July 31, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. -- Throughout the summer, SoonerSports.com will bring fans weekly updates of current Sooners competing in the numerous summer baseball leagues around the country. Fans can also access information on former Sooners playing in Major League Baseball and its minor league affiliates.

The eight installment, along with links to each of the players' statistics, are listed below:

Summer Collegiate League
Michael Rocha (Mat Su Miners) continues to pitch well in the Alaska Baseball League. Through 28 innings pitched, Rocha has a 0.32 ERA along with 23 strikeouts. He is 3-0 on the season and his three saves ranks fourth best in the league.

Also pitching for the Mat Su Miners is Jeremy Erben and Garrett Richards. Erben started seven games and has one shutout performance to go along with 25 strikeouts and a 2.59 ERA. Richards has four starts under his belt and has 23 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA. The Miners are currently second in the Alaska Baseball League and are one and a half games back from the Anchorage Glacier Pilots.

Three Sooners, Matt Harughty, Antwonie Hubbard and Bryan Groth, play for the first place Anchorage Glacier Pilots. Harughty is batting .225 and has 25 hits, one homerun and 15 RBIs. Hubbard has pitched 32 innings and has 27 strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA.

Garrett Buechelle (Southern California Collegiate Baseball Association) had a solid performance for the Palm Springs Power on July 25 against the Military All-stars. Buechelle had two hits and one run in a 23-1 victory. For the season Buechelle is hitting .270 with 27 hits and 18 RBIs.

Doug Buser (West Coast League) had back-to-back solid performances for the Kitsap Bluejackets on July 27 and 28. Buser had a combined four hits and three RBIs against the Spokane Riverhawks, who the Bluejackets beat 12-6 and 8-4, respectively. For the season, Buser leads the team with a .333 clip and 44 hits.

In Cape Cod League action, Aaron Baker (Warehem Gatemen) and Jamie Johnson (Bourne Braves) continue to hit well for their respective teams. Baker has a .262 average and is tied for first on his team with three homeruns and 19 RBIs. Johnson is hitting .253 and has two homeruns and 12 RBIs.

OKLAHOMA IN THE MINORS
Daniel McCutchen was recently traded from the New York Yankees’ organization (Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees - Class AAA) to the Pittsburg Pirates (Indianapolis Indians - Class AAA). Before being traded McCutchen had 58 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.58.

Since being moved up to Class-AA Ryan Rohlinger has strung together an impressive four-game hit streak for the Connecticut Defenders. During the span, he has seven hits, three runs, two RBIs, one homerun and a .375 batting average. For the season, he is hitting .299 with four homeruns and 14 RBIs.

On July 29 Joe Dunigan had two hits, two runs, one RBI and a homerun to help the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Class A) top the Lansing Lugnuts. For the season, Dunigan is hitting .227 with nine homeruns, 41 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for Wisconsin.

Mike Gosse is putting together a solid season for the Oneonta Tigers (Class A). He is currently riding a three-game hitting streak where he has four hits, one run and four RBIs. Overall, he has 17 RBIs and 31 hits.

Jackson Williams is enjoying a five-game hitting streak. During that span, Williams is hitting .410 with eight hits, three runs, four RBIs and a homer.

SOONERS IN THE MAJORS
Jason Bartlett is finally off the DL after being out of action for the past two weeks. Since returning to action for the Tampa Bay Rays on July 24, Bartlett is hitting .257 and has five hits and one run. For the season, he is hitting .252 and has 75 hits, 18 stolen bases and 20 RBIs.

Greg Dobbs had a clutch performance for his Philadelphia Phillies against the Atlanta Braves on July 26. Dobbs had two hits and a three run homerun to secure the 10-9 victory. For the season, he is hitting .306 with three homeruns and 21 RBIs.