Softball Has Perfect Day With Wins Over Wichita State, Tulsa

Feb. 18, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. - Pitching dominated the show as the University of Oklahoma softball team got a pair of wins to win the OU adidas Classic. The Sooners got a perfect game from freshman Adrianne Ratliff (Claremore, Okla.) to defeat Wichita State 9-0, while Jennifer Stewart (Yukon, Okla.) limited Tulsa to two hits in the 7-1 win.

It was the fourth perfect game in OU history and the first since April 6, 1999, when Stewart shut also down the Shockers.

Ratliff got plenty of help from defense as she retired all 15 batters she faced in the run-ruled win that featured two strikeouts. Sophomore Leah Gulla (Huntington Beach, Calif.) threw out a runner after she cleaned a short ball in the third inning and senior LaKisha Washington (Oklahoma City) made a tremendous catch in the fifth to secure the perfect game.

"I think Adrianne is oblivious to what's going on when she's on the mound," said head coach Patty Gasso. "As a freshman, she's focused on pleasing the coaches, her execution and hitting her pitches. She's been working on some pitches with (assistant) coach (Melyssa) Lombardi and is coming along nicely."

On the offensive side, the Sooners struck early with two runs in the first and second. Junior Christy Ring (Westminster, Calif.) singled to get on base and scored on a fielder's choice by Mandy Fulton (Del City, Okla.) and Lisa Carey (Topeka, Kan.) doubled down the left field before scoring on an Erin Evans (Lawton, Okla.) single through the right side.

The lone run in the third came on a solo home run to left center by Ashli Barrett (Oklahoma City). A four-run, four-hit fourth started when Fulton tripled down the right-field line. Barrett had an RBI-double in the fourth and Gulla drove in a run with a single to left field.

Six Sooners recorded two or more hits in the win, including Fulton who went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a double. Sophomore Kelli Braitsch (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Ring, Evans, Barrett and Gulla each recorded two hits in the game.

In the night cap, Stewart carried a perfect game into the fifth inning before giving up a double and walked another batter. Tulsa's lone run came on a solo home run by catcher Ann Mesman. Stewart struck out a season-high nine batters while scattering just two hits in seven innings.

The Sooners opened the game with four runs in the first and wouldn't score again until the fifth. Sophomore Jennifer Stump (West Palm Beach, Fla.) hit her third homer of the season--a three-run shot to left field--to give OU the early 3-0 lead. Barrett drove in another run with a double out to right center. OU's three runs in the fifth came on back-to-back triples off the right-center wall by Stump and Evans.

Stump led all hitters with a 2-for-3 performance with five RBIs and two runs.

"I'm real pelased with both pitchers." Gasso said of the duos performances Sunday. "Jennifer Stewart added some strikeouts and that's a nice luxury to have. One thing that has been really big for us that we don't really talk about is that we have only one error in eight games. We don't allow miscues to come back and hurt us."

The Sooners had strong performances at the plate that started with what Fulton and Stump did hitting out of the fourth and fifth spots. Sunday's games also featured the return of All-American Barrett's return behind the plate after having shoulder surgery in the offeseason.

"I liked what Ashli Barrett did behind plate for the first time this year," Gasso said. "She did nice job and the pitchers responded real well. Leah Gulla did extremely good and our team did a great job defensively. Fulton and Stump were on fire. We had a great four-five combo that we didn't have last weekend."

The Sooners will face Arkansas in a doubleheader on Tuesday. The games will be played at Lady'Back Yard in Fayetteville, Ark., with game times slated for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Softball Has Perfect Day With Wins Over Wichita State, Tulsa

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