FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
NORMAN, Okla. — University of Oklahoma Vice President/Athletics Director Joe Castiglione and head coach Sunny Golloway released the Sooners’ 2010 baseball schedule consisting of 56 regular season games on Wednesday.
Overall, Oklahoma will face 12 opponents, for a total of 28 games, that participated in last year’s NCAA Tournament, including five non-conference opponents in Arkansas, Indiana, Jacksonville, San Diego State and TCU.
Five of the 12 NCAA participants from 2009 (Arkansas, Kansas State, San Diego State, TCU and Texas) recorded 40 or more wins a year ago, while Arkansas (College World Series), TCU (Super Regional) and Texas (College World Series) advanced deep into the tournament.
The Sooners will kick things off on Feb. 19 in the San Diego State Tournament held at Tony Gwynn Stadium. OU begins action in San Diego against the host Aztecs. The Sooners also face Indiana and San Diego over the weekend.
The SDSU Tournament is just one of four that the Sooners will participate in during the 2010 regular season. Following the trip to San Diego, OU travels across the country to Florida for the Jacksonville Tournament hosted by Jacksonville University. OU will face a trio of first-time opponents in Valparaiso, Jacksonville and Richmond.
Oklahoma will host its first regular season tournament in Norman from March 4-7 as South Florida, Western Illinois and Stephen F. Austin visit L. Dale Mitchell Park for the Sooner Classic. The 1985 season was the last time OU hosted a regular season tournament (Knor Sooner Shootout) but it was held at the All Sports Stadium in Oklahoma City.
The fourth and final tournament, The Whataburger Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas, is one of the top tourneys in Division I baseball each of the last five years. The 2010 field includes OU, Mississippi State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UCLA.
The non-conference slate also features home games against Dallas Baptist, Houston Baptist, Massachusetts, Arkansas Pine Bluff, TCU, Memphis and Arkansas, while OU travels to DBU, TCU and Oklahoma State for midweek games.
The game on Tuesday, April 13 with OSU marks the first year that the Bedlam Series will be extended to four regular season games, with the home team alternating each season. The contest will not count towards either team’s Big 12 records and the Cowboys will return the trip in 2011.
“Year in and year out we look to schedule some of the best non-conference competition in order to prepare us for the grueling Big 12 season,” said Golloway. “This year’s schedule is once again evidence of that. We are excited for our fans as we host several exciting match ups at home in and out of conference play, including the extra Bedlam game.”
The 27-game Big 12 schedule begins at home against Baylor (March 19-21). The Bears are the first of four 2009 NCAA Tournament teams to visit Norman in Big 12 play. OU also welcomes Texas (April 1-3), Missouri (April 9-11) and Kansas State (April 30-May 2) for three-game sets.
The Big 12 road series include Nebraska (March 26-28), Texas Tech (April 16-18), Texas A&M (April 23-25) and Kansas (May 21-23).
The Bedlam Series, presented by The Oklahoman and Oklahoma Farm Bureau Insurance, will be held May 7-9. Game one between OU and Oklahoma State is set for May 7 in Tulsa at Drillers Stadium. Then the teams return to Oklahoma City for the final two games of the series slated for May 8 and 9 at the AT&T Bricktown Ballpark.
For the sixth consecutive year, the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament will be held in Oklahoma City at the Bricktown Ballpark from Wednesday, May 26 through Sunday, May 30.
The NCAA Tournament begins on campus sites with the NCAA Regional (June 4-7) and NCAA Super Regional (June 11-14). The 2010 College World Series will be played in Omaha, Neb., at Rosenblatt Stadium from June 19-30.
The Sooners return 17 letterwinners from the 2009 squad that made the program’s fourth appearance in an NCAA Regional Final in the last five years. OU finished second in the Big 12 standings and earned a No. 7 national seed while hosting a regional for the second time in four years.
