Softball Hosts Five Teams in Worth Invitational

March 8, 2001

NORMAN, Okla. -

TOURNAMENT INFO...
DATES: Mar. 9-11, 2001
FIELD: OU Softball Complex (Norman, Okla.)
TEAMS: Louisiana-Lafayette (RV), Louisiana-Monroe, North Carolina (RV), Oklahoma (5), Southwest Missouri State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christie
FORMAT: Round Robin
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE:

Friday, Mar. 9
11 a.m. - ULL vs. TAMU-CC
1:15 p.m. - ULL vs. ULM
3:30 p.m. - SMSU vs. North Carolina
3:30 p.m. (Reaves Park) - TAMU-CC vs. ULM
5:45 p.m. - OU vs. North Carolina

Saturday, Mar. 10
11 a.m. - SMSU vs. ULM
1:15 p.m. - UNC vs. TAMU-CC
3:30 p.m. - OU vs. ULM
3:30 p.m. (Reaves Park) - ULL vs. SMSU
5:45 p.m. - OU vs. ULL

Sunday, Mar. 11
10 a.m. - North Carolina vs. ULM
12:15 p.m. - SMSU vs. TAMU-CC
2:30 p.m. - OU vs. TAMU-CC
2:30 p.m. (Reaves Park) - North Carolina vs. ULL
4:45 p.m. - OU vs. SMSU

OU vs. LOUISIANA-MONROE...
DATE: Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2001
FIELD: ASA Hall of Fame Stadium (Oklahoma City)
TIME: 6 p.m.

Oklahoma returns home after two weeks on the road to play six games in five days. This weekend, OU will be one of six teams competing for Worth Invitational title along with Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, North Carolina, Southwest Missouri State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christie.

After weather forced the cancellation of two games the last time OU hosted a tournament, the Sooners will need cooperation from Mother Nature for all the teams to get in the 15 games over the three days. OU is scheduled to play one game Friday and two on both Saturday and Sunday.

Among those in the tournament field are North Carolina and Louisiana-Lafayette, both of whom received votes in the latest rankings. OU is the only ranked team.

Folllowing the tournament, Louisiana-Monroe and the Sooners will meet for one game at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The game will be on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

OU is coming off a 4-1 weekend where it scored 35 runs on 47 hits in the five games. Defensively, it allowed only 12 runs, with half of those coming against No. 2 Arizona.

LISTEN LIVE TO TWO GAMES ON RADIO AND INTERNET
OU's Saturday contest against Louisiana-Lafayette and Saturday's game versus Soutthewest Missouri State can be heard on the radio and internet. The games will be joined in progress on KREF 1400 AM or you can listen in its entirety by logging onto www.SoonerSports.com. Oklahoma City veteran broadcaster Mick Cornett will call all the action for OU softball this year.

OU WORTH INVITATIONAL HISTORY

The OU Worth Invitational is just in its fourth year of existence. It started in 1997 without a title sponsor and included just five teams. After winning the 1998 (4-0) and 1999 (6-0) titles with perfect records, the Sooners struggled in 2000. OU went 3-2 and lost to LSU (3-0) and eventual Women's College World Series participant Southern Mississippi (5-4).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE: The Lady Cajuns received votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25.... Head coach Stefni Whitton-Lotief is in her first year as head coach... ULL is 10-2 with a .299 batting average and 1.66 ERA... Since an 0-2 start against Louisiana-Monroe, the Lady Cajuns have won their last 10 games... Junior Melissa Coronado has been the starter in nine games and has an 8-2 record (64.1 IP, 41H, 22R, 17 ER, 44K, 20BB)... ULL leads the all-time series 13-1... OU's only win came in 1996 when it won 4-2 when the two split a doubleheader in Lafayette.

LOUISIANA-MONROE: ULM, who returns nine starters from a year ago, comes to Norman with a 13-6 overall record... The Indians are hitting .257 with seven homers and 65 RBIs... Four players hit over the .300 mark...The pitching staff has a 1.58 ERA with 87 strikeouts and only 39 walks... Junior Annie VanOosbree leads the team with a 9-2 record (81.0 IP, 22H, 14ER, 63K, 22 BB)... Head coach Rosemary Holloway is in her 17th yearat the helm... OU has won nine of the 11 meetings, including the last two.

NORTH CAROLINA: The Tar Heels received votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25... UNC is off to one of its best starts in school history, going 13-5-1... UNC and OU have met only two times (1992 and 1996) with the Sooners winning both meetings.

SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE: The Bears are 4-5 and have yet to put together consecutive wins this season... As a team, SMS is hitting .247 with a .955 fielding percentage... The pitching staff has a 2.41 ERA and is led by Tauni Kennemer, who is 3-1 in four appearances (1.31 ERA, 20.2 IP, 16H, 5R, 3ER)... The schools have met 22 times and are nearly split... OU leads 12-10, including an 8-0 win in last year's OU adidas Classic.

TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTIE: The Islanders are 6-22, but have won their last three outings... Offensively, TAMU-CC is hitting .230 with eight homers, 65 runs and 52 RBIs... On the mound, the pitchers combine for a 5.78 ERA and .326 opponent batting average... Amanda Burton (4-9, 4.95 ERA) and Melanie Drews (2-11, 6.14 ERA) provide most of the pitching... This is the first meeting between the two schools.

MERCY ME! Through the first 20 games this year, six of OU's wins have been shortened to less than seven innings due to the mercy rule (eight-run lead after five innings). The victims so far include Kentucky, Tulsa, Wichita State, Indiana State, Creighton and Western Michigan.

TOURNAMENT TITLES
This will be the fifth tournament OU has competed in this season where it has a 15-3 record. The Sooners claimed a share of the UTA/Isuzu Classic title before winning the OU/adidas Classic.

A loss to South Carolina in pool play dropped OU to the Silver bracket of the rain-shortened NFCA Leadoff Classic where no winner was declared. In the Hillenbrand Invitational, Oklahoma finished second to No. 2 Arizona.

ROUND-TRIP INDICATOR
The long ball has always been a powerful weapon for the Sooners. After all, the 2000 team broke the school record with 85 home runs last year.

So far in 2001, the round-tripper has been an indicator of whether or not the Sooners may win the game. In games where OU has hit at least one homer, the team has a 10-0 record. But in games where no Sooners go yard, they are just 7-3.

GET BACK ON BASE
With seniors Ashli Barrett and Andrea Davis sharing the catching duties, opponents are having a hard time stealing bases. The duo has completely shut down the running game. If they even attempt to run, opponents been thrown out 38 percent of the time. With just 13 attempts, only five thefts have been successful. Davis has thrown out six runners on nine attempts, while Barrett has thrown out another two on four attempts.

NATIONAL CHAMPS VISIT WHITE HOUSE
In a light-hearted ceremony in the East Room of the White House, President George Bush honored members of Oklahoma's 2000 national championship softball and football teams. OU's teams are the first national champions to be honored in Bush's presidency.

After head coach Patty Gasso presented Bush two bats and an autographed softball, he called the softball team an "unsinkable bunch of upstarts" who broke California's hold on the sport.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Sooners return to the OU Softball Complex where it is 3-0 on the year. Over its four years of existence, the home field has been very good for the Sooners where they have posted an .847 winning percentage.

YearRecordPct.
199819-5.792
199912-3.800
200027-3.900
20013-01.000
Total61-11.847

SOONERS FINISH SECOND IN ARIZONA
The offense and defense finally came together and OU went 4-1 to finish second at the Hillenbrand Invitational. The Sooners defeated Indiana State, No. 23 Baylor, Creighton and Western Michigan before losing in the finals to Arizona in front of 2,751 fans, the second largest crowd in school history.

INDIANA STATE (W, 10-1): Every starter got a hit as the Sooners tallied 15 hits and scored 10 runs in the win... A five-run fifth put the finishing touches on the board as OU run-ruled the Sycamores... Junior Christy Ring led OU witha 3-for-3 outing that included two runs and two RBIs.

NO. 23 BAYLOR (W, 2-1): It took late-inning heroics by sophomore Jennifer Stump to lift OU past Baylor... The Sooners took a 1-0 lead in the second on a sacrafice fly to right field--also by Stump--that scored Ashli Barrett... The lead held until the seventh when a solo pinch-hit homer by Nan Wilkins tied the game up and forced OU to answer with Stump's solo round-tripper to right center... Pitcher Jennifer Stewart limited the Bears to one run on just four hits.

CREIGHTON (W, 11-3): OU got hits in bunches to run-rule the Blue Jays in six innings... The top of the order--Kelli Braitsch, Ring and Lisa Carey--led the way with a combined 7-for-10 performance... Carey, who went 3-for-4, led OU with four RBIs and two runs... Ring equalled the 3-for-4 day while scoring three runs and driving in another... Braitsch went 1-for-2 while scoring two runs and walking twice... Creighton, who was held without a hit in a Feb. 17 meeting, tagged starter Adrianne Ratliff for three runs on six hits... She struck out three and walked two.

WESTERN MICHIGAN (W, 10-1): The offense needed only four at-bats to collect 13 hits and score 10 runs in the run-rule... Stewart scattered four hits and gave up only one run... A seven-run second inning did most of the damage... Ring added another 3-for-4 performance with two runs... Braitsch, Barrett and Stump all went 2-for-3 and combined for three RBIs and three runs.

NO. 2 ARIZONA (L, 6-2): The Wildcats exacted some revenge on OU, getting three two-run homeruns with two outs for the tournament title... UA's last loss was a 1-0 shutout by OU in the 2000 Women's College World Series... Ratliff did very well against the upperclassmen, holding them for 1-of-13 on the day... But it was two freshmen that hit the longballs for Arizona... Barrett was the only Sooner to record multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.

STREAKIN'
The only Sooners to come out of the Hillenbrand Invitational with a multiple-game hitting streak was seniors Ashli Barrett and LaKisha Washington. Both are season highs as Barrett's is at three games and Washington's is at two.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW
It was during the second game of the Arkansas doubleheader on Feb. 20 that Christy Ring finally did something she hadn't done in her previous two seasons at OU...hit a homerun.

With the Sooners down 2-1, the junior sailed a ball to left center that rolled to the fence. With one run already in and the score tied, head coach Patty Gasso sent Ring home and she easily beat the throw for an inside-the-park homer. It led to OU's 3-2 win over the Lady'Backs.

The play was originally ruled a triple with an advance on the throw, denying her that first round-tripper. But upon further review with the NCAA rules committee and the NFCA, the call was changed and Ring was given the home run.

12-0 START BEST IN SCHOOL HISTORY
By winning the first 12 games of the 2001 season, the Sooners posted the best start in school history. They bettered the previous record by one game. Both the 1998 and 2000 squads posted 11-0 records to start the seasons.

SIX STRAIGHT AND COUNTING...
Head coach Patty Gasso has led Oklahoma into NCAA Regional competition in each of her six seasons at OU. This year, the Sooners will be vying for a seventh bid under Gasso and eighth-consecutive in school history.

THREE SOONERS DRAFTED
Three seniors--Lisa Carey, Ashli Barrett and Andrea Davis--were taken in the 2001 Women's Pro Softbal League draft held in December. The Sooners tied UCLA for the second most selections with a total of three each. Carey was the sixth overall selection. Barrett was chosen seventh, while Davis was the 14th selection.

OUT IN LEFT FIELD
No opponent has scored on Oklahoma in the fifth inning of any game this year... The Sooners have been ranked in 88 consecutive polls... OU has had five games rained out this year, including the shortened-affair against No. 23 Southern Miss.... OU went 11-for-12 in the stolen base category at the Arizona Tournament... On the other hand, opponents tried to steal against OU only two times and were picked off in both attempts... If there is a runner on third and less than two outs, OU is hitting at the .643 clip... Senior Ashli Barrett carries a three-game hitting streak into the OU Worth Invitational, the longest current on the team... Junior Jennifer Stewart is limiting left-handed batters to a .133 batting average and righties to only a .195... She is also averaging nearly six strikouts per seven-inning game.

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.

GASSO THE GREAT
Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso has amassed a 303-101 record in six seasons at OU. The .758 winning percentage is best among OU softball coaches who have coached more than one year and her 303 victories rank first in Sooner history.

The Sooners finished the 2000 season ranked No. 1 after winning the university's 20th national championship and first in a women's sport. Gasso and her assistants were named the 2000 Speedline/ NFCA Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year. Dallas Morning News Big 12 Female Coach of the Year in 2000

A three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year (1996, 1999, 2000) and Midwest Region Coach of the Year (1996, 1999 and 2000), Gasso's teams have set 15 school records and coached eight all-Americans and five Academic All-Americans.

ON DECK
The Sooners head off to Fullerton, Calif., to play in the prestigious Kia Klassic. The tournament, hosted by Cal State Fullerton, runs from March 15-18, at the Titan Softball Complex.

Among the 16 teams participating in the tournament, 10 are ranked, including Arizona (2), Fresno State (7), Arizona State (9), Cal State-Fullerton (10), DePaul (11), Washington (13), Notre Dame (14), Cal State-Northridge (t24) and Louisiana-Lafayette (RV).

Pool play begins on Thursday, Mar. 15, and concludes on Friday, Mar. 16, as OU will face Fresno State, Notre Dame and Utah State. OU's schedule is listed below:

Thursday, Mar. 15
1 p.m. - Utah State vs. Oklahoma
7 p.m. - Fresno State vs. Oklahoma

Friday, Mar. 16
11 a.m. - Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Softball Hosts Five Teams in Worth Invitational

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