Sooners Face Top Competition In Oklahoma Farm Bureau Softball Challenge

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April 16, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - Ninth-ranked Oklahoma (36-10) will join No. 1 Arizona (38-5), No. 12 Fresno State (36-13) and Oklahoma State (26-15) in the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Softball Challenge on Tuesday and Wednesday. Held at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, OU will take on FSU in the first game on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and then battle the defending national champion Arizona Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the second game of the evening.

Both games will be broadcast live in the Oklahoma City area on KREF 1400 AM and can also be listened to on the Sooners' official athletic web site www.soonersports.com.

Last Time Out
In battle for first place honors in the Big 12 Conference softball race, No. 18 Texas swept No. 9 Oklahoma, 2-1 and 3-2, in two tight contests Sunday afternoon at the OU Softball Complex. The Longhorns overtook the Sooners for first place and snapped OU's 44-game home unbeaten streak in the process. It marked the third time this season that Oklahoma has lost a one-run game to Texas.

The Sooners lost a tough fought first game, 2-1, in 10 innings. OU starting pitcher Jennifer Stewart (15-4) and UT starter Cat Osterman (24-7) battled in a pitcher's duel as Osterman picked up her second win over Oklahoma this year.

Texas plated the winning run in the top of the 10th inning when the leadoff runner at second base scored with two outs on a single by shortstop Erin Mahoney (1-for-3).

In game two, Texas rightfielder Deeanna Williams (1-for-3) hit her first home run of the year in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and give the Longhorns their second win of the day.

The Longhorns plated two unearned runs in the fourth inning as an error on the leadoff batter came back to hurt the Sooners. Mahoney (1-for-3) reached base on an error by junior third baseman Leah Gulla (0-for-3) and scored on a two out single by Wynter Turner (2-for-3), who eventually came around to score herself on a RBI-single by designated player Melissa Martin (2-for-3).

Oklahoma countered in the bottom of the inning with two runs to tie the score. Freshman first baseman Christina Enea (2-for-3) started the brief rally with a single and moved to second on a single by freshman catcher Heather Scaglione (1-for-3). After Enea and Scaglione both moved up on a wild pitch by UT starter Amy Bradford (12-1), both baserunners scored on a two-base error by Mahoney on a ball put in play by junior shortstop Kelli Braitsch (1-for-3).

Freshman hurler Kami Keiter (9-5) suffered the loss after pitching six inning and giving up eight hits and all three runs. Only one of the three runs charged to Keiter were earned.

Scouting Fresno State
Fresno State (38-5) heads into the Challenge winners of their last eight games. After being shutout in four straight games, the Bulldogs have recently turned the tables and shutout six of their last eight.

The Bulldogs' success relies heavily upon the performance of their pitching staff. Fresno State has five individuals who have logged innings this year and they are led by freshman righthander Jamie Southern. Southern (24-6) owns a phenomenal 0.35 ERA, has shutout 16 opponents and struck out 288 batters in 242.2 innings of work. Opponents are only batting .129 against the freshman sensation.

Fresno State's weakness lies in its offense where the team is only batting .242 and they have only hit three home runs. In nine of the team's losses this season, the Bulldogs' have been held scoreless and they have been one-hit three times. Senior outfielder Tiffany Whipple bats above the .300 mark with a team-leading .333 average and team-high 27 runs scored. Not far behind Whipple is senior infielder Lindsay Fossatti who, while batting .319, has accounted for two of the squad's home runs and also leads the team with eight doubles.

Scouting Arizona
Defending champion Arizona (38-5) continues to ride its wave of success from 2001 into this season. The Wildcats sit atop the college softball world and sport one of the best team pitching and offense combinations in the country. As of April 7, UA ranked third in batting average and 15th in ERA and has several players ranked among the nation's elite in numerous individual categories.

Offensively, Arizona owns a .327 team batting average and has eight players hitting above the .300 mark and six other players who have driven in 33 or more runs. Junior shortstop Lovieanne Jung leads the squad with a .421 average and has scored nearly twice as many runs as any other individual on the team with 50. Sophomore first baseman Leneah Manuma tops the club in the RBI and home run departments with 59 and 17, respectively.

2001 Women's College World Series MVP Jennie Finch has led the Wildcats in the circle with a 22-1 record and a 0.68 ERA. Finch, who also starts at first base when she is not pitching, had her NCAA record 60-game winning streak snapped just four games ago against UCLA. Finch and sophomore righthander Jenny Gladding (16-4, 1.80 ERA) have paired up to throw all of the team's 267 innings and have combined for a staff ERA of 1.15.

Diamond Notes
* Oklahoma's two losses to Texas last weekend snapped several team streaks. The losses ended the Sooners' bid to jump out to their best start in Big 12 Conference history, stopped a season high 12-game winning streak and halted the team's 44-game home unbeaten streak.

* The Sooner pitching staff has not allowed more than one earned run in the last five contests.

* Freshman hurler Kami Keiter extended her innings pitched without issuing a walk streak to 42.1 frames last week and has given only one free pass in the last 48.2 innings.

Sooners Decorate National Rankings
In the first set of national statistical rankings that were released by the NCAA last week, Oklahoma finds itself on several of the lists. As a team, the Sooners ranked fifth in scoring, 10th in the country in winning percentage, 19th in batting average and 26th in ERA. Individually, freshman pitcher Kami Keiter was second in the nation in ERA and stood only .11 behind the nation's leader. Other top individual performers for the Sooners include freshman first baseman/catcher Christina Enea who is 11th in RBI per game and 16th in doubles per game, while junior third baseman Leah Gulla is tied with two others for 26th in home runs per game.

Sitting Pretty In The Midwest
With a 24-3 mark against teams in the NCAA Midwest Region, the Sooners are ranked in the top 10 in the first regional rankings released by the NCAA. Oklahoma, along with Baylor, Florida International, Illinois State, Kansas, Louisiana-Lafayette, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, make up the list's initial ratings. All three of the team's region losses have come at the hands of Texas.

In the biweekly poll, the first two rankings released list teams in alphabetical order before the last three polls rank the top teams 1-10. The rankings help determine the NCAA Tournament field at the end of the regular season and conference tournaments.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Face Top Competition In Oklahoma Farm Bureau Softball Challenge

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