Sooners Set To Defend National Title

May 21, 2001

SOONERS MAKE SECOND TRIP TO WORLD SERIES: With a perfect run through the NCAA Region 5 tournament, fifth-ranked Oklahoma (49-7) will have a chance to defend its 2000 national championship when it returns to the Women's College World Series for the second time in as many years.

Played at Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, the eight regional winners will compete in the double-elimination tournament. No. 1 seeded Arizona, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Iowa and No. 8 California are the other title contenders.

The Sooners will be the No. 5 seed and face fourth-seeded Michigan in the opening round. OU trails the Maize and Blue in the all-time series 9-3. The two teams last met in 1998 NFCA Leadoff Classic which the Wolverines won 7-3. OU's last win came in 1996 when it shut out UM 5-0 at the Arizona Hillenbrand Tournament.

Winners in their last 22 games, the Sooners are on a roll. Not only is the streak a school record, but it longest current string in the nation. Since dropping a pair of games at Nebraska on March 30, OU has outscored its opponents 180 to 25 and grabbed the Big 12 Tournament and NCAA Region 5 titles.

A POSSIBLE 13 GAMES TO APPEAR ON TV: Teaming up with ESPN and ESPN2, the Women's College World Series is scheduled to have up to 13 games carried on national television. All of Thursday's first-round action will be carried on ESPN2. Currently, only games six and eight will not be televised.

WORLD SERIES TIDBITS: The Sooners are 4-0 in the Women's College World Series, winning it in their first trip last year... OU has faced only one of the other WCWS participants this year and that was at Arizona in early March where it lost 6-2.. OU has won its last 16 postseason games dating back to the 2000 NCAA Regional... During that span, OU has outscored its opponents 90-18, including a 60-9 advantage this season... The Sooners have a 23-12 all-time record in the NCAA tournament.

ONE WIN AWAY: With 49 wins this year, the Sooners need just one more to record the sixth 50-win season in the program's 27-year history. Current associate athletic director Marita Hynes was the first to reach the 50-win plateau, recording 50 during the 1980 campaign. OU didn't reach that mark again until the 1994 season and have done it five times in the last seven years. Current skipper Patty Gasso is going for her fourth 50-win season in her eight-year career.

WINNING STREAK BREAKS RECORD: The Sooners have been winning their games in record fashion...by rolling off 22-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.

THE DEFENSE DOESN'T HURT: In the four games o the NCAA Regional, the Sooners played flawless defense, committing no errors and upping their fielding percentage to a .975. The infielders made dazzling stops and the outfielders helped with diving catches of their own. In fact, OU has just three errors in its last nine outings.

STEWART DOES IT AGAIN FOR OU: The OU offense has taken off a lot of pressure off ace Jennifer Stewart by scoring a lot of runs, but Stewart has kept opponents in check throughout the year. The Yukon, Okla., product has won 18 of her last 19 starts and even picked up a save along the way. During this span she has given up just 15 earned runs on 76 hits in 109 innings. She has a 0.96 ERA and has tossed 10 complete games. In four of those games Stewart has shutout her opponent and combined with Angela Wedlake and Adrianne Ratliff for another five.

THE HOT CORNER: Leah Gulla, third base, sophomore Not so much for what she did with the bats, but when she did it. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native came up with timely hits and helped OU in its wins over Lehigh and No. 12 Washington. She also made stellar grabs at the hot corner and was perfect in 10 fielding chances.

"CAREY"ING THE SOONERS: It was this time last year that Lisa Carey turned up the heat and helped the Sooners to their first national championship. The senior has hit .400 in the last eight games with 10 runs scored, two homers and eight RBIs. But more importantly, she has gotten clutch hits to rally OU and carries a nine-game hitting streak into the Women's College World Series.

Carey's two-run single was the difference against Texas Tech to put OU in the semi-finals of the Big 12 tournament. In the first game against Washington, her solo home run closed the gap on the Huskies' 2-0 lead and eventually was the difference as the Sooners won 3-2 to advance to the finals where they eventually won 10-2.

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME: Don't be fooled by the .292 batting average and think that Leah Gulla can't get the job done. In two games of the NCAA Regional, the sophomore was responsible for the game-winning hits that propelled the Sooners to victory and earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.

Against Lehigh, Gulla hit a bases-loaded double to center to drive in two players and give OU its final go-ahead runs. It was a little more dramatic against Washington where the Huntington Beach, Calif., product was down 0-2 in the count with two outs. That's when she hit a high slap just over the head of the third baseman to drive in the game-winning runs and boost the Sooners to the regional final.

EVANS IGNITES OU DURING REGIONAL RUN: Sophomore Erin Evans bounced back from a disappointing Big 12 tournament to earn the Most Outstanding Player honors in the NCAA Region 5. The center fielder hit just .250 in the four games of the conference tourney, getting just two hits in eight at-bats.

But Evans ignited the Sooners in the regional, hitting .500 (7-of-14) with a double, five RBIs and three stolen bases. She opened the tourney with a 3-for-3 outing against Lehigh, scoring the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.

A two-run double against North Carolina solidified the run rule and in the first Washington game, Evans had a crucial slap hit for a base hit and rounded the bases to score the winning run on Gulla's single. In the final, Evans went just 1-for-4, but drove in three of OU's 10 runs and scored another.

RECORD CROWDS PACK THE OU SOFTBALL COMPLEX FOR REGIONAL: Nearly 5,000 fans witnessed the Sooners win their second trip to the World Series in their four games of the NCAA Region 5 at the OU Softball Complex. Thursday's 872 fans were just a jumping off point for the crowds that grew with each step closer to Oklahoma City.

Friday's 1,327 fans broke the previous record of 1,320 set on April 19, 2000, for Bedlam against Oklahoma State. But the record stood for less than 24 hours as 1,357 jammed into the complex for the semi-final game against Washington.

And Sunday's crowd of 1,432 began lining up an hour before game time and then lined the fences, filled the bleachers and stood along the back wall to see OU defeat the Huskies for a second time and earn the WCWS bid.

A LONG TIME TO WAIT: The Sooners had to wait for what probably seemed like an eternity to defeat 12th-ranked Washington and win the regional. The game--all two hours and 43 minutes of it--was the longest game of the year. The seven-inning affair broke the previous high that came against Texas on April 8. That game was clocked at two hours and 42 minutes, but was also slowed by a live appearance on Fox Sports Net. There was no live television there on Sunday...just a combined 26 hits and two pitching changes from the teams.

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 .405, but if there's a runner on third and less than two outs, they up their average to .671.

LOAD UP THE BASES: 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 .411 when the bases are filled. And who's done the most damage? It's Kelli Braitsch, who is 6-for-9 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 8-for-14 (.571).

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 five games for a total of 10 innings and hasn't allowed a single run and only three hits. Opponents are hitting just .094 against her.

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 18 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 25 games they played in the state borders. The Sooners haven't loss a game in Oklahoma since May 13, 2000, and have won 33 straight.

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 286, 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 18-0 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 .874 winning percentage.

OU accomplished its goal of going undefeated at home in dominating fashion. The Sooners outscored their opponents 132-21 in Norman and hit .387 to the visitor's .185. The pitchers have a combined 0.84 ERA compared to opponents' 7.65 ERA.

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. The Sooners will miss her bat, that has really been coming on lately. She was hitting .405 with two homers, a double and 9 RBIs in the 14 games of the 22-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. In the regional, Stump hit .417 with another home run and four RBIs.

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 placed four players on the all-tournament team. Outfielder Jennifer Stump, pitcher Jennifer Stewart, catcher Ashli Barrett and first baseman Lisa Carey were honored with Carey earning the Most Outstanding 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. 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 an 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 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 .345 as they head into the World Series, 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 .448 would be the highest ever by a Sooner in a single season. The others that would be ranked include Lisa Carey (third, .408), Ashli Barrett (sixth, .400) and Christy Ring (10th, .359).

NUMBERS IMPRESSIVE IN STREAK: Oklahoma has bounced back from a pair of losses at Nebraska with a vengence where it has rolled to 22 straight wins. During this 22-0 run, the Sooners have a .380 batting average and have outscored their opponents 180-25.

The Big 12 Player of the Year, Kelli Braitsch has been unstoppable in that span. She is hitting .534 with eight doubles, two triples, four homers, 21 RBIs and a .863 slugging percentage.

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 third in the country at .345. In the 22 games since, OU has raised its average nearly 20 points because five starters are hitting .390 or better in that stretch.

SOONERS DOMINATED 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.

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.

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 49 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 three years what many pitchers couldn't do in four at OU which was reach 92 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 36 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 seems to keep getting grand slams to take back the lead including her latest against North Carolina bring her total to 189, edging out Carey's 184.

MERCY ME!: Through the first 56 games this year, 17 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 (two times), Utah State, No. 20 Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Baylor and No. 11 Nebraska.

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 a second NCAA Championship.

SOONERS IN NCAA RANKINGS: The Sooners rank among the NCAA leaders in batting, fielding, scoring and win-loss percentage. As of May 15, OU's .342 batting average was third, they were 11th in fielding and fifth in scoring. Their win-loss percentage also ranked sixth in the nation.

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 46 in her career which ranks tied for 10th all-time in the NCAA.

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 9-3 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).

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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors