Oklahoma's Ruffcorn, Squires earn Big 12 honor

Jason Ruffcorn's Bedlam relief appearance, Brett Squires' power surge at the plate fueled the Sooners to their first Bedlam series win in five years

John E. Hoover|

Oklahoma's Ruffcorn, Squires earn Big 12 honor

Beating Oklahoma State in a series for the first time in five years has its rewards.

Oklahoma reliever Jason Ruffcorn was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and OU outfielder Brett Squires received Newcomer of the Week as the Sooners took two out of three from the Cowboys.

Ruffcorn delivered an iron man relief performance in OU’s 5-3 series-clinching win over OSU in Norman on Saturday.

He struck out a career-high 10 batters over a career-high 6 2/3 innings to earn the victory. Ruffcorn has been the Sooners’ closer, but he entered in the top of the third inning and finished the game. Ruffcorn still closed strong by striking out the side in the ninth, as the victory helped OU clinch its first Bedlam conference series win since 2016.

Squires hit three home runs, including the game-winner on Saturday, to lead the Sooners offensively.

His two-run homer in the seventh inning put OU in front and helped the Sooners clinch. In OU’s 16-2 series-opening victory Friday night in Stillwater, Squires went 4-for-6 with an RBI single during OU's five-run third inning and then led off the fifth with a home run. He also homered to lead off the bottom of the second inning in Sunday's series finale.

K-State senior Chris Ceballos is Big 12 Player of the Week.

Published May 4, 2021

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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