Feb. 11, 2008

Schedule |  Roster |   Meet the 2008 Newcomers Baseball News  Season Tickets on Sale | Ticket Office  Coach Golloway Q&A | Golloway Bio  Broadcast Schedule Set | Printable PDF  OU Kicks off 2008 with Diamond Dinner      Projected Depth Chart  Pos.   J.T. Wise | Bryan Groth C  Aaron Baker | J. Freeman | Z. Hedges 1B  Tyson Seng | Mike Gosse 2B   Matt Harughty | Bryant Hernandez SS  Trey Sperring | Garrett Buechele  3B  Jamie Johnson | Chad Colbert LF  Aljay Davis | Doug Buser CF   Casey Johnson | Elliot Blair RF   Ryan Mottern | S. Selby | D. Roberts DH   BY THE NUMBERS 121 - Oklahoma connected for 334 RBIs in 2007 and 121 of those return on this year's roster.  The Sooners' newcomers will look to fill the 64 percent void left by last year's graduates and draftees. 18 - A total of 18 newcomers join Oklahoma for the 2008 season and as many as six are projected to start on opening day in the field.  In addition, as many as four pitchers will compete for starting jobs in the rotation. 10 - The Sooners will face 10 opponents (24 total games) that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament, including five Super Regional teams (UCLA, Rice, Wichita State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State).  2 - OU has two position starters returning from the 2007 squad.  Aaron Baker was a Freshman All-American at first base last year and Aljay Davis will move from second base, where he made over 50 starts in 2007, to center field, the position he was originally recruited as out of junior college. 2007 Cumulative Statistics | PDF

NORMAN, Okla.  -- Opening day is 11 days away for the Oklahoma baseball team and in preparation, SoonerSports.com brings fans a sneak peek of the 2008 season.  OU will begin the year on the road at No. 1 UCLA (Baseball America) on Feb. 22 for a three-game series.

Below is part one of the three-part series, featuring a general overview of the 2008 team.

Stay tuned on Thursday for a look at the Sooners' pitchers and catchers.

The series will conclude on Saturday with a preview of the infielders and outfielders.

2008 OUTLOOK
Despite 34 wins in 2007, including a winning record against ranked teams and 18 wins against the field of 64, OU was left out of the NCAA postseason picture.  In 2008, the Sooners enter the season with a chip on their shoulders. 

After missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003, the Sooners will look to return to the postseason for the 31st time in program history in 2008. 

Led by fourth-year head coach Sunny Golloway, OU is determined to get back the respect it earned during the Super Regional run in 2006, the head coach's first full year in Norman.

"It was certainly a disappointing season," said Golloway about 2007, who has advanced his teams to the NCAA Tournament in eight of 11 years as a head coach.  "However, that is the past and we know that we have to put together a more impressive résumé at season's end.  We have to control our destiny and not let something like last season happen again."

The Sooners will enter 2008 with a completely new look as only two position starters remain from a team that finished 34-24 overall and seventh in the Big 12 standings with an 11-16 mark.  Expected to join Freshman All-American Aaron Baker at first base and senior center fielder Aljay Davis, who played second base all of last season, as projected starters in the field are four transfers from the collegiate ranks and two true freshmen. 

At the plate, Davis and Baker will more than likely fill the leadoff and No. 3 hitter roles in the lineup, respectively, while the remainder of the order is relatively unknown.  The coaching staff will look for individuals to drive in runs after Baker, who had 50 RBIs last season.  One thing the Sooners will look forward to in the lineup is speed.  The coaching staff will use that strength to its advantage to disrupt the opposition and create run-scoring opportunities.

On the mound, OU returns several key contributors from last season, including junior Stephen Porlier, an All-Big 12 second team member in 2007.  Porlier finished as one of the Big 12's leaders in strikeouts.  Porlier will be joined by senior Ryan Mottern and sophomores Andrew Doyle and Garrett Richards.  Each of those three returning letterwinners pitched in 30 or more innings last season and struck out 18 or more batters.

The pitching staff will be bolstered, just like every other position on OU's roster, by newcomers.  As many as four of the newcomers are expected to compete for starting jobs, while the rest of the new hurlers will look to provide relief out of the bullpen.  One of those relievers is senior Jake McCarter, who transferred from Alabama in 2006, is poised to be one of OU's closers along with Richards, who had nine saves last season.

"We have a strong group of players returning who will play big roles and the way they mesh with the newcomers will be the key to the season.  And so far, the team chemistry in the fall was the best I've seen at OU," said Golloway.   "We will be an inexperienced team, but only in Big 12 play.  We have transfers from the junior college ranks and from Division I schools who have collegiate experience and already know what it takes to succeed on this level."

The 18 newcomers are not the only additions to the Sooner program this season.   Mike Bell, who mentored the University of Tennessee pitching staff for the last three seasons, will take over the team's pitching coach duties in 2008.  Bell played under Golloway as part of the Kenai Peninsula Oilers' championship teams in 1993 and 1994. 

In addition, Russell Raley returns to the OU dugout to serve as the volunteer assistant after starting four years (2003-06) as a Sooner under Golloway. 

"Both Mike and Russell understand the importance of stressing the fundamentals," said Golloway.  "They both have experienced success and will be able to teach our student-athletes that good pitching and good defense win championships."

The coaching staff and players will be up to the task of handling a difficult schedule in 2008, one that starts with a three-game series against UCLA and also features games against Rice, Houston and Tennessee during the second weekend of the season.

OU also will face Arkansas Pine Bluff, North Dakota State, Western Illinois, Dallas Baptist, Northern Ilinois, Washington State, South Florida, UT-Arlington, Wichita State and TCU in non-conference play.

Rice is the lone 2007 College World Series participant on the schedule and one of seven teams the Sooners will face that won 40 or more games in 2007.   The Sooners will face 10 opponents (24 total games) that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament, including five Super Regional teams (UCLA, Rice, Wichita State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State).

Golloway thinks the challenging slate is exactly what OU needs to prepare for Big 12 play.

"There has always been a great debate over whether you should play an easy schedule that helps build your team's confidence or play a tough schedule and prepare the student-athletes for what lies ahead in conference play," added Golloway.  "At the University of Oklahoma, we have always accepted the challenge of playing the tougher schedule and we feel this year's slate will do exactly that."

The Big 12 will once again be one of the toughest conferences in the country in 2008.  Texas, Baylor and Missouri have all been mentioned in preseason publications as teams with enough talent to carry them to the 2008 College World Series.  In 2007, six Big 12 teams advanced to the postseason and three schools hosted NCAA Regionals.

"From top to bottom, the conference will be stronger than in years past and perhaps the strongest it has ever been since it formed more than10 years ago," said Golloway.  "There is never an easy game in the Big 12 and this year, any team could emerge in each of the top three spots.  That is something I have never seen before in this conference. 

"I believe the Big 12 is the best conference in the nation and I have said that for the past three years.  The 10 programs in the Big 12 are as good as any other conference's representatives."

The Sooners' 27-game Big 12 schedule begins with Nebraska in Lincoln on March 21-23.  OU will also travel to Texas A&M (April 11-13), Texas Tech (April 25-27) and Kansas (May 2-4) during conference play. 

In Norman, Oklahoma will host Baylor (March 28-30), Texas (April 4-6), Missouri (April 18-20) and Kansas State (May 9-11).

OU concludes the regular season with the annual Ford Bedlam Series with Oklahoma State.  Game one of the series is set for May 16 in Tulsa at Drillers Stadium.  Then the teams travel to Oklahoma City for the final two games of the series slated for May 17 and 18 at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.