Baseball Battles Hartford Friday in Home Opener

Feb. 23, 2012

No. 15 OU (1-2) vs. Hartford (0-0)
Game 4	Friday, Feb. 24, 3 p.m.
Game 5	Saturday, Feb. 25, 2 p.m.
Game 6	Sunday, Feb. 26, 1 p.m.
Location	Norman, Okla. \| L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180)
Radio	Sooner Sports Network \| KREF 1400 AM
Web Audio/Stats	SoonersSports.com
Webcast \| TV	SoonersSports.com \| N/A
Tickets \| Promos	$8 adult/ $5 youth \| Free peanuts
Game Info	Game Notes \| 2012 Media Guide \| Baseball Blog \| Twitter

HARTFORD PREVIEW
• No. 15 Oklahoma (1-2) opens the home portion of the 2012 slate on Friday, Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. against Hartford (0-0).
• Saturday's contest will get underway at 2 p.m. while the series finale on Sunday is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
• OU is ranked No. 15 by USA Today/Coaches, No. 17 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 22 by the NCBWA, and No. 23 Baseball America.
• The Sooners return five position starters from the 2011 squad that finished 41-19 overall and third in the Big 12 (14-11).
• Hartford returns 17 letterwinners from the 2011 team that was 6-43-1 overall and fifth in the America East Conference (3-20).
• The Hawks return seven position starters from last season's team and are picked to finish fifth in the AEC preseason poll.

PITCHING ROTATIONS
• Game 1 - OU: LHP Dillon Overton (0-0, 3.86) vs. UH: LHP Mike Thatcher (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
• Game 2 - OU: RHP Jonathan Gray (0-1, 3.38) vs. UH: RHP Alex Gouin (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
• Game 3 - OU: LHP Steven Okert (0-0, 9.82) vs. UH: LHP Sean Newcomb (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

THE SERIES
• The Sooners and Hawks will meet for the first time this weekend. OU has not played a current member of the America East Conference since 2005 when it defeated Maine, 11-10, in the 2005 NCAA Oxford Regional.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU radio broadcast with play-by-play announcer Chris Plank and Ross Hubbard on color can be heard throughout the weekend on the Sooner Sports Network (KREF 1400 AM in Norman/OKC). Every game in 2012 is also online at SoonerSports.com.

• Live stats and a live webcast are also available on SoonerSports.com for this weekend's games.

PLAYER TO WATCH - JORDAN JOHN
The redshirt sophomore was credited with the win during Friday's opener after tossing 3 1/3 scoreless relief innings with two hits allowed, zero walks and two strikeouts. In game three, John was again effective but received the hard-luck loss in a shortened 7-6 defeat in eight innings (travel curfew). John had three strikeouts in two innings, but allowed one run off three hits and a walk.
2012 Season Stats: 1-1, 1.69 ERA, 5 Ks, 5.1 IP

NEXT WEEK
Oklahoma concludes a four-game homestand on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. against UT-Arlington. Following the midweek game, the Sooners travel to Albuquerque, N.M. over the weekend to battle the Lobos for a three-game set at Isotopes Park.

HOME OPENERS
Since 1962, OU is 47-4 in home openers and has won 31 straight, including a 7-0 mark under head coach Sunny Golloway. The last lost came in 1981 against Southeastern State (L, 5-6). During OU's six openers under Golloway, the offense has outscored the opposition 54-13.

SOONERS AT L. DALE MITCHELL PARK
- The Sooners are 688-175-1 (.797) all-time at L. Dale Mitchell Park since it opened in 1982.
- OU was 28-4 at home a year ago and is 149-39 under Sunny Golloway at home since 2005.
- With the exception of 2005 when Golloway took over as the interim coach and went 6-0 at home, OU has averaged 23.8 wins per season over the last six years at home.
- The Sooners have won 10 straight games at home and 16 of the last 17 contests dating back to 2011.

OU IN SEASON OPENERS
- Since 1962, the OU baseball program is 39-12 in season openers (5-2 under Golloway).
- From 1984 till 2003, the Sooners won 20 consecutive season openers. OU's 25-4 record since 1984 has been a result of outscoring the opposition 284-127, and scoring in double digits in 12 games and averaging more than 10 runs a game.
- The Sooners opened up a campaign away from home for the seventh time in the last nine years (3-4) but just the 28th time since 1962. OU is 12-16 when opening away from home.

SOONER DEBUTS
On opening day, five newcomers made their career debuts, including three in the starting lineup. Freshman Hunter Lockwood started at catcher, sophomore Matt Oberste started at designated hitter and junior Garrett Carey started at third base. All three of the newcomers collected two hits apiece and drove in a run during the 4-3 victory. In addition, junior Damien Magnifico made his debut in the ninth inning on the mound and recorded a strikeout in his first career save.

OU PICKED THIRD IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
The Sooners were picked to finish third in the 2012 Big 12 Coaches' Preseason Poll on Feb. 14. It marks the fourth straight year that the Sooners were picked in the top four spots in the preseason poll.

Texas A&M was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2012 Big 12 baseball regular season title, followed by Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, Missouri, Oklahoma State,Texas Tech, Kansas and Kansas. A complete poll is listed on page 5.

PRESEASON TOP 25 POLLS
Oklahoma is ranked in the top 25 preseason polls for the fourth straight year, with its highest recognition coming from the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA) at No. 14. OU is also ranked No. 15 by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' poll, No. 16 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 19 by Baseball America. Turn to page four for all the preseason listings.

WHO'S BACK
The Sooners return 15 letterwinners and seven starters (five position players, two pitchers) from the 2011 team. In the offseason, the coaching staff signed a class of 21 players that were ranked as high as No. 4 (Collegiate Baseball) in the recruiting rankings. View the listing of each player on page 3.

MISC NOTES FROM 2011
- Sunny Golloway recorded his 250th career win at OU on April 26, 2011 at TCU. Golloway is fourth on OU's wins list with 261.
- OU won 40 games in the regular season for the third straight year in 2011, a first since 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989.
- In 2011, OU led the Big 12 in batting average (.313), and ranked third in earned run average (3.00) and fielding (.973).
- The 3.00 team ERA was the best in program history since the Sooners posted a 2.66 mark in 1978.
- OU was the only team in the conference to own a team batting average over .300 in 2011.
- The Sooners also led the league in homers (41) last year.
- OU led the conference with 415 runs in 2011, the next closest team, Texas A&M, has scored 405 runs. OU was second in the Big 12 in hits with 632 behind Texas A&M with 676.

2011 DRAFT RECAP
OU will feature some new faces in 2012 as 11 Sooners were drafted last June, a mark that led the Big 12 and marks the most taken in program history, topping the 10 selected in 1998 and 1995. The 11 selections ranked in a tie for second place in the nation behind Vanderbilt (12). Arizona State, Florida and South Carolina also had 11 while Texas was eighth with nine selections. The most players drafted in the Sunny Golloway era was nine, accomplished twice in 2009 and 2006. Overall, 43 Sooners have been drafted on Golloway's watch, including at least four in every season but one. In addition, 22 of the players came to Norman undrafted in their careers. Of the 11 Sooners taken in 2011, eight were selected for the first time and two others improved their draft status by at least four rounds.

DRAFTED PLAYERS ON 2012 ROSTER
Below is a look at the eight players taken in the Major League Baseball Draft on the current roster. It spans the last three years and includes six players taken a year ago, including two-time draftees Jonathan Gray and Steven Okert.

Chris Burgess (2011 - 30th round - Tampa Bay)
Adam Choplick (2011 - 17th round - Arizona)
Jonathan Gray (2011 - 10th round - NY Yankees and 2010 - 13th round - Kansas City)
Jordan John (2011 - 28th round - Houston)
Hunter Lockwood (2011 - 17th round - LAA Angels)
Damien Magnifico (2009 - 5th round - NY Mets)
Steven Okert (2011 - 33rd - Milwaukee and 2010 - 43rd round - Milwaukee)
Dillon Overton (2010 - 26th round - Boston)
Drake Roberts (2011 - 49th round - Minnesota)

BREAKDOWN OF 2012 SCHEDULE
- 30 home games, including four Big 12 series
- Home Big 12 series with Texas, KSU, Missouri & Baylor
- Non-conference home games vs. Oral Roberts, Air Force, Arkansas, DBU and TCU
- Other key non-conference games vs. Pepperdine, New Mexico, Connecticut, Oregon, West Virginia, Oregon State and Oklahoma State.
- Bedlam Series in Tulsa and OKC, May 4-6
- 12 opponents from 2011 NCAA Tourney (28 games)
- 8 teams that finished 2011 ranked in top 25
- Seven foes with 40-plus wins a year ago
- Two 2010 CWS participants (Texas & Texas A&M)
- Three other Super Regional teams (DBU, Oregon State and Connecticut)
- First time opponents in Oregon, Connecticut, West Virginia, Alabama State, Hartford and Samford

BASEBALL ON KREF 1400 AM IN 2012
The 2012 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 50-plus regular season games live over the air and extends into postseason play.

Additionally, 18 of the 24 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 March 30 against Kansas State. Overall, 23 games will be carried on the network with non-conference games against Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts and TCU.

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

2012 TELEVISION SCHEDULE
The University of Oklahoma announced the television schedule thru the month of March for the 2012 Sooner baseball schedule. Eight baseball games produced by the Sooner Sports Network will be televised in the state of Oklahoma on Cox Communications Cable (Cox Ch. 3/703 HD) and nationwide on DirecTV via Fox College Sports (Ch. 617 or 623).

Each of the games will be televised live from Norman with local sports personality Chad McKee calling the play-by-play and additional contests will be added throughout the season. Please check your local cable or satellite provide for coverage in your area.

The Sooners are also scheduled to appear in two games on Fox Sports Southwest. The first of the two nationally televised games will be played on Friday, May 4 in Tulsa, Okla., for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Bedlam Series. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at ONEOK Field in downtown Tulsa. The second game comes during the final Big 12 series of the year against Baylor. The Sooners and Bears will tangle at 2 p.m. on Saturday May 12 on FSN.

Sooner Sports Network-Cox Ch. 3 in OKC/Tulsa)
Nationwide on DirecTV Ch. 617 or 623
Feb. 28 - UT-Arlington (3 p.m.)
March 16 - Texas (6:30 p.m.)
March 17 - Texas (2 p.m.)
March 18 - Texas (1 p.m.)
March 20 - Air Force (6:30 p.m.)
March 21 - Air Force (3 p.m.)
March 30 - Kansas State (6:30 p.m.)
March 31- Kansas State (2 p.m.)

Fox Sports Southwest
May 4 - vs. Oklahoma State (7 p.m. in Tulsa)
May 12 - Baylor (2 p.m.)

ESPNU
April 7 - at Texas A&M (3:30 p.m.)

SOONERS INK 15 FOR 2013 SEASON
Oklahoma signed 15 student athletes as part of the 2013 incoming class back in November.

The OU coaching staff inked 11 high school players, including four of the state of Oklahoma's best in Jacob Evans, a two-way player from Broken Arrow H.S., Taylor Hawkins, a catcher from Carl Albert H.S., Carson McPherson, a left-handed pitcher from Ardmore H.S., and Colt Pickens, an infielder/outfielder from Yukon H.S.

The Sooners also plucked three of the best south of the Red River in Kolbey Carpenter (infielder from West ISD), Ralph Garza (RHP/INF from New Braunfels H.S.) and Huntey Haley (INF/OF from Central Heights H.S.), while adding Justin Burba (OF from Wichita Campus High), the No. 3 recruit from the state of Kansas.

Overall, 11 of the 15 recruits are from the high school ranks while the Sooners also added four junior college players.

Craig Aiken | OF | R/R | 5-10 | 160
Coppell, Texas (Coppell H.S.)

Justin Burba | OF/1B | L/L | 6-0 | 185
Wichita, Kan. (Wichita Campus H.S.)

Kolbey Carpenter | INF | R/R | 6-0 | 175
Waco, Texas (West H.S.)

Ralph Garza Jr. | RHP/INF | R/R | 6-3 | 185
New Braunfels, Texas (New Braunfels Senior)

Hunter Haley | INF/OF | R/R | 5-10 | 175
Nacogdoches, Texas (Central Heights H.S.)

Taylor Hawkins | C | R/R | 5-11 | 185
Oklahoma City, Okla. (Carl Albert H.S.)

Kyle Hayes | INF/RHP | R\L | 6-2 | 210
Santee, Calif. (Santana H.S.)

Anthony Hermelyn | INF | R/R | 6-1 | 200
McKinney, Texas (McKinney H.S.)

Hayden Jones | 1B/LHP | L/L | 6-1 | 190
Houston, Texas (Langham Creek H.S.)

Hector Lorenzana | INF | R/R | 5-11 | 190
San Diego, Calif. (Howard College)

Carson McPherson | LHP | R/R | 6-0 | 190
Ardmore, Okla. (Ardmore H.S.)