-29 overall and fifth in the Big 12 (13-14).
• The Red Raiders are second in the league in hitting behind the Sooners at .319, led by junior SS Kelby Tomlinson (.356, HR, 28 RBI).
• TTU Rotation - Friday: RHP David Paiz (3-0, 4.15) | Saturday: RHP Trey Masek (1-1, 3.67) | Sunday: LHP Robbie Kilcrease (3-0, 4.21).

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly (play-by-play) and Ross Hubbard (color) can be heard throughout the weekend on the Sooners' Flagship station, KREF 1400 AM and at SoonerSports.com. Air time is 30 minutes prior to first pitch.
• Saturday's game will be televised nationally be ESPNU (DirecTv Ch. 208 and Dish Network Ch. 141) with Mike Gleason and Kyle Peterson calling the action. Sunday's game will be televised by the Sooner Sports Network (Cox Ch. 3 in OKC and Tulsa) with Toby Rowland (play-by-play) and Casey Bookout (color).
• Live stats are available on the baseball schedule page and a live webcast for Friday and Sunday can be found on OU All-Access.

OU ROTATION
No. 1 RHP Michael Rocha 6-0, 0.96 ERA, 5 BB, 42 SO
No. 2 RHP Bobby Shore 2-1, 5.29 ERA, 14 BB, 20 SO
No. 3 RHP Burch Smith 3-2, 3.86 ERA, 7 BB, 33 SO

PLAYER TO WATCH - CHRIS ELLISON
The junior outfielder had season highs in hits (3), runs (3) and RBIs (2) in his last game versus SGU on Sunday, March 27. The two runs driven in marked the first multi-RBI game of the season for Ellison. The Norman, Okla., native ranks seventh in the Big 12 with eight stolen bases and is fourth on the team with 109 career starts.
2011 Season Stats: .351, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 8 SB

WEEKEND PROMOS
On Friday, first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park and the first 100 students in attendance will receive a free OU t-shirt while the first 250 fans will receive a free OU baseball bracelet.

Saturday's game is set for a national television audience at 7 p.m. and OU will host "Greek Night" at the park. Students in attendance will have a chance to win a ping pong table, autographed baseball helmet, Nintendo Wii and gift cards. In addition, the first 250 fans will receive free OU slotted sunglasses and fans that arrive early will also have a chance to win a autographed baseball by Coach Golloway.

Sunday's finale is slated for a 1 p.m. start and the first 250 fans in attendance will receive an OU baseball keychain. Also, weather permitting, kids can play catch in the outfield and run the bases after the game's conclusion.

Single game tickets are on sale online and by calling 800-456-GoOU.

March 31, 2011 | Golloway and Mistich Meet Media
OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway and junior Evan Mistich met with members of the media on Thursday to talk about the upcoming Texas Tech series. Mistich, a junior college transfer, also talked about his time so far in Norman.

View video below from today's media session prior to practice.

OU-TEXAS TECH SERIES
The Sooners won the last three-game series with Texas Tech in Norman in 2009, 2-1 . The Sooners have won the last four Big 12 series with TTU in Norman, with the last best-of-three coming in the Red Raiders favor in 1999. Overall, OU won five straight Big 12 series before falling 2-1 last season in Lubbock.

- OU has won 15 of the last 20 games against Texas Tech. - OU is 16-9-1 in games played against TTU in Norman, including a 14-3-1 in the last 18 contests at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
- Texas Tech has won seven of the 14 Big 12 series.
- The 2001 series in Norman was split with a tie in the series finale (7-7).
- Sooners swept the series in 2003, 2005 and 2006
- OU won the series opener in each of the last eight three- game sets. Six of the 14 series have been won in game three.
- OU is 8-3 in one-run games against Texas Tech, winning four of the last six games in that scenario.

ON DECK
The Sooners host the first Bedlam game on campus since 1996 on Tuesday, April 5 at 5:30 p.m. The game against Oklahoma State is a non-conference clash. OU made the trek to Stillwater last season and lost 7-6. Next weekend, OU returns to conference play with a three-game series at Kansas State held on April 8-10.

LAST TIME OUT
Tuesday's game at No. 13 Arkansas was rained out and no makeup date has been announced. The No. 7 Sooners posted a 2-1 record last week, including a Big 12 series split at Missouri on Friday. Due to wintry weather conditions in Columbia, the Sooners and Tigers played a doubleheader on Friday before the remainder of the weekend was cancelled. OU won the first game, 3-1, and fell 2-1 in the 11th inning of game two. On Sunday, OU scheduled a makeup game and defeated St. Gregory's 21-3.

MISC NOTES
- After 25 games, OU leads the Big 12 in batting average (.332), and ranks fourth in earned run average (3.19) and fifth in fielding percentage (.975).
- OU leads the Big 12 with 21 home runs while the other nine teams in the conference have a combined 75.
- OU leads the conference with 200 runs, the next closest team, Nebraska, has scored 179 runs. The Sooners lead the Big 12 in hits with 286, while Nebraska is second with 274.
- The Sooner offense has outscored the opposition 200-95.
- OU has outscored opponents 32-12, 34-6 and 38-9 in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings, respectively.
- Garrett Buechele, the Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 21 and 28, leads the Big 12 with six homers. He has more home runs than Kansas, Missouri and Texas, each team has four.
- Buechele also leads OU and the Big 12 leads with a .429 batting avg., 45 hits, six homers and 32 RBIs.
- In 16 of the Sooners' 25 starts, the hurlers have lasted at least five innings, including complete games by Jordan John, Bobby Shore and Michael Rocha. OU owns three of the 10 complete games tossed in 2011.
- Seven freshmen have seen playing time 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
- Rocha struck out 13 batters in the March 18 shutout vs.Texas A&M, the most by a Sooner since Daniel McCutchen alsosat down 13 Aggies on April 7, 2006.
- Rocha has lasted at least seven innings in all six starts with five or more strikeouts in each outing. Rocha has also limited the opposition to three hits or less in three of his starts … Rocha is tied for the national lead with six wins and ranks second in the Big 12 with 46.2 innings pitched, third with a .166 opponent batting average and fourth with 42 strikeouts and a 0.96 ERA.

DUKE TAKES OVER CAREER SAVES LEAD
Ryan Duke, who is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list for the second straight year, recorded his first save of 2011 on March 18 vs. Texas A&M and moved into sole possession of first place on OU's all-time saves list (below).

Duke finished with 12 saves in 2010, the nation's 12th best total, 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). He is the first Sooner in OU history to have 10 or more saves in two seasons.

1. 30 - Ryan Duke (2008-present)
2. 28 - Jeff Bajenaru (1999-00)

SHUTOUTS
Michael Rocha's 13 strikeouts and Ryan Duke's first save of 2011 led OU to a 1-0 shutout over No. 11 Texas A&M on March 18. The Sooners have two shutouts in the books, also blanked SDSU 4-0 on March 3, after posting three in 2010. The most shutouts recorded in a single season during the Sunny Golloway era is five, recorded in 2009, 2007 and 2006.

THE BIG INNING
OU has hit through the batting order 13 times in 25 games. OU had 23 such occasions in 2010. In addition, the Sooners have plated five or more runs in eight different innings, including 14 in the eighth inning on Feb. 22 vs. UAPB. The 14 runs tied an OU record for most scored in an inning with the 1998 Sooners that plated 14 in one frame against Emporia State on Feb. 17.

ONE-RUN GAMES
The Sooners are 3-1 this season in games decided by one run. OU was 14-7 in those situations in 2010 and the Sooners are 66-27-1 (.707) under head coach Sunny Golloway. The Sooners' skipper entered 2011 with the best winning percentage among Big 12 coaches over the last five years in that category.

DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners recorded 10 or more hits in 12 games this season (42 in 2010 with a 38-4 record) and are averaging 11.4 overall on the season.

OU is averaging eight runs per game, featuring nine contests scored in double digits (23 in 2010 with 22-1 record)
OU posted 27 in game one of the UAPB series, the most since exploding for 29 runs on March 22, 2009 at Kansas 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.

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).

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 Arizona
March 16 - at Arizona State (8:30 p.m.)

Fox Sports Midwest
March 27 - at Missouri (1 p.m.)

Fox Sports Southwest
April 30 - at Texas (11:30 a.m.)
May 7 - Kansas (2 p.m.)

ESPNU
May 1 - at Texas (1 p.m.)
April 2 - vs. Texas Tech (7 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.)