Softball Travels to Arkansas for Doubleheader

Feb. 19, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. - After posting a 3-0 record to win the OU/adidas Classic, second-ranked Oklahoma (8-0) will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., to face the University of Arkansas in a Tuesday afternoon doubleheader. The games will be played at the Lady'Back Yard with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. The second game is slated for a 5 p.m. start.

The two teams met in the opening weekend at the UTA/Isuzu Classic where the Sooners won 8-1. After putting up no runs in the first inning, OU scored in each of the last six en route to the win. The Sooners got 12 hits off freshman pitcher Heather Schilichtman, who also racked up seven strikeouts.

Senior Lisa Carey led OU with a 3-for-4 performance that included two doubles and an RBI-single in seventh. Seven Sooners recorded at least one hit with Kelli Braitsch, Christy Ring and Erin Evans each going 2-for-4 at the plate.

Junior Jennifer Stewart pitched the entire game, allowing one run while scattering five hits. Only Arkansas' Cortney Mitchell (two hits), Erin Stokey (two) and Jennifer Bottoms (one) were able to get a hit off the Yukon, Okla., native as she struck out seven.

THE ARKANSAS LADY'BACKS
Arkansas enters Tuesday's contests with a 6-3 record after going 3-1 in the Mardi Gras Classic in Monroe, La., last weekend... The Lady'Backs defeated Drake (2-1), Georgia Tech (3-2) and Virginia Tech (1-0) before dropping their finale to host Louisiana-Monroe, 2-1... Freshman pitcher Heather Schilichtman has seen the majority of innings, posting a 5-2 record and 1.88 ERA in 37.1 innings of work... Junior pitcher Rachel Talley (1-1) has a 0.60 ERA in 23.1 innings of work, but has only factored into decisions in half her starts... UA is hitting at the .288 clip and is led by Senior Jennifer Bottoms, who is hitting .412 with a double and three RBIs... Freshman Cortney Mitchell is hitting .346 and leads the team in extra base hits with four.

SOONERS WIN OU/ADIDAS CLASSIC
The Sooners put all the pieces together--solid defense, powerful bats and excellent pitching--to win the OU/adidas Classic. Oklahoma earned wins over Creighton (4-0), Wichita State (9-0) and Tulsa (7-1) in the tournament that was shortened because of inclement weather. It marks the second tournament title in as many weeks after OU was declared the co-champion of the UTA/Isuzu Classic when the final day had to be cancelled because of weather.

NO-NO, NOT IN THIS HOUSE
Junior Jennifer Stewart worked her magic through six innings and freshman Adrianne Ratliff closed the deal as the duo combined for the no-hitter to defeat Creighton 4-0 on Saturday. Only two walks and two hit batsmen prevented the perfect game.

Stewart went the first six innings, using her defense and getting five strikeouts to shut down the Blue Jay offense. Ratliff came into the game in the final inning and retired all three batters she faced in order to seal 22nd no-hitter in school history.

RATLIFF PERFECT AGAINST WICHITA STATE
Just when the Sooners thought it couldn't get any better with pitchers Jennifer Stewart and Adrianne Ratliff combining for the no-hitter, Ratliff went one step better. The freshman hurled a perfect game against Wichita State, retiring all 15 batters she faced. It was only the fourth perfect game in school history. Ironically, the last one was tossed by Stewart during her freshman campaign and also came at home against Wichita State.

At the media luncheon, head coach Patty Gasso said if she could clone Stewart, it would be Ratliff and the evidence wsa presented this weekend. The last time a Sooner tossed a perfect game--April 6, 1999--it was done by Stewart in freshman year and was also against the Shockers.

ONE-RUN WONDERS
It may be the hitting and pitching that's making the headlines, but you can't overlook Oklahoma's solid defense through eight games in the season. OU has committed only one error in 222 chances for a near-perfect .995 fielding percentage.

The defense has translated into limited runs for the opponent's offense. OU has recorded two shutouts and only one team--Brigham Young on Feb. 9--has recorded more than one run in a game. The Cougars scored three total, getting one in the first and another two in the sixth.

The sixth inning also happens to be the only inning where an opponent has recorded more than one run with three allowed. Only one run has been scored all year in all the other innings, except the fifth where OU has not allowed a single run.

BIG 12 PACKAGE TO FEATURE OU-TEXAS
In its fifth year televising Big 12 softball, Fox Sports Net announced its schedule for the 2001 season and among the two games being broadcast is the Oklahoma-Texas game on Saturday, April 7 at the OU Softball Complex in Norman. Game time has been changed to 1 p.m. and will be shown on a tape-delayed basis.

The other featured game will be Texas A&M at Nebraska on Saturday, April 21, at 3 p.m.

"Obviously, the Big 12 is pleased to include four of our outstanding softball programs as part of our Fox Sports Net television package," said Associate Commissioner Dru Hancock. "We certainly feel that the strength of our league is obvious by a national championship team in the University of Oklahoma and the other teams that have garnered preseason recognition."

A 4-5 PUNCH
During Sunday's games of the OU/adidas Classic, the Sooners got an extra lift from the fourth and fifth spots in the lineup that was missing in the first weekend of action. Senior Mandy Fulton and sophomore Jennifer Stump combined to hit .538 (7-for-13) with five runs and seven RBIs. Four of those hits were for extra base hits that included a double, two triples and a home run.

Fulton was just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle in the win over Wichita State. She reached on a fielder's choice in her first at-bat before getting an RBI double in the second inning, a triple in the fourth and a single in the fifith.

Stump struggled against the Shockers with an 0-for-3 performance, but made up for it in a big way against Tulsa. In the first inning, she connected for a three-run homer that sailed over the left field wall. Stump ended the game with an RBI triple in fifth that drove in another two runs. The West Palm Beach, Fla., native accounted for five of OU's seven runs.

14 AND COUNTING...
The Sooners carry a 14-game winning streak that started in the postseason last season. OU coasted through its four games of the NCAA Regionals to earn its first regional title and Women's College World Series berth in school history. Once in the WCWS, OU kept it going and added another four wins on its way to the national championship, becoming only the third school in NCAA softball history to win the title in its first trip.

OUT IN LEFT FIELD
Two weeks into the season, OU is the only undefeated team remaining in the Big 12 Conference... Even though she failed to record a hit for the first time all year against Tulsa (Feb. 18), sophomore Kelli Braitsch leads the team with five multi-hit games. The 0-for-3 performance snapped her team-high seven-game hitting streak... OU hit four triples in the three games of the OU/adidas Classic, bringing its total to six on the year and a third of their way to the 2000 total.

THE CAPTAINS
It should come as no surprise that the captains of the 2001 Sooners happen to be two of the most visible players on the team. Seniors Ashli Barrett and Lisa Carey will co-captain the Sooners as they begin their flight towards an unprecedented third-consecutive Big 12 title and second NCAA Championship.

WHAT'S NEXT?
The competition continues to get more difficult as Oklahoma takes off for the NFCA Lead-Off Classic that will be played Feb. 23-25 in Columbus, Ga. Thirteen teams ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Preseason 25 will be competing in the tournament. Second-ranked Oklahoma is the highest ranked team and its pool consists of No. 16 Oregon State, San Diego State and No. 18 South Carolina.

Other ranked teams include Washington (4), Alabama (5), Arizona State (6), California (7), LSU (8), Fresno State (9), DePaul (10), Michigan (11), Stanford (15) and Southern Mississippi (21).

OU will open in pool play on Friday with a pair of games. It will open against Oregon State at noon and San Diego State at 7:30 p.m. After playing South Carolina on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., the Sooners will begin bracket play. The top team from each pool advances to the Gold Championship. In addition, two other at-large teams will be selected.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Softball Travels to Arkansas for Doubleheader

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