Five-Game Trip to California Starts in Fresno

Mar. 15 | Fresno, Calif. | Beiden Field

Oklahoma

Fresno State

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Oklahoma Sooners
Record: 6-9-1 (0-0 Big 12) Coach: Pete Hughes (3rd Season) Career Record/Years: 593-450-3/19 Rank: NR

Fresno State Bulldogs
Record: 11-5 (0-0 MWC) Coach: Mike Batesole (14th Season) Career Record/Years: 709-517/21 Rank: NR

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NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma baseball team begins a 10-game road swing over the next 15 days with five games in California. The week starts off with a Tuesday night game at Fresno State beginning at 8:00 pm CT.

Oklahoma was home for four games last week and went 2-2 at L. Dale Mitchell Park to move to 6-9-1 overall with a midweek win over Wichita State and a series salvaging walk-off against Long Beach State on Sunday. Junior shortstop Sheldon Neuse leads OU hitters with a .340 average and 14 runs driven in. He is slugging .698 with a .493 on-base percentage. Sooner hitters have combined for 11 home runs, led by four from Neuse, which ranks fourth in the Big 12. Junior Jack Flansburg has started games at all four infield positions. He is second on the team with a .333 average with 14 runs scored and a .451 OBP. Senior Alex Wise, who has started at first base and in the outfield, is hitting .241, but is 8-for-29 for a .276 average in the month of March as he is riding a 14-game reached base streak to enter the road trip. The Oklahoma bullpen owns a 2.01 earned run average as a unit. Senior right-hander Keaton Hernandez has tossed a team-high 17 innings out of the bullpen with 12 strikeouts and a 2.12 ERA. Junior right-hander JB Olson has earned a win and a save, while striking out eight and not allowing a run in 9.2 innings of relief.

Fresno State opened the year with 11 straight wins, including a perfect 9-0 mark at home, but enters Tuesday night at 11-5 under 14th-year head coach Mike Batesole, who guided the Bulldogs to a National Championship in 2008 as a regional four seed. Center fielder Brody Russel is Fresno's top hitter at .326, while slugging .488 and driving in 12 runs. Despite just six starts, first baseman Aaron Arruda has gone deep three times, while hitting .291 with 11 RBI. Right-hander Edgar Gonzalez (1-0) gets the ball for the Bulldogs on the hill. In four starts, he owns a 1.93 ERA and a .204 batting average against.

Pitching Match-Up

Game	Oklahoma	Fresno State
Tuesday	RHP-Kyle Tyler, Fr. (0-0, 2.35, 9 K)	RHP-Edgar Gonzalez, Fr. (1-0, 1.93, 13 K)

A Bunt and a Blast Key Walk-Off

Looking to avoid their fourth one-run loss of the season, the Sooners rallied in the ninth against Long Beach State (3/13) to win 6-3 on a walk-off, three-run homer by senior left fielder Hunter Haley. Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, Oklahoma got back-to-back singles from senior right fielder Alex Wise and freshman center fielder Steele Walker to set the table with runners at the corners. In a pinch-hit appearance, junior Ben Hollas put down a bunt to score Wise from third on a suicide-squeeze that tied the game. Haley then blasted a 2-2 pitch to right-center for his first home run of the season. It was Oklahoma's first win of the year when trailing after the sixth inning or later.

Bullpen Bagels

The OU bullpen owns a 2.01 ERA with three saves and two wins on the season, while holding opponents to a .235 batting average. Sooner relievers have totaled 53 shutout innings in 61 complete innings pitched. Oklahoma relievers had a stretch of 13 consecutive scoreless innings snapped on against Long Beach State (3/12).

Fresh Faces

Wichita State's third-year head coach Todd Butler played at Oklahoma for two seasons, 1987-88. He was named an ABCA All-American in 1988 and set the Sooner record for stolen bases in a season with 46. He is tied for 14th all-time at OU with 53.

Against the West

Under head coach Pete Hughes, the Sooners are 5-4 against schools from California. When playing against teams from the Pacific or Hawaii Time Zones, OU is 11-9. When playing in the Pacific of Hawaii Time Zones, the Oklahoma is 8-4. In the last two seasons, the Sooners have played seven of the 11 Pac-12 schools and posted a 3-4 record.