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March 24, 2009

No. 10 OU 12, Central Arkansas 6 | Box Score   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  R  H E  CAU 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 6 14 2  OU 5 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 X 12 10 2  Pitching IP H R ER BB SO  W - Richards (2-1) 5.0 7 3 3 1 2  L - Cross (2-2)   1.1 4 8 7 4 1  S - none - - - - - -  Batting Leaders AB R H RBI BB HR  OU -  Buechele 4 2 3 3 0 1  CAU - Roberts 5 1 3 1 0 0 Sooner Baseball Central Main Page | Ticket Information | Webcasts 2009 OU Baseball Media Guide | 2009 Game Notes Oklahoma Season Statistics | Big 12 Conference | NCAA

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 10 Sooners won their third straight game on Tuesday with a 12-6 victory over Central Arkansas at L. Dale Mitchell Park. 

Garrett Buechele paced the offense with a 3-for-4 performance that included three RBIs while Aaron Baker and Kaleb Herren each drove in two runs to give the Sooners (21-5) their 12th game with 10 or more runs scored this season. 

Garrett Richards earned the win and improved to 2-1 after tossing five innings.  Richards ran into trouble early with three runs allowed in the first two innings, but blanked the Bears for his final three innings of work.

“I didn’t think we’re sharp in any phase (tonight), but it is nice sometimes to be talented enough to still secure the win,” said OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway.  “We will get after it in practice tomorrow and prepare for Nebraska.”

Central Arkansas starter Reece Cross dropped to 2-2 after surrendering the first eight runs, seven earned, in 1 1/3 innings.  While Richards got the win for the Sooners, the highlight of the night on the mound perhaps came from Stephen Porlier’s return.

Porlier tossed an inning of shutout baseball in the seventh during his first appearance in a Sooner uniform since May 25, 2007.  The redshirt-junior missed the entire 2008 season due to surgery on a torn labrum.  In 2007, Porlier was the Sooners’ Friday night starter and was named to the All-Big 12 second team.

The Bears (12-10) jumped on top early, 1-0, in the first inning with three straight singles, but the Sooners quickly countered with five runs in the bottom of the first.  Buechele provided the big blow in the frame with his first career home run, a three-run shot to right field.

The Bears tacked on two more runs in the top of the second, one off a RBI groundout and the other on Bobby Pritchett’s solo home run.  However, OU provided another productive inning on offense to increase its lead.

Matt Harughty responded in the bottom of the second and led off with a solo homer of his own while Bryant Hernandez and Baker provided a pair of run-scoring singles to give OU an 8-3 lead.

In the third, Kaleb Herren drove in two runs off his first career triple and Casey Johnson drove in another run to help build an 11-3 advantage.
The Sooners never looked back as they came from behind early to complete their 14th comeback victory of the season. 

In addition to Porlier’s relief work, J.R. Robinson also looked solid out of the bullpen with three strikeouts and no hits allowed in the final 1 2/3 innings.

OU will welcome Nebraska to L. Dale Mitchell Park for the first home series of the Big 12 slate on Friday.  The opener is the start of the three-game series that will continue on Saturday and Sunday in Norman.