Softball Rallies for 3-2 Win Over No. 12 Washington

May 19, 2001

Head Coach P. Gasso
Senior L. Carey
Soph. L. Gulla
Jun. J. Stewart

NORMAN, Okla. - Another stadium record crowd of 1,357 fans witnessed fifth-ranked Oklahoma battle from a 2-0 deficit and come back to defeat 12th-ranked Washington in the NCAA Regional on Saturday. The Sooners, who were held hitless through the first four innings, got key hits from the bottom of the lineup to extend its winning streak to 21 games.

"I think this was a great game to play as a player, one that they'll always remember," said OU head coach Patty Gasso. "It was a great game for the fans and a great game to coach, although it wore me out. They never quit and there were some bleak times when we were not sure if it was headed our way going into the fifth."

The Huskies took advantage of baserunners to put two runs up in the third. Second baseman Christie Rosenfeld singled to short and advanced to second when designated player Courtney Jeffries sacrificed her at-bat with a bunt. Rosenfeld went to third on a passed ball and OU starter Jennifer Stewart walked the next batter.

With runners on second and third, Rita Roach hit a short pop fly to right that Jennifer Stump quickly threw home to stop the runners from moving home. But Becky Simpson got a two-RBI single when her ball hit off LaKisha Washington's glove. Stewart got Kelly Hauxhurst to pop up to third to get out of the inning.

UW starter Tia Bollinger (35-7) struck out six batters before the Sooners broke up the no-hitter when Washington tripled to right center in the fifth inning. Shortstop Kelli Braitsch followed with a walk, but OU left both runners stranded after Christy Ring hit a hard chopper to the shortstop for the third out.

In the sixth inning, the 3-4-5 hitters were due up for the Sooners. First baseman Lisa Carey started the rally with a solo home run to left that closed the margin at 2-1. After Ashli Barrett struck out, Stump walked and rounded to third on a slap hit by Erin Evans and a ground out to third by Mandy Fulton. That brought up Leah Gulla, who was down 0-2 in the count. She battled back from the count to hit a ball through the left side to score both Stump and Evans and give the Sooners the final runs they needed to win.

"We had another clutch big-time performance from Lisa Carey," Gasso said. "One time over the fence really opened the floodgates and got everyone going."

After giving up the two runs on two hits in the third, Stewart kept the Huskie hitters at bay where she limited them to just two hits in their final four at-bats. She moved to 35-3 on the year after striking out four and giving up just four hits.

The Sooners remain the only undefeated team in Region 5. They will play the winner between No. 2 seed Washington and No. 4 seed UMass, who will play at approximately 5:10 p.m. One more win will give OU a berth to the Women's College World Series and an opportunity to defend its 2000 National Championship.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Softball Rallies for 3-2 Win Over No. 12 Washington

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