June 1, 2004

Former Tiger Thornton named All-Big 12

Eric Thornton, who was a member of the Cowley County Community College baseball team during the 2003 season, recently was named a second-team All-Big 12 designated hitter while playing his junior season at the University of Oklahoma.

Thornton was one of the most valuable players for the Sooners during the regular season as he led the team in slugging percentage (.555), and was second in batting average (.335) home runs (seven), runs batted in (38), doubles (13), and triples (two).

Thornton was one of a school-record eight Sooners who received All-Big 12 honors. Oklahoma will be hosting a regional this weekend in hopes of qualifying for the College World Series. The Sooners (37-22) are the No. 2 seed in the regional, and will play No. 3 seed UCLA (33-27) Friday at 7 p.m. at Oklahoma City’s SBC Bricktown Ball Park.

Another Tiger from the 2003 team who performed well in the Big 12 is junior Rusty Ryal, who plays second base for Oklahoma State University. Ryal helped lead the Cowboys to the Big 12 Tournament title by going 2-7 with a double and a RBI in OSU’s 10-9, 13-inning win over Missouri in the championship game.

For the season, Ryal is batting .316 with 16 doubles and 24 runs batted in. OSU (37-22) is the No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee, Fla., regional, and will play No. 3 seed Central Florida (44-16) Friday at 2 p.m.