No. 5 Sooners Host Lehigh In NCAA Softball Regionals

May 14, 2001

SOONERS EARN NO. 1 SEED AND AWARDED SITE: Arguably one of the hottest teams in college softball, fifth-ranked Oklahoma will host an NCAA Regional for the second-consecutive year and third time overall. The Sooners will be the No. 1 seed in Region 5 and open against sixth-seeded Lehigh at noon on Thursday.

Other teams that will be playing in OU's regional include No. 2 seed and 12th-ranked Washington, No. 3 seed North Carolina, No. 4 seed and 23rd-ranked Massachusetts and No. 5 Seton Hall.

Thursday's action also includes Washington-Seton Hall at 2:30 (game two) and North Carolina-Massachusetts at 5 p.m. (game three). The OU/Lehigh loser will face the UW/SHU loser in an elimination game at 7:30 p.m.

An OU win means the Sooners won't play again until Friday evening at 7:30 p.m.

The Sooners earned the top seed after marching their way to a school-record 18 consecutive wins and the Big 12 Tournament title. This marks the eighth appearance in as many years and seventh straight under head coach Patty Gasso.

NCAA TOURNAMENT TIDBITS: The six teams that handed OU its seven losses made the field of 48... The Sooners have a 12-7 record against teams that made it in the tournament. They also hit .277 with a 2.61 ERA in the 19 games compared to opponents' .238 and 3.35 ERA... Only two other Big 12 schools--Nebraska and Texas Tech--made it into the field... Other tournament teams from OU's 2001 schedule include BYU, Oregon State, San Diego State, South Carolina, Southern Mississippi, Arizona, Louisiana-Lafayette, Fresno State, Notre Dame and DePaul... The Sooners have a 15-12 all-time record in their seven regional appearances... Under head coach Patty Gasso, the Sooners are 13-10 in the big dance.

HAVEN'T I SEEN YOU BEFORE? Of the five teams playing in Region 5, the Sooners have only faced third-seeded North Carolina this season. The Tar Heels came to Norman in March for the OU Worth Invitational where OU downed UNC 8-0 in just six innings of work Ace Jennifer Stewart surrendered just one hit and struck out seven for her third shutout of the year. She also retired the final seven batters in order.

WINNING STREAK BREAKS RECORD: The Sooners have ended the 2001 season in record fashion...rolling off 18-consecutive wins. It's the longest winning streak in school history, breaking the previous mark of 12 games set during both the 1997 and 2000 seasons.

SCOUTING LEHIGH: The Mountain Hawks are making the first NCAA tournament appearance in school history... A member of the Patriot League, Lehigh got the automatic berth after winning a best-of-three game series against Northeast Conference Champion Long Island... LU lost the opener 4-2, but rebounded to win the next two games... Winners in 16 of their last 18 games, the Mountain Hawks are 38-13 overall... They hit .318 as a team with eight players hitting .300 or better... Five pitchers have thrown to combine for a 2.05 ERA with 10 shutouts... Sophomore pitcher Jenny Bender does it all for LU where she leads the team in batting average (.399), homers (4) and RBIs (34). She also has the most wins on the mound, going 17-6 with a 1.72 ERA in 142.1 innings of work... Stephanie Howell is 12-3 with a 1.76 ERA in 123.0 innings of work... This will be the first meeting between the two schools.

A 1-2-3-4 PUNCH: The first four batters in the OU lineup--Kelli Braitsch, Christy Ring, Lisa Carey and Ashli Barrett--could be one of the most potent in the country. They don't just get hits, they move the runners around the base and drive them home. The foursome combines to hit .402, but if there's a runner on third and less than two outs, they up their average to .644. And if there are two outs on the board, they are hitting at the .408 mark.

LOAD 'EM UP: If there's one thing OU isn't afraid to do, it's swing the bats. And it has paid off, especially when the bases are loaded. The Sooners are hitting .400 when the bases are filled. And who's done the most damage? It's Kelli Braitsch, who is 6-for-8 in those opportunities. Senior LaKisha Washington and sophomore Erin Evans have also cleaned up a bit. Washington is 3-for-5 (.600) while Evans is 6-for-11 (.545).

WEDLAKE IMPRESSINVE IN POSTSEASON RETURN: After transferring from the University of Tulsa, Angela Wedlake was in the midst of a medical redshirt season because of a back injury. But after plenty of rest through most of the fall and spring, her back improved and she was cleared to play in the final regular-season game.

So far, her return has given the Sooners a lift. She appeared in two games for a total of six innings at the Big 12 Tournament where she didn't allow a single hit or run. Against Texas A&M, Wedlake retired all nine batters she faced and struck out two for her first save of the year. She faired even better against Nebraska where she came into the game with two runners on and no outs. She shut them down, didn't give up a run or hit and picked up her first win of the year.

ANOTHER WINNING STREAK: Dating back to last year's run during the Women's College World Series, the Sooners have won their last nine games at Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. OU added five more to the total in 2001 with a win over Louisiana-Monroe on March 12 and the four wins en route to the Big 12 Tournament title.

THIS IS A GREAT STATE: With 14 games at the OU Softball Complex, a mid-season game against Louisiana-Monroe at Hall of Fame Stadium and a game at Oklahoma State and Tulsa, the Sooners won all 21 games they played in the state borders.

CAREY BREAKS BIG 12 RECORD: Her only hit was an infield single to the shortstop, but it was all Lisa Carey needed to break the Big 12 career record for hits. The Topeka, Kan., native now has 280, breaking the mark of 278 set by Oklahoma State's Jaime Foutch from 1996-1999.

HOME SWEET HOME: For the first time since the stadium opened in 1998, the Sooners went a perfect 14-0 at the OU Softball Complex in 2001. In its four years of existence, the home field has been very good for the Sooners where they have posted an .867 winning percentage.

OU accomplished its goal of going undefeated at home in dominating fashion. The Sooners outscored their opponents 97-15 in Norman and are hitting .383 to the visitor's .178. Pitchers Jennifer Stewart and Adrianne Ratliff have a combined 0.62 ERA compared to opponents' 7.23 ERA.

In conference games, OU faired better at home where it hit .393 compared to .326 on the road. Opponents hit at the .214 clip in Norman compared to .220 in their own park.

DAVIS LOST FOR POSTSEASON RUN: The final 9-0 regular-season win over Tulsa didn't come without a major price. The Sooners lost senior Andrea Davis when she tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left leg during the top of the fourth. The West Jordan, Utah, native was playing right field and chasing down a ball hit to right center. When centerfielder Jaime White called her off and she stopped, that's when the season-ending injury took place. The Sooners will miss her bat, that has really been coming on lately. She was hitting .389 with two homers, a double and 9 RBIs in the 14-game winning streak.

STEPPING UP WHEN IT COUNTS: With the season-ending loss of Andrea Davis, the Sooners lost one of its most potent hitters. But sophomore Jennifer Stump stepped up her play in the Big 12 Tournament...to the effect of a .462 batting average in the four games where she had a double, home run and five RBIs. She earned a spot on the all-tournament team after driving in three of OU's six runs in the title game against Oklahoma State.

SOONERS FINISH REGULAR-SEASON AT NO. 5: After bouncing from sixth to seventh and back to sixth in the last seven weeks, the Sooners ended the regular-season at No. 5 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25, their highest ranking since tied for fifth on Mar. 14.

FOUR NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: With a clean 4-0 sweep and the Big 12 tournament title, the Sooners place four players on the all-tournament team. Outfielder Jennifer Stump, pitcher Jennifer Stewart, catcher Ashli Barrett and first baseman Lisa Carey were named with Carey earning the Most Valuable Player award.

JUST AN OLD HABIT: Since the inception of the Big 12, Oklahoma has finished first or second every year in the regular-season race. Under head coach Patty Gasso, the Sooners have won three Big 12 titles (1996, 1999 and 2000) and finished second another three times (1997, 1998 and 2001). In the six years of the Big 12 Conference, OU has an amazing 85-20 record for an .810 winning percentage.

SOONERS DOMINATE ALL-BIG 12 TEAM: Oklahoma landed six players on the All-Big 12 First Team and added another pair of second-team selections when it was announced last week. Pitcher Jennifer Stewart, catcher Ashli Barrett, first baseman Lisa Carey, shortstop Kelli Braitsch and outfielder Erin Evans were among the first-team selections for their position. Senior Andrea Davis was an at-large first-team selection, while fellow outfielders Christy Ring and Jennifer Stump were named to the second team.

Coaches are only allowed to nominate six players for the first team and it's the second-consecutive year that the Sooners have had all six receive the honors.

BRAITSCH NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: It didn't take long for many people to notice the impact that Kelli Braitsch had on the Sooners and the Big 12. In a year where the sophomore led the league with a .460 batting average, she also made dazzling defensive plays. She hit .491 in Big 12 games and was even above .500 at one point late in the season. Braitsch is also ranked among the league's top 10 in eight different offensive categories.

If there's any question about OU's dominance in the Big 12, you just have to look at the players before Braitsch that have won this honor. OU has had the league's Player of the Year four times, including the last three. Pitcher Jill Most took the first award in 1996 and OU's last two first baseman--Lynette Velazquez (1999) and Lisa Carey (2000)--won in back-to-back years.

BARRETT'S PRESENCE KNOWN IN BIG 12: Senior Ashli Barrett is starting to put the finishing touches on a stellar career at Oklahoma. The catcher has been absolutely dominant in her position for her entire four-year stay in the Big 12. She is the first player to earn first-team All-Big 12 honors in all four years at the same position. There has only been one other four-time first-team selection and that was Nebraska's Jennifer Lizama, who was the first-team shortstop in 1997, at second base in 1998 and 1999 and earned at at-large bid in 2000.

ONE GOAL COMPLETED, ONE MORE TO GO: There wasn't much that this year's six seniors hadn't done in their time at OU. When you take into account that they've won two Big 12 regular season titles, an NCAA Regional title and a national championship, you probably think they've done it all. For these players, there was just one item on their agenda that needed completion and they accomplished the feat this weekend by winning four straight games for the Big 12 tournament title.

USE AN ERASER ON THAT RECORD BOOK: It was just last year that the Sooners broke the OU team record with a .329 batting average. But as the 2001 team enters the postseason, it is on pace to re-write the one-year-old record. Hitting .341 as they head into the NCAA Regional, the Sooners also have four individuals whose average would rank among the top 10 in OU history. If Kelli Braitsch keeps up at her blistering pace, her .441 would be the highest ever by a Sooner in a single season. The others that would be ranked include Lisa Carey (third, .409), Ashli Barrett (sixth, .391) and Christy Ring (10th, .363).

NUMBERS IMPRESSIVE IN STREAK: Oklahoma has bounced back from a pair of losses at Nebraska with a vengence where it has rolled to 18 straight wins. During this 18-0 run, the Sooners have a .376 batting average and have outscored their opponents 145-19.

The Big 12 Player of the Year, Kelli Braitsch has been unstoppable in that span. She is hitting .533 with seven doubles, two triples, four homers, 17 RBIs and a .917 slugging percentage.

The pitching staff has been equally impressive where it has a 0.91 ERA and has given up only 16 hits for extra bases--14 doubles and two homers. Leading the way in the circle is Jennifer Stewart, who has a 0.72 ERA with four shutouts, nine earned runs, 51 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 87 innings. She is also holding opponents to a .182 batting average.

NO WEAK LINK IN THIS CHAIN: If an opposing pitcher gets into a jam, good luck getting out unscathed. In most lineups there's that weak link that allows pitchers to escape. Not the case in the Oklahoma lineup. Since a season-low batting average of .321 following the Nebraska games--and coincidentally their last losses--the Sooners have been slowly raising their average to what is now a Big 12 best .341. In the 18 games since, OU has raised its average nearly 20 points because five starters are hitting above the .385 mark in that stretch.

SOONERS DOMINATING HITTING IN BIG 12: There wasn't another team in the Big 12 that was within 40 points of Oklahoma's .342 batting average to end the regular season. Missouri (.293), Texas A&M (.289) and Kansas (.280) were the nearest competitors and even still, there's a lot of distance between them.

In conference games, OU (.352) was the only team to hit over the .300 clip. The Sooners have seven of the league's top hitters with Kelli Braitsch (.491) and Lisa Carey (.451) ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

PITCHING COMES THROUGH IN BIG 12 GAMES: Sure it was the hitting that made most of the headlines earlier this year, but it was the pitching that took a surprising big step up during conference action. In fact, OU's league-best .352 batting average in Big 12 games was backed up with the top pitching performances.

Led by junior Jennifer Stewart, OU had a 1.29 ERA to out-do Nebraska's 1.33. The Sooners gave up just 19 earned runs in 103.1 innings. In fact, in the last seven conference games, the hurlers gave up just four earned runs and shut out four-consecutive opponents.

PRESEASON POLL PICKED OU: It's not the first time a preseason poll was incorrect, but OU was unanimously predicted to win the 2001Conference title in the Preseason Big 12 Coaches' Poll released prior to the start of the season. The Sooners were coming off a national championship season where they compiled a 66-8 record and won their third Big 12 regular season title (1996, 1999 and 2000).

THREE EARN ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 HONORS: Three Sooners were Academic All-Big 12 selections. Senior Jaime White and sophomore Erin Evans were first-team honorees, while senior Lisa Carey was a second-team selection.

To be named to the first team, an athlete must have at least a 3.20 grade point average. Second team honorees must fall into the 3.0 to 3.2 range.

BARRETT TIES SCHOOL RECORD WITH 7 RBI VS. BAYLOR: Thanks to a three-run double in the first inning and a grand slam in the second, Ashli Barrett became just the fourth Sooner to get seven runs batted in during a single game. She currently leads the Sooners with 57 RBI on the year.

MONEY ON THE MOUND: There isn't much that Jennifer Stewart hasn't done for the Sooners this year. The 2000 Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player has earned wins in 32 of her 35 starts, completing 24 of those outings, and shut out eight opponents. She has even added a pair of saves to her record and combined with pitchers Adrianne Ratliff and Angela Wedlake for another five shutouts.

After pitching a pair of shutouts at Texas Tech, Stewart was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. She shut down the Texas Tech batters, tossing 12-consecutive scoreless innings while giving up only one extra-base hit. She held the Red Raiders to a .186 batting average, walking only one and striking out 10 in her two appearances.

A DOUBLE DIP: It's no secret that the senior class contains some of the most potent hitters in school history. And it shows on the career charts where three of them--Lisa Carey, Ashli Barrett and Mandy Fulton--rank among the school's top four for career doubles.

Carey and Barrett are one and two with 56 and 48 doubles, respectively. Fulton is fourth with 33 and needs only four more to move past Becky Burroughs (1993-94) and into third.

STEWART BREAKS OU RECORD: Junior Jennifer Stewart did in less than three years what many pitchers couldn't do in four years which was reach 88 career wins. In game one of the Texas series, the Yukon, Okla., native helped OU to a 4-1 win over Texas and broke the record previously held by Jill Most (1994-97). Stewart recorded 22 wins as a freshman, 34 as a sophomore and already has 32 this year.

IT'S COMING DOWN TO THE END: With every game in the Big 12 tournament, two of OU's seniors--Ashli Barrett and Lisa Carey--kept switching out in the lead for OU's career RBI record. Barrett had the lead coming in before Carey took it back with three RBIs against Texas A&M and two more versus Texas Tech. But Barrett went 4-for-4 against Nebraska with four more RBIs to bring her total to 184, edging out Carey's 181.

MERCY ME!: Through the first 52 games this year, 16 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 (three times), Wichita State, Indiana State, Creighton, Western Michigan, North Carolina, Utah State, No. 20 Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Baylor and No. 11 Nebraska.

RUNNIN' AWAY: OU was the first to score more than 200 runs this year and with 335 runs so far, it's no wonder that three of the top five scorers in the Big 12 hail from the Sooner state. Sophomore Kelli Braitsch, junior Christy Ring, and senior Lisa Carey hold down the one, two and fourth spots, respectively, in the conference rankings for runs scored.

Braitsch has 57, Ring has 49 and Carey adds another 43 runs. The trio's combined total of 149 runs is more than Oklahoma State (128) and Iowa State (117) have scored all year.

In conference games, OU was the only team to pass the century mark with 117. Nebraska, who finished first in the standings, was a distant second with 79 runs. The Sooners also have five of the top 10 scorers with Braitsch (first), Ring (second), Jennifer Stump (fourth) and Carey and Ashli Barrett tied for fifth in Big 12 action.

THREE SELECTED TO TRYOUTS: Three players on the Oklahoma softball team were selected to participate in the USA Softball Women's National Team Camp. Seniors Ashli Barrett and Lisa Carey, along with sophomore Kelli Braitsch were among the 51 players invited to compete for spots on the 2001 National Teams.

The camp will be held May 30-June 3 at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. Following the camp, USA Softball will select two 16-player teams to represent the U.S. in international competitions such as the U.S. Cup in Honolulu, the Canada Cup in Vancouver and the Pan Am Qualifier in Maracay, Venezuela, during the 2001 season.

GASSO SELECTED TO USA COACHING POOL: Oklahoma softball head coach Patty Gasso was one of 12 collegiate coaches named to form the USA Softball National Team Coaches Pool through the 2004 Olympic Games. The announcement came from the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA). Joining Gasso on the pool are Arizona's Mike Candrea, South Florida's Ken Eriksen, Cal State Fullerton's Michele Gromacki, Florida's Karen Johns, DePaul's Eugene Lenti, Missouri's Jay Miller, Alabama's Pat Murphy, Stanford's John Rittman, Oregon State's Kirk Walker, Arizona State's Linda Wells and Washington's Teresa Wilson.

These 12 coaches will participate in the USA Softball National Team Camp, May 30-June 3rd in Chula Vista, Calif., and will be eligible for selection to such important coaching assignments as the 2001 U.S. Cup in Hawaii, 2001 Canada Cup in Vancouver, the 2002 ISF Women's World Championship in Canada, the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

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.

SOONERS IN NCAA RANKINGS: The Sooners rank among the NCAA leaders in batting, fielding, scoring and win-loss percentage. Below is where OU is ranked as of May 6.

GOING, GOING, GONE!: Senior Ashli Barrett broke the OU career home run record as a junior and each one this season has just added to the mark. With a team-high 14 this year, she currently has 45 in her career which ranks tied for 13th all-time in the NCAA. She now needs only one more to crack the top 10.

CAREY BREAKS CAREER HIT RECORD: As if four OU career records weren't enough, senior Lisa Carey added another to the list at the Texas-Arlington/Isuzu Classic. The returning All-American knocked a double to right center in the second inning against Tulsa, which happened to be the 219th of her career. It was the sixth hit of the year and broke Cari Graves' (1989-92) mark of 218.

Carey will already go down as one of the most successful players in Oklahoma softball history as the career leader in runs scored (138), doubles (43), extra base hits (78), total bases (367) and at-bats (768). She is also in a race with Ashli Barrett for the RBI record and would need to raise her current .364 batting average six points to better Becky Burrough's .369, hit during her two-year career (1993-1994).

WINNING THE CLOSE ONE: If there's one thing OU has done well this year, it's been winning the close games. The Sooners currently have a 8-3 record in games decided by one run and are 5-1 when it comes down to two runs. The only setbacks have come at the hands of Southern Mississippi (2-1), DePaul (3-2) and twice at Nebraska (6-5, 3-1).

CAREY DEBUTS IN THE CIRCLE: Did you read the story or boxscore and do a double take....Lisa Carey was the starting pitcher in game two at Nebraska? Your reaction was probably similar to that of the opponent. It was the unexpected to say the least to those outside the program.

The senior pitched in high school--after all, she had a 48-3 record, 0.31 ERA and recorded 130 strikeouts. But she had yet to toss in a collegiate game. After working on her pitches during the fall and throughout the season, Carey debuted against the Huskers on Mar. 30.

The appearance didn't exactly end the way she wanted. Carey gave up two earned runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. She struck out three and walked only one, but OU lost the game 3-1. She also finished out the first game of the Iowa State series, throwing two scoreless innings and allowing only two hits.

NATIONAL CHAMPS VISIT THE 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.

OUT IN LEFT FIELD: The Sooners outscored their opponents 25-3 en route to the Big 12 title... They also had a 0.78 ERA in the four games... OU has reached double-digit hits in 25 of its 52 games, while the pitching staff has limited opponents to five hits or less in 32 outings... There have been eight shutouts in the Sooners 18-game winning streak... Kelli Braitsch has a team-high 22 multi-hit games, while Lisa Carey leads the team with 12 multi-RBI games... Ashli Barrett leads the team with 23 two-out RBIs.

ON DECK: Four more wins added to the winning streak means a second-consescutive trip to the Women's College World Series. The winner of Region 5 will advance to the WCWS that will be played at Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium May 23-28.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 5 Sooners Host Lehigh In NCAA Softball Regionals

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