Doubleheader begins on Friday at 2 p.m.
WEEKEND PREVIEW
• No. 13 Oklahoma (17-2) has won 12 of their last 13 games and continues a five-game home stand on Friday with a split doubleheader at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. against Baylor (11-6) in the 2010 Big 12 opener. The Sooners and Bears will play game three of the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. first pitch.
• OU sits atop the Big 12 standings and is off to its best start under Sunny Golloway and best since 1985. The Sooners are ranked as high as No. 13 this week by the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ poll.
• Baylor returns 18 letterwinners from the 2009 team that was 30-26 overall (13-11, 3rd in Big 12) ... The Bears have won seven straight after suffering a five-game losing streak earlier this month. Friday’s game is Baylor’s first away from home in 2010.
Friday – RHP Shawn Tolleson (1-1, 4.43) | Saturday – RHP Logan Verrett (2-2, 3.67) | Sunday – RHP Willie Kempf (3-1, 3.48)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• The OU broadcast with Chuck Kelly calling the play-by-play and DeWayn Vaughn providing color analysis can be heard all weekend on the Sooners Sports Network (KREF 1400 AM) and free online at SoonerSports.com. In addition, games one and two 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 radio broadcast. A live webcast for games one and two is available online via OU All-Access. Game one will be free.
• Live stats are available on SoonerSports.com via the baseball schedule page.
SERIES HISTORY
• OU has won three of the last four series meetings, including last year’s three-game sweep in Waco. OU leads 20-19 in Big 12 play and is 6-4 in the last 10 games against BU. Seven of the last 10 games were decided by three runs or less.
PLAYER TO WATCH - CAMERON SEITZER
The sophomore has hit safely in a career-best eight straight games and has driven in 13 runs in that span. He is hitting .414 (12-for-29) in that span with three home runs, 22 total bases and a .759 slugging percentage. Seitzer is tied for the Big 12 lead in homers (5) with Garrett Buechele. He has already surpassed his HR total from 2009 and is one shy of his RBI mark.
2010 Season Stats: .393, 5 HR, 20 RBI
OU ROTATION
No. 1 Zach Neal (RHP) 2-0, 5.91, 21.1 IP, 6 BB, 24 SO
No. 2 Bobby Shore (RHP) 3-0, 2.19, 24.2, 6 BB, 25 SO
TICKETS
Tickets are available for purchase online at SoonerSports.com or by calling 800-456-GoOU.
Baseball Ticket Info | Purchase Online | L. Dale Mitchell Park | Seating Chart | Views
PROMOTIONS
Friday: Two lucky fans will win a round of golf at Jimmie Austin G.C. in Norman ... The first 250 fans will receive a live radio
Saturday - Military Appreciation Day: First 100 fans to show their military ID will receive a free popcorn and soda ... First 250 fans will receive an OU baseball camo key chain ... Team will sign autographs after the game (weather permitting)
Sunday: Kids can run around the bases and play catch in the outfield (weather permitting)
A LOOK BACK AT THE 2009 OU-BAYLOR SERIES
The Sooners last met the Bears in a three-game series in 2009 in Waco, Texas. OU swept the three-game set with scores of 4-2, 12-4 and 11-8. Turn to page nine for OU’s career stats versus BU and results since 1964.
UP NEXT
OU returns to the road where it is 9-2 to battle Nebraska at Haymarket Field on March 26-28. The last visit for the Sooners to Lincoln resulted in a 0-2-1 series defeat, as the third game ended in a tie because of a travel curfew. OU won last season’s best of three series, 2-1, in Norman.
LAST TIME OUT
OU bounced back from the loss to then-No. 10 UCLA with a pair of wins over visiting UMass on March 16-17. The bullpen pulled out both wins, as Jason Chowning led OU to a 4-2 victory on Tuesday and Jack Mayfield was the star in Wednesday’s 8-4 win.
QUICK HITS
- OU ranks third in the Big 12 in batting (.331) and ERA (3.14).
- The OU bullpen is 8-0 with seven saves on the season with a 1.66 ERA with 91 Ks in 70.1 IP.
- The Sooners have homered in 11 straight contests with 15 in that span, including three multiple-homer games.
- OU has stolen 20 bases in the last 11 games after starting off the year with 11 swipes in the first eight games. The Sooners stole eight bases on March 13 vs. TAMUCC, the most in a game since OU had eight on Feb. 12, 2006 versus Western Illinois.
- Garrett Buechele leads the Big 12 with 30 hits and is tied for the top spot in homers with five. Buechele also ranks in the top 10 of five other offensive categories.
- Buechele (5) and Cameron Seitzer (5) are tied for the Big 12 lead, respectively, in homers in the Big 12. Both have surpassed their 2009 totals.
- Ryan Duke is a perfect 7-for-7 in save situations this year and leads the Big 12 in that category.
- Jeremy Erben leads the Big 12 with five wins and ranks second with a 0.45 ERA. Erben entered 2010 with a career 1-4 record.
- Buechele (3B) and Caleb Bushyhead (SS) are the only Sooners to start every game.
- Bushyhead registered one hit in 22 games last season and already has 26 hits after 19 games in 2010. Bushyhead ranks second on OU with nine multiple-hit games.
- Oklahoma has started 18 different players in the lineup after Jack Mayfield made his first start on Sunday vs. UCLA.
- Buechele, Erben, Ross Hubbard and Chris Ellison were named to the Whataburger Collegiate Classic all-tournament team.
BIG 12 OPENERS
The Sooners have lost seven straight Big 12 openers, but have bounced back in four of those series to claim the best-of-three victory. OU lost last year’s opener at Kansas State, but claimed victories in games two and three. The Sooners are 5-8 all-time in Big 12 openers but have series victories in nine of the 13 sets.
WINNING STREAKS
The 10-game winning streak from Feb. 28-March 13 marks the fifth time under OU Head Coach Sunny Golloway that the Sooners have won 10 or more consecutive games and the 26th in program history.
BEST START SINCE 1998
After 17 games, OU is off to its best start under head coach Sunny Golloway. The last time the Sooners started a season with a 17-2 record was in 1985. That team went 23-1 before suffering its second loss of the season.
LATE-INNING PRODUCTION
OU has scored 65 of its 152 runs, or 43 percent, in the sixth inning and later. In addition, the Sooners have outscored the opposition, 35-7, in the eighth and ninth innings combined, which includes seven home runs.
SCORING FIRST
OU has scored first in seven of the last 11 games and in 11 overall. OU has a 9-2 record in those contests. The opposition has tallied the game’s first run in eight games, but OU is 8-0.
ONE-RUN GAMES
The Sooners have recorded one-run victories in four of the last 12 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 (.721).
BULLPEN IN LAST 12 GAMES
The Sooner bullpen combined to throw 41.2 innings in the last 12 games with a 0.86 ERA. In that span, the relievers have allowed four earned runs off 26 hits and 16 walks, while striking out 55 hitters. Jeremy Erben recorded three wins in that span while Ryan Duke posted four saves.
THE BIG INNING
OU has hit through the batting order already six times this season, twice in game two of the SDSU series, and once each against Richmond, Mississippi State, Texas A&M-CC and UMass (GM2). 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 five different frames, twice in game two of the SDSU series and once versus Valparaiso, Western Illinois and Mississippi State.
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 seven saves.
1. 28 - Jeff Bajenaru, 1999-00
2. 23 - Ryan Duke, 2008-present
TIME FOR A RALLY
The Sooners have come from behind to win eight of the 19 games this season. Of Sunny Golloway’s 187 wins at OU, 94 (.500) have been in come-from-behind fashion, including 22 last year.
DOUBLE DIGITS
The Sooners have recorded 10 or more hits in 13 of the first 19 games of the season, including a season-high 19 vs. Mississippi State. OU is averaging 11.42 hits per game despite losing five regular starters from last season’s club. The Sooners are also averaging eight runs per game with six 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 25 homers, 141 RBIs, 152 runs and 217 hits.
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.
