University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Open With Arkansas-Little Rock :: Baseball season kicks off at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Sooners Open With Arkansas-Little Rock :: Baseball season kicks off at 3 p.m. on Friday. Sooners Open With Arkansas-Little Rock

Baseball season kicks off at 3 p.m. on Friday.




Charlie Frasier and the Sooners take on Arkansas-Little Rock this weekend.

Feb. 7, 2002

Charlie Frasier

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Sooners Open With Arkansas-Little Rock
Oklahoma opens the 2002 season against the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans. The season begins with a game on Friday at 3 p.m. and finishes with 1 p.m. games on both Saturday and Sunday. During head coach Larry Cochell's tenure, OU holds a 3-1 edge over UALR, despite the Trojans' win in the last meeting between the clubs on March 30, 1999. Last weekend, UALR rolled to a season-opening series sweep of Prairie View A&M. The Trojans won by scores of 26-6, 33-3 and 19-5 and should have plenty of confidence coming to Norman.

Oklahoma has not lost a season-opener since the 1983 season, a span of 19 years. The Sooners lost a 9-7 ballgame to Oklahoma City University to open that season, but has since then rattled off 18 consecutive season-opening wins. In those games, Oklahoma has averaged 11.4 runs per outing.

In last year's season opener against Oklahoma City, the Sooners captured a 4-3 victory in the 11th inning as senior Jerome Godsey hit a walk-off solo home run. Rocky Cherry picked up the win for Oklahoma, coming on in relief of Buddy Blair, who threw four scoreless innings of relief in his collegiate debut. The OCU Stars defeated OU the following day, but the Sooners bounced back on Sunday against Oklahoma Baptist to finish its opening weekend 2-1.

2002 Outlook
The University of Oklahoma's perennially strong baseball program endured an uncharacteristic losing season in 2001, its first since 1968. However, head coach Larry Cochell, the coaching staff and the Sooners have a short memory and they're attempting to put the past behind them, restoring the program to its lofty perch among the nation's elite. There is an extremely talented cast of newcomers who are set to join an established core group of quality veterans, and hopes are high for a very successful year and a run deep into the post-season.

The Sooners return 10 players from the 2001 squad, highlighted by senior pitchers Evan Greusel and Rocky Cherry, who was an honorable mention All-Big 12 performer in 2001. After being named a Freshman All-American in 2000, right-handed pitcher Austin Mix is looking to bounce back and regain his dominating form after a somewhat disappointing 2001. Buddy Blair and Mark Roberts gained valuable experience as freshmen last season, while Michael Bradbury is entering his fourth year as a Sooner, and all three figure to be major factors in the pitching staff

Charlie Frasier started in every game last year and returns as one of OU's top power hitters. He is joined by Matt Fisher, an infielder who saw a considerable amount of playing time in 2001, and Denver Kitch, who continues to develop as a hitter and defensive player. Right-handed pitcher Zack Cherry and outfielder Tyler Johnson spent last season honing their skills as redshirts, and will be looked upon as contributors in 2002.

In addition to the players Cochell and his staff have returning, a talented group of freshmen and newcomers are expected to be major contributors toward OU's success this year. The group was rated the 11th-best incoming class in the nation by Collegiate Baseball, the highest ranked group in the Big 12 Conference. It is the highest-ranked group for Oklahoma in three years.

Two of those newcomers are Spencer Wyman and Chris Jakubauskas, who transferred from California-Berkley and Santa Clara University, respectively. Wyman is a highly regarded catcher and should provide an immediate contribution at that position, while Jakubauskas is an outfielder who should bring a power-hitting presence from the left side of the plate. The Sooners will have 11 transfers from community and junior colleges on the club, headlined by outfielder Jason Fransz, who brings very impressive offensive numbers to OU via Riverside Community College in California. Seven of the 22 newcomers are true freshmen, including pitchers David Purcey and Jarod McAuliff. Both players turned down offers from professional baseball clubs to come to OU.

OU Brings In Blue-Chips
Oklahoma's current group of newcomers was ranked as the 11th-best recruiting class in the nation in a recent issue of Collegiate Baseball. It marks the third consecutive year in which Oklahoma had a top 30 recruiting class, according to Collegiate Baseball. OU's 2001 class was rated 17th, while the 2000 group was tabbed 29th in the nation.

OU's class also ranks as the highest in the Big 12 Conference, as Texas (12th), Oklahoma State (15th), Texas Tech (16th), Baylor (25th) and Texas A&M (30th) also found themselves in the publication's top 30.

Virtually every incoming player garnered some form of all-star recognition, whether it be all-conference, all-state or all-American honors.

"We're excited about how others see the players who have chosen to join our program," said Oklahoma head coach Larry Cochell. "But recruiting is just a part of the equation. Now, these players must go out and perform the way our coaching staff and other people think they can. We are excited about the potential they bring to OU."