OU Takes Game One Against Nebraska 9-2

April 22, 2011

Oklahoma 9, Nebraska 2
Box Score

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
NU	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	2
OU	1	0	4	1	3	0	0	0	X	9	15	0

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Rocha (8-1)	9.0	8	2	2	1	5
L - Freeman (5-4)	2.0	7	5	5	1	1

Batting Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - Buechele	4	1	3	3	1	0
NU - Asche	4	1	1	1	0	0

Notes
Michael Rocha tossed a career-high 123 pitches on Friday, topping the 120 he threw against SDSU on March 3 ... With five strikeouts, Rocha has reached that total in nine of his 10 starts ... OU has won the series opener with Nebraska each of hte last three years and in seven of the last eight seasons ... The Sooners are 18-4 when scoring first this season, including an 8-3 mark in Big 12 play ... Ricky Eisenberg extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games with a double in the fifth inning ... Erik Ross stole his team-leading 12th stolen base of the year in the first inning ... He stole 12 bases last season ... Garrett Buechele extended his hitting streak to eight games with an RBI single in the first ... The hit marked the 237th of his career, tying him for ninth place all-time at OU with Russell Raley (2003-2006), he later moved into sole possession of ninth with a RBI single in the third and a RBI double in the fourth ... Tyler Ogle hit his team-leading eighth homer of the year in the third inning ... Ogle has hit four of his eight homers in the last seven games ... OU hit through the order for the 18th time in 39 games with four runs in the third inning (nine batters) ... The Sooners posted double-digit hits for the 23rd time this season (19-4) and the 12th time in the last 15 outings.

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NORMAN, Okla. -- Senior Michael Rocha pitched his third complete game of the year as No. 11 Oklahoma took an early 5-0 lead and cruised past Nebraska, 9-2, in the series opener on Friday night at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

The Sooners improved their record to 28-11 overall and 8-7 in Big 12 play, while claiming the first game of the three-game series against the Cornhuskers (25-15, 5-8) for the third straight year.

OU got off to an early 1-0 lead after one inning with the first of three RBIs from Garrett Buechele.

“We came out with a lot of energy,” said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway. “I think it showed with our performance.

“It was what our team was looking for. Our team was looking for a spark or something. Whatever it takes, go do it. We played with a passion we haven't had.”

Buechele led the Sooners in batting on the night, going 3-for-4 at the plate. His 154 career RBIs ties him for 10th place all-time at OU with Javier Flores and Terry Bogener. In addition, Buechele's 237 career hits moved him into sole possession of ninth place all-time at OU past Russell Raley.

Eric Ross also had a solid outing for the Sooners, going 3-for-4 at the plate, posting three runs and one RBI. Ross stole his team-leading 12th base of the year, equaling his total from last season.

Buechele's second RBI came just before a three-shot home run from Tyler Ogle, which extended the lead to 5-0 going into the fourth. The home run was Ogle's fourth home run in the last seven games and eighth overall this year.

The Cornhuskers made a run in the fourth inning down 5-0. Rocha was perfect for the Sooners until that frame where he allowed back-to-back RBI doubles before getting a pivotal inning-ending double play to thwart the rally.

“He made a big pitch and our middle infield did a great job of rolling the double play,” said Golloway. “We needed to turn two right there. I was glad to see it. Our players are the ones who have to say no. We have to have a killer instinct. I thought when we turned the double play to get out of the inning and then came back in the bottom and a got a run, it was a huge run. The three in the fifth really pulled us away took care of things.”

Rocha (8-1) provided another solid start for the Sooners, pitching the fourth complete game of his career with five strikeouts and zero walks. It also marked the eighth time this season that Rocha has lasted at least seven innings in a start.

Nebraska's Matt Freeman (5-4) took the loss after tossing just two innings in the start that featured five runs off seven hits.

The Sooners are back in action in game two of the series against the Cornhuskers tomorrow at 2 p.m. (CT). The game can be heard on the Sooner Sports Network, KREF 1400 AM.

OU Takes Game One Against Nebraska 9-2

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