Magnifico, Sooners Shut Out No. 9 Arkansas

April 10, 2012

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arkansas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
Oklahoma	1	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	X	4	8	1

Box Score (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Golloway Postgame

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W- Magnifico (1-0)	8.2	3	0	0	3	4
L- Fant (1-2)	2.0	3	1	1	0	0
S- Okert	1.0	0	0	0	1	2

Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - White	4	0	2	2	0	0
UA- Ficociello	4	0	2	0	0	0

Game Notes

Arkansas leads the overall series 14-11 but has dropped the last two regular season meetings, both played in Norman ... Arkansas is 8-10 in games played in Norman ... Damien Magnifico hit 100 MPH or more on 22 ocassions ... Outside of a 20-pitch eighth inning, Magnifico tossed 14 pitches or less in the remaining frames, including five pitches in the second, eight pitches in the third and nine in the seventh ... Max White recorded his team-leading 12th multi-hit game of the season ... The Sooners have scored first in each of the last four games, all against ranked teams with a 1-3 mark ... OU is 11-8 when scoring first this season.

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NORMAN, Okla. -- Damien Magnifico lasted a career-high 8 2/3 innings with just three hits allowed, and Max White connected on a pair of two-out RBI doubles, as Oklahoma rolled to a 4-0 win over No. 9 Arkansas on Tuesday at home.

"This is the best I've felt all year," Magnifico said. "Everything felt fluid. I've realized I have to throw strikes. I can't just go out there and try to overpower people. Throwing strikes is all it comes down to."

Magnifico touched 100 mile per hour on a regular basis throughout the game and finished with a season-high 103 pitches. He threw 10 pitches or less in four of his 8 2/3 innings. He lasted 4 2/3 innings in his previous start at Oregon State.

"We've asked him to back off (the power) a little bit and make sure he gets strike one in there," OU coach Sunny Golloway said. "When you ask him to back off, it's still coming in a 95 (miles per hour) ... When he's ahead in the count, it gets really tough."

The win snapped a three-game losing streak and improved Oklahoma's overall record to 19-14. Arkansas dropped to 24-8 overall in its first shutout in 25 meetings with the Sooners.

"Coach Dave Van Horn does a great job, an outstanding job with Arkansas," said Golloway. "We remember Arkansas as a team that came in here three years ago, we're a national seed, they upset us, they went to Florida State and won and went to Omaha in `09. We went in `10, so we are talking about two teams that have had great success here recently. We knew it was going to be a good game and an important RPI game."

The Sooners started the scoring in the first inning off a pair of two-out doubles by Caleb Bushyhead and White.

In the fifth inning, White added his second two-out RBI double as OU held a 3-0 lead.

That was all Magnifico would need as he improved to 1-0 in his second start of the year after limiting the Razorbacks to three hits with four strikeouts.

Steven Okert recorded his first save as the Sooner hurlers only allowed two Razorbacks to advance into scoring position, once in the fifth and again in the ninth inning.

The OU staff tied a season low with three base knocks allowed (Oral Roberts) and also recorded its second shutout of the season (4-0 at New Mexico on March 4).

OU continues the four-game homestand against Missouri over the weekend for a three-game Big 12 series. Friday's opener is set for 6:30 p.m. and game two is also slated for 6:30 p.m. Sunday's finale gets underway at 1 p.m. Fans that present their OU Football Spring Game ticket on Saturday will receive $4 off admission.

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