MIDWEEK PREVIEW
•The No. 15 Sooners (11-1) have won six straight games and travel to Dallas Baptist on Tuesday, March 9 for a 6:30 p.m. contest. OU turns around to host Houston Baptist the next day with first pitch at 3 p.m. at L. Dale Mitchell Park.
• Oklahoma is off to its best start since 1998 (12-1) and is ranked as high as No. 15 this week by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ poll.
• Dallas Baptist, an independent, returns 20 letterwinners from the 2009 club that was 38-17 overall. The Patriots (7-4) opened the year with a three-game sweep of UT-Arlington and are 0-2 against the Big 12 with losses against Texas and Texas Tech.
Starter: RHP Chris Haney (0-1, 12.27)
• Houston Baptist enjoyed its first year in the Great West Conference in 2009 with an 11-40 record and return 11 letterwinners return from that squad. The Huskies (4-5) have won three straight since opening the season 1-5 and travel to Lincoln, Neb., for a three-game series against the Huskers following Wednesday’s game. | Starter: TBA
SOONER ROTATION
No. 1 - J.R. Robinson (LHP) 0-1, 6.75, 9.1 IP, 4 BB, 10 SO
No. 2 - Michael Rocha (RHP) 1-0, 6.75, 8.0 IP, 6 BB, 7 SO
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play can be heard free online at SoonerSports.com for the games on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday, the game will be televised live by the Sooner Sports Network on Cox Channel 7 in Oklahoma City and Channel 3 in Tulsa. The game will be simulcast with the audio from the internet broadcast.
• Live stats are available on SoonerSports.com via the baseball schedule page.
PLAYER TO WATCH - JEREMY ERBEN
The senior captain was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after recording three wins last week. Erben (5-0) appeared in four games for the Sooners last week and did not allow a run. In six innings of work, Erben struck out eight batters and held the opposition scoreless with four hits and a walk allowed. He leads the Big 12 with five wins. 2010 Season Stats: 5-0, 0.57 ERA, 7 appearances
UP NEXT
OU plays in its third and final regular season tournament of the year at the Whataburger Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Sooners will play Mississippi State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UCLA in the tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners recorded five victories in as many games this week starting with UT-Arlington on Tuesday in the home opener. Over the weekend, OU hosted the Sooner Classic and posted victories over South Florida (twice), Western Illinois and Stephen F. Austin.
ERBEN NAMED BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Senior captain Jeremy Erben was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for games played through March 7 as announced by the conference office. The reliever shared the honor with Texas A&M’s Barrett Loux, while Raynor Campbell from Baylor was named the player of the week. It is the first career honor for Erben and the first by a Sooner this season.
Erben (5-0) appeared in four games for the Sooners last week and did not allow a run while picking up three victories. In six innings of work, Erben struck out eight batters and held the opposition scoreless with four hits and a walk allowed.
QUICK HITS
- OU ranks third in the Big 12 in batting average (.323) and ERA (3.48).
- Garrett Buechele ranks in the top five of eight offensive categories in the Big 12 and has nine multiple hit games.
- Buechele and Cameron Seitzer are tied for the Big 12 lead in homers with four. Buechele has already tied his total from 2009 while Seitzer has surpassed his (three).
- Danny Black has hit safely in 10 of OU’s 12 games and owns a team-best eight-game hitting streak.
- Ryan Duke is a perfect 5-for-5 in save situations this year and leads the Big 12 in that category.
- Jeremy Erben leads the Big 12 with five wins and seven appearances and ranks second with a 0.57 ERA.
- Black (2B), Buechele (3B) and Caleb Bushyhead (SS) are the only Sooners to start every game.
BEST START SINCE 1998
After 12 games, OU is off to its best start under Golloway. The Sooners have started a season 11-1 on six different occasions in program history and the 1998 club was the last to do so (12-1). Other Sooner teams to start 11-1 include 1991 (11-1), 1985 (23-1), 1984 (11-1) and 1981 (22-1).
SCORING FIRST
OU has scored first in seven of the 12 games this season with a 6-1 record in those contests. The opposition has tallied the game’s first run on five occasions, but OU is 5-0 in those games.
ONE-RUN GAMES
The Sooners have recorded one-run victories in four of the last five games. OU is 4-1 in those situations this year and the Sooners are 54-20-1 (.727) under head coach Sunny Golloway. The Sooners’ skipper entered 2010 with the best winning percentage among Big 12 coaches over the last five years.
BULLPEN IN LAST FOUR GAMES
The Sooner bullpen combined to throw 15 innings in the four games of the Sooner Classic. In that span, the relievers have held the opposition scoreless and allowed six hits and five walks while striking out 23 hitters. Jeremy Erben recorded all four wins in those games.
SINGLE GAME TICKETS AVAILABLE MARCH 2
Single game tickets for all 2010 baseball regular season home games go on sale Tuesday, March 2. Season tickets are also on sale. To order tickets, visit SoonerSports.com or call (800) 456-GoOU.
THE BIG INNING
OU has hit through the batting order already three times this season, twice in game two of the SDSU series and once against Richmond. OU accomplished the feat on 23 occasions last year. That 2009 team also scored five or more runs in 22 different frames. In 2010, OU has scored five or more runs in four different frames, twice in game two of the SDSU series and versus and Western Illinois.
TIME FOR A RALLY
The Sooners have come from behind to win five of the 12 games this season. Of Sunny Golloway’s 182 wins at OU, 91 (.500) have been in come-from-behind fashion, including 22 last year.
DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners have recorded 10 or more hits in eight of the first 12 games of the season. OU is averaging 11 hits per game despite losing five regular starters from last season’s club. The Sooners are also averaging 7.83 runs per game with four games with 10 or more scores, including the 17 posted in game two of the San Diego State series, the most since exploding for 29 runs on March 22, 2009 at Kansas State. OU leads the Big 12 with 17 homers and ranks second in hits (132), runs (94) and third in batting average (.323).
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Prior to the season, OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway discussed the fact that the 2010 team was the deepest he has tutored in 13 years as a DI head coach. During the opening weekend, Golloway used all 33 players that traveled to San Diego, including 15 newcomers. OU used 30 in week two at the Jacksonville Invitational. Only two players on the 2010 35-man roster have not seen action (Jordan John and Michael Whitney).
DUKE MOVING UP SAVES LIST
Ryan Duke recorded two saves on the opening weekend to move into sole possession of second place on OU’s all-time saves list (below). Duke led the Big 12 in saves with 16 last year (ranked sixth in the nation), the second most in a single season by a Sooner (Jeff Bajenaru - 20, 2000).
He currently leads the Big 12 lead in 2010 with five saves.
1. 28 - Jeff Bajenaru, 1999-00
2. 21 - Ryan Duke, 2008-present
DRAFTED SOONERS
Eight current Sooners have been drafted in their careers (third most in Big 12 this season), including four newcomers on the 2010 squad that were selected in 2009. (Danny Black, Ryan Gibson, Chad Kettler and Bobby Shore). Last season, OU led all Big 12 programs with nine players selected off the 2009 roster. Below is a look at the eight Sooners and when and where they were drafted:
Danny Black 2009 - New York Yankees - 42nd Rd.
Jason Chowning 2007 - New York Yankees - 43rd Rd.
Jeremy Erben 2006 - Cincinnati Reds - 41st Rd.
Ryan Gibson 2009 - Florida Marlins - 48th Rd.
Kaleb Herren 2008 - Milwaukee Brewers - 44th Rd.
Chad Kettler 2009 - Los Angeles Dodgers - 24th Rd.
J.R. Robinson 2008 - Toronto Blue Jays - 31st Rd.
Bobby Shore 2009 - Baltimore Orioles - 40th Rd.
Michael Whitney 2005 - Baltimore Orioles - 18th Rd.
BASEBALL ON KREF 1400 AM IN 2010 | RADIO SCHEDULE (PDF)
The 2010 season marks the first with KREF 1400 AM serving as the flagship station of Sooner baseball and the new partnership provides expanded coverage for OU fans to listen to 50-plus regular season games over the air. Additionally, 22 of the Big 12 games are set to be carried on the Sooners Sports’ Network, enabling fans to listen to OU baseball on various stations across the state starting on April 1, nearly double the amount from previous seasons.
The entire 56-game regular season schedule will be broadcast live for free on SoonerSports.com.
SOONER SPORTS NETWORK TO TELEVISE 20 OU GAMES | TV SCHEDULE (PDF)
The University of Oklahoma will locally televise 20 home baseball games for the 2010 season. The broadcasts will air via the Sooner Sports Network on Cox Channel 7 in Oklahoma City and Cox Channel 3 in Tulsa. The games will be simulcast with the OU radio broadcast on the Sooner Sports Network with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and DeWayne Vaughn providing the color analysis. The first game can be seen on Wednesday, March 10 against Houston Baptist at 3 p.m.
OU FOURTH IN BIG 12 COACHES' POLL | Big 12 Coaches' Poll | Feb. 16 Media Teleconference
The No. 22 Oklahoma baseball team was picked fourth in the 2010 Big 12 Coaches' preseason poll released on Feb. 16. The Sooners' projected finish is the highest under head coach Sunny Golloway and the best since a third-place vote in 2003.
