University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 17 Oklahoma To Battle No. 12 Cornhuskers :: OU currently tied for first in Big 12 Conference.

No. 17 Oklahoma To Battle No. 12 Cornhuskers :: OU currently tied for first in Big 12 Conference. No. 17 Oklahoma To Battle No. 12 Cornhuskers

OU currently tied for first in Big 12 Conference.




Mark Roberts will start in Friday night's opening game against the No. 12 Nebraska Cornhuskers.

April 3, 2002

Dates: April 5-7

First Pitches: 6:30 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Satruday and 1 p.m. on Sunday

Ballpark: Hawks Field at Haymarket Park (6,000)

Location: Lincoln, Neb.

Radio: All three games vs. Nebraska can be heard on KREF-1400 AM, as well as through OU's official athletic website, soonersports.com. James Hale will call the action.

Rankings: Oklahoma is ranked No. 17 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, No. 20 by Baseball America and No. 22 by Baseball Weekly/ESPN. Nebraska is ranked as high as No. 12 and no lower than No. 15 in the three major polls.

Coaches: Oklahoma is coached by Larry Cochell, who is 433-259-1 in his 12th season with the Sooners, and 1,229-719-4 over his 35-year coaching career. Dave Van Horn coaches the Cornhuskers and in his four seasons in Lincoln, has compiled a record of 185-80. Van Horn has led the Huskers to the NCAA Regionals in each of the past three seasons, and to NU's first ever College World Series in 2001.

Series Notes: Oklahoma holds a 128-83-1 all-time advantage over Nebraska all-time, including a 24-24 mark under head coach Larry Cochell ... Nebraska has won five consecutive games against against OU and 13 of the last 15 meetings ... NU swept Oklahoma in Norman a year ago, by scores of 7-1, 10-5 and 14-4, and eliminated the Sooners from the 2000 Big 12 Tournament with two wins on May 20 ... OU's last win over Nebraska was on March 19, 2000, in Lincoln, a 4-3 decision ... During the 1997 season, Oklahoma swept Nebraska in Norman, the last Sooners sweep of the Cornhuskers ... OU also won all three games of the series with NU during its national title season of 1994 ... NU senior INF Jeff Blevins is a native of Sand Springs, Okla., and was a teammate of Sooner Matt Arkison at Texarkana (Texas) Junior College ... NU junior P Steve Hale attended Yukon (Okla.) HS with current OU shortstop Denver Kitch ... Husker P Derrick Conte graduated from Oklahoma City's Heritage Hall High and P Tag Horner went to Duncan (Okla.) High ... Nebraska freshman C David Ferazza is a graduate of James Logan HS in Hayward, Calif., the same school that produced Oklahoma All-American strong safety and likely NFL lottery pick, Roy Williams.

Oklahoma Baseball: At A Glance

Scouting the Cornhuskers

Nebraska enters its series against Oklahoma with an 19-9 record and as high as a No. 12 national ranking. The Huskers will be the fourth OU weekend opponent in a row to be ranked and wins at NU's Hawks Field at Haymarket Park aren't exactly easy to come by. Nebraska is 9-1 on the season at home and will welcome the Sooners to their new facility for the first time this weekend.

Thus far in Big 12 play, the Huskers are 7-5, however have swept nationally-ranked Texas A&M and won two of three from powerful Texas Tech. Offensively, Nebraska is led by Jeff Leise, who is batting .407 with six home runs, eight doubles, four triples and 20 RBI. Leise has added 13 stolen bases to his impressive list of credentials. Jed Morris is also hitting the ball well, with a .343 average, 10 doubles, six homers and a team-high 24 runs batted in. In addition, both Matt Hopper and Jeff Blevins have driven in 20 runs on the season.

Pitching is undoubtedly the strength of the Nebraska club, as Shane Komine, Jamie Rodrigue and Aaron Marsden all have ERAs of 2.00-or-better and have all won Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Awards this season. All three starters are among the top four pitchers in the conference, based on ERA. Komine is NU's ace, going 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA and an incredible 63 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched. Opponents are batting just .149 against they lefty from Honolulu. Rodrigue is 4-0 with a 1.97 ERA and two complete game shutouts, while Marsden is 1-1 with a 1.03 earned run average and a shutout. Jason Burch (3-1) is a valuable member of the NU bullpen, however the top three starters pitch a bulk of the innings. Surprisingly though, Nebraska's team ERA of 3.17 is second in the conference to Texas' 2.56 team average.

UTA Registers First Victory Over Oklahoma Since 1988

Oklahoma dropped a 15-5 decision to Texas-Arlington Tuesday at Allan Saxe Stadium to fall to 18-10 on the season. UTA scored in each of its eight innings and cranked out 20 hits en route to the victory. Austin Mix (4-3) took the loss for Oklahoma, after allowing six runs over four innings pitched. Jarrett Garza (2-2) got the win for Texas-Arlington.

Luke Alexander hit his second home run of the season and Buddy Blair, Ryan Williams, Ben Pinkston and Zach Cherry all made relief appearances for the Sooners. For the Mavericks, K.J. Hendricks went 3-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 22 games, just four shy of the UTA school record, and Jason Severson went 5-for-6 with three doubles and four runs scored.

The game was originally scheduled for March 20, however heavy rain in the Dallas-Fort Worth area forced the game to be postponed. UTA will visit L. Dale Mitchell Park on Wed., April 17 for a 6:30 contest. The loss to Texas-Arlington was Oklahoma's first under head coach Larry Cochell and the first since March 6, 1988.

Oklahoma Wins Series From No. 12 Baylor

Oklahoma and Baylor entered their crucial Big 12 series tied for the conference lead, and after OU won two of three games, the Sooners remain tied atop the league, now with arch-rival Oklahoma State.

Baylor won Friday night's game by a score of 5-4, however OU suffered a much bigger loss in outfielder Matt Arkison, who broke his left fibula and dislocated his ankle running the bases. He will be out for the season. Luke Alexander and Spencer Wyman hit home runs on back-to-back pitches in the fourth inning, but the round-trippers were not enough. Mark Roberts pitched admirably in the game, striking out a career-high eight.

After a rain-out on Saturday, Oklahoma swept Sunday's doubleheader by scores of 4-1 and 6-5. In the first game, freshman Jarod McAuliff made his first career start and pitched seven innings and gave up just one run en route to his first collegiate win. David Purcey, another pitcher, threw two perfect innings of relief to pick up his sixth save.

OU fell behind early to the Bears in game two of the twinbill, but the Sooners fought back and eventually took a 4-3 lead. Baylor manufactured two runs in the ninth, but Denver Kitch hit a sac fly to even the score and in the 11th, Reggie Willits notched his second walk-off base hit of the season to seal the win. Evan Greusel (3-1) picked up the win after retiring 11 batters in a row from the middle of the ninth through the end of the game. Jason Fransz hit his team-high eighth home run in the game and relievers Michael Bradbury and Curtis White both pitched well in relief of starter Austin Mix.

Walk-Off Willits

One of Oklahoma's top players, and most clutch performers, this season has been junior Reggie Willits. Willits has recorded two game-winning, walk-off base hits during the 2002 slate and has established himself as Mr. Clutch for the Sooners. In OU's 6-5 win over Baylor in the second leg of an Easter doubleheader, Willits knocked a base hit into right field to bring home Ryan Richardson and seal the game, and the series, for Oklahoma.

Against Missouri on March 8, the junior transfer from Seminole State College had a RBI base hit to tie the game in the ninth inning and in the 12th, Willits roped a single to center for the game-winning RBI. He currently has a .362 batting average, seven doubles, 12 stolen bases and 16 RBI.

Bose and Purcey: Freshman All-America Candidates

OU head coach Larry Cochell snared two gems from the Lone Star State last recruiting season in Matt Bose and David Purcey. Bose, a third baseman from Midland, has smacked ten doubles, four home runs, has driven in 25 runs (second on the team) and is improving every day at the hot corner.

Purcey is quickly establishing himself as OU's closer, picking up six saves and striking out 37 batters on the season (second-most on the club). Purcey's six saves this season are the sixth-most in Oklahoma history, and are the most for a freshman at OU. The 6-5, 235 pounder has been dominating at times and has an ERA of 2.89, good for eighth in the Big 12 Conference. In over 28 innings of work, his opponents are hitting just .212 against him.

Oklahoma Bats Coming Alive

With a team batting average of .306, Oklahoma is currently ranked sixth in the Big 12 Conference in team batting. Oklahoma State leads the league with a .329 team batting clip. Reggie Willits' .362 average places him 14th in the Big 12, while Jason Fransz ranks 16th with a .356 batting average. Fransz's eight homers are tied for second in the Big 12, while Matt Bose is tied for fifth in the league with nine doubles.

Stealing Sooners

As has been his philosophy for many years, Larry Cochell has his players running. OU has stolen 49 bases so far this season, second in the Big 12 behind OSU. Sophomore Denver Kitch is the Sooners' leading base stealer, going 19-for-21 in 2002, good for second in the Big 12. Junior Reggie Willits also blazes on the basepaths, stealing 12 bases, sixth in the conference. Jason Fransz has stolen three bags, Eddie Cornejo, Matt Fisher and Spencer Wyman have two and Brandon Jones, Matt Bose and Blair Robinson one. Before his injury, Matt Arkison was 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts.

Fransz Named Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week

Oklahoma junior outfielder Jason Fransz of Corona, Calif., was tabbed the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Baseball Player of the Week for his play during the week of March 4-10. Fransz had a career weekend against Missouri as the Sooners (11-4, 3-0 Big 12) swept the three-game series. He hit two home runs, drove in 11 runs, had 14 total bases (including two doubles, a triple and the pair of homers), scored five runs and produced a 1.000 slugging percentage while going 6-for-14 against the Tigers.

Fransz helped OU stay close in an the 10-9 comeback win in 12 innings, and then drove in seven runs with a three-run triple and a grand slam in the 16-10 OU triumph. Fransz's seven RBI were just shy of the OU school record of nine, most recently set in 1987 by Chris Ebright. The junior left fielder, who transferred to Oklahoma from Riverside (Ca.) Community College, now leads the Sooners with seven home runs and 30 RBI to compliment his .391 batting clip.

OU .500 Against Ranked Clubs in 2002

Oklahoma is 5-5 this season against ranked teams (2-1 vs. then-No. 11 Arizona State, 1-2 vs. then-No. 17 Texas A&M, 0-1 vs. then-No. 5 Alabama and 2-1 vs. then-No. 10 Baylor). OU's remaining games against ranked clubs are: three versus Nebraska, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, one game against Arizona State in Oklahoma City and at Wichita State.

Cherry Chasing Oklahoma Mound Marks

Akready OU's all-time leader in appearances with 78, Rocky Cherry is now setting his sights on OU's all-time records for wins and innings pitched. Cherry currently has 23 wins as a Sooner, good for seventh in school history. Cherry's pitching coach, Ray Hayward, is third with 26 wins during his career (1980-83) and Bob Shirley holds the all-time school mark with 31 wins. Cherry's 271.1 innings pitched place him in seventh place all-time. The next former Sooner that he'll pass? Hayward, who pitched 275 innings as a Sooner.

Arkison Out For Season With Injured Leg

Oklahoma outfielder Matt Arkison will miss the remainder of the 2002 season after breaking his left fibula and dislocating his left ankle on a gruesome play against Baylor on Friday, March 29.

The junior from Broken Arrow, Okla., had season-ending surgery on April 1. In his first at bat of the game, which Baylor won 5-4, Arkison smacked the ball into the right center field gap. As he rounded second base, he stopped abruptly and collapsed on an injured left leg. Arkison managed to crawl back to second base, and because the Baylor relay throw ended up in the Oklahoma dugout, pinch runner Greg Kish advanced to third and then home on the two-base error. Arkison was taken to Norman Regional Hospital directly from L. Dale Mitchell Park.

"It's just a heart-breaking injury for Matt, who's just a great young man and an excellent young ball player," said Oklahoma head coach Larry Cochell. "It's always disappointing when a college player has a season-ending injury, since they only have a limited amount of eligibility at this level. We'll certainly miss Matt the rest of this season, but we wish him the best of luck in his rehabilitation and we look forward to his return in 2003."

McAuliff Picking Up College Game Quickly

Freshman Jarod McAuliff came to OU as the most highly-touted high school pitcher in the state of Oklahoma, and as a freshman at the collegiate level, has been just a dominant. McAuliff made his first start of the season against Baylor on March 31, going seven innings, scattering nine hits and allowing just one BU run en route to the win. On the year, the Stillwater, Okla., native, is 1-0 with a 2.61 ERA, and in Big 12 Conference play, the youngster's 0.64 ERA is the second-best in the league.

Austin Mixes It Up

Austin Mix, currently sixth in Oklahoma history with 236 strikeouts over his two-plus years as a Sooner, nearly pitched three innings of perfect relief against Missouri, earning his second win of the season. Save for one throwing error, Mix did not allow a single hit, run or walk against the Tigers. Mix followed up with a six-inning, seven-strikeout performance against Arkansas en route to his third win and against Arizona State, Mix struck out six and won the crucial series rubber match. Mix has surpassed his win total for all of last season.

Roberts Wins Two Versus Mizzou

Mark Roberts doubled his season win total of one when he won two of Oklahoma's three games against Missouri. He pitched an inning of no-hit relief in the series' first game and got the win when OU scored in the 12th. He relieved Buddy Blair in the Sunday game and pitched 6.1 innings and struck out seven en route to the win. Now Oklahoma's No. 1 starter after beginning the season in the pen, Roberts will square off against Nebraska's Shane Komine on Friday night.