2016 Baseball Schedule Central

2016 Oklahoma Sooners Baseball

Schedule Breakdown
Home	25
Road	26
Neutral	4
vs. RPI Top-50	12
vs. NCAA Participants	19
vs. CWS Participants	3

Key Returners
SS-Sheldon Neuse, Jr.	.275, 6 HR, 43 RBI
OF-Hunter Haley, Sr.	.230, 4 HR, 21 RBI
RHP-Jake Elliott, Jr.	4-6, 3.06, 80 Ks
RHP-Alec Hansen, Jr.	5-6, 3.95, 94 Ks

NORMAN, Okla. – University of Oklahoma head baseball coach Pete Hughes released his team's schedule for the 2016 season on Monday afternoon. For the fourth-consecutive season, the Sooners will open at home as Northeastern visits L. Dale Mitchell Park for opening day on Friday, February 19 at 4:00 pm. This season's schedule features 19 games against eight opponents that reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 12 games against six teams that finished the season in the RPI Top-50.

Oklahoma will play 25 games at home, 26 on the road and four at neutral sites, including a visit to Dodger Stadium in March. Overall, the Sooners have 26 games against 12 teams that finished in the RPI Top-100.

Oklahoma vs. Northeastern Oklahoma opens its season at home for the fourth consecutive season. The Sooners have taken the field against Northeastern just once in its history; a 29-4 win in Norman in 1986. Hughes and OU pitching coach Jamie Pinzino each spent stints earlier in their career as assistant coaches for the Huskies. Hughes grew up in Brockton, Mass. and Pinzino in Marlboro, Mass.; both near the Boston area.

Northeastern's head coach is Mike Glavine, a native of Concord, Mass. and the brother of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine. He is a Northeastern alum and spent a cup of coffee in the big leagues with the New York Mets in 2003. The Sooners and Huskies programs linked up off the field this offseason as Northeastern became the third collegiate baseball program in the country to sponsor a 19 Ways program, which is a community service program started by coach Hughes when he was at Virginia Tech.

Oklahoma in Los Angeles

One of the highlights early on the schedule for Oklahoma is a weekend in Los Angeles. The Sooners open at UCLA on March 4 followed by a contest at USC on March 5. Each opponent reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015. Oklahoma has a history with both programs on a national level. The Sooners and Bruins have faced off a total of four times in the 1992 and 2004 Regionals with OU winning the first two, while the Trojans bested the Sooners at the 1995 College World Series.

The weekend wraps up with Oklahoma paying a visit to Chavez Ravine to take on Mississippi State at Dodger Stadium. The Bulldogs will be the Sooners first SEC regular season opponent since facing Arkansas at home back in 2012. Oklahoma is 2-1 against Mississippi State all-time having met twice in Starkville in 1992 and again in Corpus Christi, Texas in 2010. When OU visits Missouri on May 17 it will mark the first time the program has faced two SEC opponents in the same regular season since 2010; against Mississippi State and Arkansas.

The Sooners last played in a Major League Baseball park in 2014. Oklahoma defeated Texas-Arlington at Globe Life Park, the home of the Texas Rangers, 3-2 in 10 innings.

Oklahoma vs. Texas

In the past three seasons, Oklahoma has claimed two of the three series played against Texas. Both have come in Austin in 2013 and 2015, which are the only two series victories for the Sooners in the Longhorns home ballpark.

Two years ago, Oklahoma set a series attendance record at L. Dale Mitchell Park with a total of 7,269 fans on hand for three games against Texas. Despite winning back-to-back series at Texas, the Sooners are hungry for a home win over the Longhorns. OU last finished on the long-side in 2011 with a 5-2 win in the Sunday finale.

Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State

It's hard to find two rivals more familiar with each other's program in the entire country. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have faced each other 12 times in the last two seasons, including three games in the Big 12 Championship.

Each side has posted memorable wins in the series, including the Sooners' 18-inning marathon victory in Stillwater in 2014. Last season, Oklahoma's lone win over the Cowboys came in the Bedlam Series finale at Bricktown Ballpark in OKC; 5-3. Anthony Hermelyn drove in the first two OU runs of the game and finished off the Cowboys with a game-winning, two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Oklahoma State plays the role of host this season. Game one will be played at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark on May 13 followed by a pair of games at Tulsa's ONEOK Field on May 14 and 15.

Players Mentioned

Jake Elliott

Jake Elliott

Hunter Haley

Hunter Haley

Alec Hansen

Alec Hansen

Anthony Hermelyn

Anthony Hermelyn

Sheldon Neuse

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics