University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner Baseball Team Ready For Bedlam Series Versus Oklahoma State :: Three-game series will determine Big 12 Tournament seedings, Bedlam winner.

Sooner Baseball Team Ready For Bedlam Series Versus Oklahoma State :: Three-game series will determine Big 12 Tournament seedings, Bedlam winner. Sooner Baseball Team Ready For Bedlam Series Versus Oklahoma State

Three-game series will determine Big 12 Tournament seedings, Bedlam winner.




Matt Bose and the OU baseball squad will battle Oklahoma State in a three-game series with a lot on the line.

May 16, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - Dates: May 16-18

First Pitches: All three games will start at 7 p.m.

Ballparks: Driller's Stadium and SBC Bricktown Ballpark

Locations: Tulsa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Radio: The entire OU-OSU can be heard on KREF-1400 AM, as well as through OU's official athletic website, soonersports.com. James Hale and Chad Cochell will call the action.

Rankings: Neither Oklahoma nor Oklahoma State is ranked, however both are receiving votes.

Coaches: Oklahoma is coached by Larry Cochell, who is 446-271-1 in his 12 seasons with the Sooners, and 1,242-731-4 over his 35-year coaching career. In his sixth season at Oklahoma State, Tom Holliday has compiled a record of 246-122.

Series Notes: Oklahoma State leads the all-time series against Oklahoma by a margin of 132-126 ... Under head coach Larry Cochell, Oklahoma is 25-30 against the Cowboys ... Since the Big 12 Conference formed in 1997, OSU holds an 8-7 edge on the Sooners ... OU enjoyed a four-game sweep over its cross-state rival in 2000, three regular season games and one in the Big 12 Tournament ... That sweep was OU's first of OSU since 1976 ... In Driller's Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma holds a 9-2 edge all-time over OSU ... The teams have split 10 games at SBC Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City ... Senior Evan Greusel has three wins and one save in his career against the Cowboys ... OU freshman Jarod McAuliff hails from Stillwater and played at Stillwater High School with OSU's Josh Fields, Wyatt Stanfield and Joe Weaver ... OSU P John Forrest hails from the same high school, Edmond Memorial, as OU C Wayne Baker ... OSU INF Paul Powell played at Seminole Junior College, the same school that sent OF Reggie Willits to Oklahoma ... OSU C Cory Von Tungeln spent his freshman season at Oklahoma, hitting .600 and driving in three runs, before transferring to Cowley County (Kan.) CC and then Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma To Battle Bitter Cross-State Rival Cowboys

Oklahoma State enters this weekend's pivotal Bedlam series with a 36-17 record and having won seven of its last nine contests. Texas A&M took two of three games from the Cowboys over the weekend, but OSU swept Missouri the previous weekend and won two games against SWAC power Southern on Monday and Tuesday. Prior to this winning trend, OSU lost six of seven games, getting swept at the hands of Texas and losing two of three to Nebraska.

OSU is led offensively by a dangerous foursome of Jeff Salazar, Daylon Monette, Nebasett Brown and Rob Watson. Salazar tops the 'Pokes with a .342 batting average and 22 stolen bases. Monette bats .340 and has drive in a team-high 50 runs on the season. Brown, OSU's starting second baseman, boasts a batting clip of .322 and Watson is at .304. Paul Powell provides the power in the Cowboy lineup, bashing 14 home runs and driving in 48 this season. As a team, Oklahoma State bats .316, good for third in the conference behind Baylor and Texas Tech.

On the mound, Oklahoma is fifth in the Big 12 with a 4.51 team ERA. The Sooners can expect to see a rotation of Scott Baker on Thursday, Chris Reilly on Friday and Nick McCurdy on Saturday. Baker is 6-2 with a 3.82 ERA and three complete games. Reilly is also 6-2, with an earned run average of 3.57 and 52 strikeouts in 68 innings pitched, all team bests. McCurdy is 5-0 with a 4.22 ERA. Justin Meccaga, Daniel Rew, Mike Miller, Joe Weaver and Shane Hawk have each won three games for the Cowboys and could see action this weekend.

Oklahoma Qualifies For Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament

As has been the case in every year of the conference's existence, Oklahoma has qualified for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament, to be held this year at The Ballpark in Arlington from May 22-26. The tournament had been held in Oklahoma City every year until this one, but that won't deter the Sooners from chasing the league's coveted postseason crown. The seedings for the tournament have yet to be determined, but as of today, OU is tied for fourth at 13-11 in league play with both Texas Tech and Texas A&M. The teams which have qualified, in order, are: Texas, Nebraska, Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Kansas State. Missouri and Kansas failed to qualify for the postseason tournament.

No. 9 Wichita State Tops Oklahoma, 5-1

Wichita State earned a 5-1 win over Oklahoma on Monday night in Wichita. OU took a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but Wichita State got outstanding pitching and scored five unanswered runs to take the win. OU attempted to mount a rally in the ninth, putting runners on first and third with one out, but two strikeouts ended any hopes for a Sooner comeback. Michael Bradbury (3-2) was handed the loss for the Sooners, going 3.2 innings, allowing four runs - three earned - on eight hits and striking out three. Wichita State improved to 40-12 with the victory and continued an incredible streak of 25 consecutive seasons of winning 40-or-more games. Mathew Jakubov (3-1) earned the win for WSU, pitching seven innings and allowing one run on six hits, striking out three and walking none.

Sooners Take Two Of Three From Kansas

Oklahoma earned a key series win from Kansas over the weekend, taking two of three games to clinch a spot in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament. OU rallied on Saturday to defeat Kansas 8-3, after the game was called when lightning and rain overtook KU's Hoglund Ballpark on Friday night. At the time, there were two outs in the top of the sixth inning with Kansas leading 3-2. In Saturday's action, the Sooners scored three runs in the seventh inning and Charlie Frasier hit a three run homer in the ninth to earn the win. Buddy Blair (4-0) pitched four innings and allowed just two hits en route to the victory.

Oklahoma dropped the second end of the Saturday doubleheader to Kansas, 4-1, ending a season-long six game win streak. The Jayhawks took an early lead and after OU tied the game at one in the fifth inning, Kansas scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth and one in the seventh to earn the win. David Purcey (4-4) made the start for OU, went five innings, surrendered three runs on five hits, struck out a career high eight and walked five, also his most as a Sooner.

Oklahoma earned a hard-fought, 6-3 win over Kansas on Sunday to take the series from the Jayhawks, two games to one. The Sooners trailed for most of the game, but took the lead for good with two runs in the seventh inning. After OU added another two runs in the ninth, freshman Jarod McAuliff shut the door on any KU comeback to notch his second save.

Greusel Becomes OU's All-Time Leader In Appearances

When he entered OU's contest with Kansas on May 11, Evan Greusel moved into first-place in the OU record books in appearances. Currently with 80 appearances, Greusel passed teammate Rocky Cherry for the top spot in school history and gave himself some cushioning when he pitched against Wichita State on May 13. Cherry earned the school mark last year when he surpassed Casey Mendenhall's 71 appearances as a Sooner. Greusel, a senior from Diamond Bar, Calif., currently has 220 strikeouts for his career, good for eighth on the all-time school list. Greusel is also eighth in school history with 260.1 innings pitched.

OU's Ace Roberts Among Big 12's Best

Mark Roberts was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for his play against Kansas State two weekends ago. Just eight days after suffering a frightening injury when he took a line drive to the base of his neck, Roberts returned to the mound and pitched a masterpiece against Kansas State. The Owasso, Okla., native pitched a complete game shutout, going eight innings, striking out a career-high nine batters and scattering just six hits. Both the complete game and the shutout were firsts on the season for the Oklahoma pitching staff and are all the more remarkable that they were done by a pitcher who was feared lost for the season.

Roberts is now 6-3 on the year with a 4.23 ERA and a team-high 68 strikeouts. In Big 12 Conference action, Roberts is 4-1 with an earned run average of 4.15. On April 27 at Texas Tech, Roberts took a line drive in the neck and suffered a soft tissue injury around the external carotid artery. He stayed at a Lubbock hospital for two nights and returned to Oklahoma the Monday after the incident for further tests and evaluation by OU's team physicians. When it was determined that no further treatment was required, Roberts was cleared to return to play.

Purcey Dominates As A Freshman

Oklahoma freshman David Purcey was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for his play during the week of April 15-21. Purcey, a left-hander from Dallas who coincidentally turned 20 years old on the same day he received the award, made the first two starts of his collegiate career that week and went 2-0 with an 0.69 ERA and 13 strikeouts. On the season, he is 4-4 with an earned run average of 3.12.

Purcey currently boasts a team-high six saves on the season, which is the most ever for an OU freshman and sixth-most for all Oklahoma pitchers in a season. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder from Dallas' Trinity Christian Academy was selected in the 20th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft by the Seattle Mariners, however chose to attend Oklahoma.

Jones Stays Busy

Brandon Jones has started in center field for 15 of the past 17 games and looks to be earning more playing time down the stretch for the Sooners. Jones is batting .275 with a double, a triple, three home runs and 11 RBI on the season. He is also a talented wide receiver and punt returner for Oklahoma's nationally-ranked football team.

Bob Stoops' squad held its annual Red-White scrimmage on April 20 and Jones came away with seven catches and two touchdown grabs. The night before in Tulsa, Jones hit a towering home run against Oral Roberts, his second of the season.

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 .306 batting average, two homers, 10 doubles, 16 sto-len bases and 20 RBI. The switch hitter belted his home runs in consecutive games (vs. TCU and UTA), one from each side of the plate.

Cool Hand Luke

Junior Luke Alexander turned some Sooner Magic into a win on April 5 at Nebraska's Hawks Field. The Sooners had been leading the game 4-1, but a three-run eighth brought the Huskers back even. Alexander ended any hopes of an NU comeback win by smashing his third home run of the season into the left field seats. The Sooners held on for a 5-4 win and for one night at least, Alexander was the hero. He nearly hit another game-winning home run in the ninth inning of the following day's game, however a stiff wind carried the ball foul. Alexander's grand slam in the first inning against K-State on May 3 proved to be key in OU's 15-10 win. On the season, the Carthage, Texas, native is batting .301 with 11 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 34 RBI (fourth on the team).

Bose A Freshman All-America Candidate

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 a team-high 16 doubles, five home runs, has driven in 38 runs (third on the team) and is improving every day at the hot corner. Bose's RBI base hit in the seventh inning against Texas on April 12 was the first game-winning hit of his OU career.

Cherry Chasing 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. Cherry is currently battling tendinitis in his right elbow and has missed six consecutive scheduled starts.

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 as 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. He earned his first save after getting out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam unscathed in the ninth against K-State on May 4. He earned another save at Kansas. On the year, the Stillwater, Okla., native, is 1-2 with a 4.89 ERA and two saves.

Austin Mixes It Up

Austin Mix, currently sixth in Oklahoma history with 259 strikeouts over his two-plus years as a Sooner, has surpassed his win total for all of last season. The junior from Coppell, Texas, won three games in 2001 and has doubled that win total this season.

Oklahoma Trying to Make Bats Come Alive

With a team batting average of .300, Oklahoma is currently ranked eighth in the Big 12 Conference in team batting. Bayor leads the league with a .321 team batting clip. Jason Fransz's ranks 18th in the Big 12 with a .344 batting average and his 12 homers are good for fifth in the league. Fransz and Matt Bose are tied for fifh in the Big 12 with 16 doubles apiece.

Stealing Sooners

As has been his philosophy for many years, Larry Cochell has his players running. OU has stolen 73 bases so far this season, third in the Big 12 behind Texas and OSU. Sophomore Denver Kitch is the Sooners' leading base stealer, going 28-for-36 in 2002, good for second in the Big 12. Junior Reggie Willits also blazes on the basepaths, stealing 16 bases, seventh in the conference. Before his injury, Matt Arkison was a perfect 5-for-5 on stolen base attempts.

Fransz Named Big 12 Player of the Week In March

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 12 home runs, 48 RBI and a .342 batting clip.

Oklahoma Is RICH Behind the Plate

Oklahoma came into this season with a question mark behind the plate as no experienced catchers returned. However, more the halfway through this season, Ryan Richardson and Spencer Wyman have erased those questions. Richardson, a sophomore from Mesa, Ariz., is batting .331 with eight home runs and 23 RBI. He hit two solo homers in an April 7 game with Nebraska, and did the same against Texas exactly one week later. The homers accounted for OU's only runs in both of those games. After not going deep at all at Central Arizona College a year ago, Richardson has been quite a pleasant surprise for the Sooners.