No. 4 Oklahoma Hosts Missouri in Big 12 Home Opener

March 25, 2003

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NORMAN, Okla. - No. 4 Oklahoma (27-4, 3-1 Big 12) compiled a 3-1 record last week at No. 5 Nebraska and No. 24 Kansas to begin its Big 12 conference slate. The Sooners split the series with the Huskers at Bowlin Stadium in Lincoln and swept KU in Lawrence at Jayhawk Field.

The Sooners return to Norman for a two-week home stand beginning with a doubleheader against Missouri on Wednesday, March 26, at 5 and 7 p.m. OU hosts Baylor in a weekend series on Saturday, March 29, at Noon and Sunday, March 30, at Noon.

OU's 27-4 start is one of the best in school history. In fact, if the Sooners win their next game, it will be the best start in head coach Patty Gasso's nine seasons in Norman.

In the first game against Nebraska on March 20, OU beat the Huskers, 1-0, and earned the 100th Big 12 victory in the program's history. Oklahoma became the first conference school to reach the 100-win mark since the formation of the league in 1996.

OU ace Kami Keiter fanned a career-high 14 batters against the Huskers in the 1-0 win. Keiter improved to 17-1 on the season after picking up the win against Nebraska and the sweep of Kansas.

Overall, Oklahoma has the most wins (27) and fewest losses (4) of any Big 12 team and is the highest-ranked conference squad at No. 4 in the latest national polls.

No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Missouri
OU Softball Complex - Norman, Okla.
Wednesday, March 26 - 5 & 7 p.m.
Promotions: Website Wednesday / $.50 Hotdogs & Cokes / Softball bingo
OU Thundersticks to first 250 fans

No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Baylor
OU Softball Complex - Norman, Okla.
Saturday, March 29 - Noon
Promotions: Youth Day / Fan Appreciation Day / Fan of the Game / Softball bingo
Autographed team posters to first 250 fans

Sunday, March 30 - Noon
Promotions: Softball Bingo / Fan of the Game
OU Thundersticks to first 250 fans

Scouting Missouri
Missouri is 17-11 on the season and 2-0 in the Big 12 after sweeping Texas Tech, 6-4, and 8-0, last weekend. The Tigers are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Missouri's highest-rated batters include junior infielder Rachel McGinnis with a .419 average. McGinnis has a team-high 18 hits including five doubles, two triples and a home run and was first-team All-Big 12 last year. Sophomore infielder Heather Kunkel leads the team in RBI (10) with a .298 average and 14 hits with four doubles, a triple and two roundtrippers. The Tigers are led on the mound by sophomore Erin Kalka (5-3) who has amassed a 2.60 ERA in 52 innings with 64 strikeouts. Freshman Samantha Fleeman (2-3) has an ERA of 2.63 in 37.2 innings pitched. Oklahoma is 34-29 in the all-time series with Mizzou with a 9-1 record in the last 10 meetings. Last season, OU swept the Tigers, 3-1, and 8-1, on April 10, 2002. MU finished the 2002 season with an overall record of 29-33 and ninth in the Big 12 at 4-14. In his first season as head coach, Missouri's Ty Singleton took over the controls of the Tiger softball program in June, 2002. He spent the previous two seasons as the head coach at Northwestern State (La.).

Scouting Baylor
The Bears are currently 24-13 and 0-2 in the Big 12 after suffering a sweep at the hands of Oklahoma State last weekend. Baylor travels to Austin to play No. 7 Texas on Wednesday, March 26, before heading to Norman to battle OU. Baylor boasts five players above .330 at the plate. Freshman Kelly Osburn (.451) leads the team in home runs (7) and total bases (65). Sophomore Kim Wilmoth (.366) leads BU in hits (41) including four doubles, two triples and a homer. Senior Sarah Caudle (.337) leads in RBI with 29. In the circle, sophomore lefty Cristin Vitek (11-7) has an ERA of 1.47 in 109.2 innings. Junior Katie Decker (5-2) sports 1.93 ERA in 50.2 innings while senior Joni Miller (6-3) has an ERA of 2.38 in 50 frames and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection last season. The Sooners are 25-3 all-time against Baylor and haven't lost to the Bears in 15 years. OU is riding an 18-game win streak dating back to the 1988 season. Baylor finished 10-8 in the Big 12 (fourth place) and amassed an overall record of 46-18 in 2002. BU head coach Glenn Moore is in his third season in Waco and also began his career at Northwestern State in Louisiana.

Keiter Fans Career High
Keiter (17-1) pitched complete games in OU's 1-0 win over No. 5 Nebraska in Lincoln and the 3-1 win over No. 24 Kansas in Lawrence. She also added 4.2 innings in the Sooners' other two games. Keiter struck out 12 or more batters for the second straight game at Nebraska. The Arvada, Colo., native had set her career strikeout record in Fullerton, Calif., when she fanned 12 batters in OU's 1-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. Keiter retired 14 batters against Nebraska with 10 swinging and four looking in OU's opening win in the series. On the season, Keiter has an 0.80 ERA in 122.1 innings with 113 strikeouts. Offensively, Keiter has 12 hits including three home runs, a triple and two doubles for 25 total bases. She's scored five runs with seven RBI.

Gulla The First
OU third baseman Leah Gulla is one of two Sooners to start every game (Braitsch) this season and leads Oklahoma with a .379 batting average. She also leads the Sooners in RBI (32), hits (36) and doubles (7). Gulla was named NFCA National Player of the Week and Big 12 Player of the Week for her outstanding performances against No. 10 Arizona State, UC-Riverside and UMKC. It marked the first time OU has had an NFCA National Player of the Week. Gulla hit her seventh double of the season to score Braitsch and Kristin Vesely as OU defeated UNLV, 5-2, at the Kia Klassic. Gulla also hit her second double-home run game of the season in the Sooners' 13-1 run-rule game against Cal Riverside (first was against No. 8 LSU at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.).

Enea Continues Fast Start
Sophomore first baseman Christina Enea is batting .348 with 23 hits including three doubles, two triples and three home runs in 66 appearances at the plate. She's scored nine runs with 17 RBI and 39 total bases. Last season, Christina Enea was named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America team as a third team utility player selection. Enea capped off one of the best Sooner freshman campaigns in recent history, leading the team for the majority of the season in hitting. Enea finished with a Big 12-best 57 RBI and 19 doubles. Enea compiled a .354 batting average, eight home runs and 68 runs scored. Enea was also named first team All-Midwest Region and first team All-Big 12. Enea became the first OU freshman to garner All-America honors and the 15th all-time selection for the program.

Braitsch Total Bases Leader
Senior shortstop Kelli Braitsch is OU's all-time career total bases leader with 412 over her career. She passed former Sooner great Lisa Carey (1998-2001) who had amassed 350 bases. The senior from Broken Arrow, Okla., also moved past Lisa Carey and Ashli Barrett for third on the all-time career walks drawn list with 78. Braitsch has a chance to assume the lead on several more career lists as her senior season progresses. She currently ranks third in batting average (.360), fourth in RBI (148) and third in home runs (33).

Stump as DP
Senior Jennifer Stump endured surgery on both her knees in the fall of 2002 and now hits at the designated player slot for the Sooners. She's batting .230 with 14 hits, one double, four runs, 11 walks and 18 total bases. Stump led OU last season with 49 runs and had a team-high 35 walks drawn.

Evans One to Watch
With eight stolen bases to lead the team this season, senior Erin Evans has picked up where she left off last season. The centerfielder has 63 stolen bases as a Sooner and moved to third on the OU career list. Evans needs 12 more to climb to second place (74) and 24 more to overtake all-time Sooner stolen bases leader Christy Ring (86). In each of her three seasons at Oklahoma, Evans has earned first team Academic All-Big 12 honors.

Weight = Title Experience
Starting at second base for the Sooners, senior Tiffany Weight has amassed 54 putouts and 45 assists this season. She also belted her second career home run on Feb. 28 in OU's 7-4 win over UC-Riverside. Weight came to Norman with a national championship already on her resume. The Springville, Utah, native played her first two seasons at Utah Valley State College and led the Wolverines to the NJCAA national title in 2000. Now, Weight is in Norman playing for Oklahoma and making regular trips to the NCAA postseason. "Being at the College World Series (last year) was probably one of my best moments," Weight said, who now wears Sooner jersey No. 16. "Having little kids around wanting autographs and seeing all the people there, I thought,'This is amazing. I'm here, and this is where everyone wants to be who plays softball.'"

Solid Behind the Plate
Sophomore Heather Scaglione has started 29 of 31 games at catcher for Oklahoma in 2003. On 188 chances, she has amassed 171 putouts and 16 assists with only one error. Scaglione's powerful arm has caught seven runners attempting to steal a base. Scaglione has done a little of everything offensively for Oklahoma. The San Diego, Calif., native has batted .342 with 26 hits, five doubles, two triples, three homers and 11 RBI. Scaglione also has 10 runs, 44 total bases and 12 walks drawn. Additionally, she successfully stole a base in two of her four attempts.

Frosh Vesely
Freshman rightfielder Kristin Vesely has led off for the team in 18 of 31 games and is batting .283 with 26 hits including three doubles, one triple, 16 runs and eight RBI. Vesely is a two-sport athlete who played midfield for the Sooner soccer team last fall. Vesely and 2003 signee Norelle Dickson (Orange, Calif.) helped bring home the gold for the United States in the First Pan Am Championships in Hermosillo, Mexico in December of 2002. The USA Junior Women's National Team defeated Canada 2-0 to capture the gold medal. By finishing in the top five of the Pan Am Championship, the USA earned its berth in the 2003 ISF Junior Women's World Championships next summer in Nanjing, China.

OU Places Braitsch, Enea On Watch List
Oklahoma senior Kelli Braitsch and sophomore Christina Enea were named to the initial watch list for the second annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award announced by the Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States. The award, which is considered the Heisman Trophy in women's collegiate softball and is the only national player of the year award, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Braitsch has previously been named two-time, first team All-Big 12, the 2001 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and a member of the Women's College World Series All-Tournament team. Last year, Christina Enea became the first OU softball player in the program's history to earn All-America honors as a freshman. The first 25 finalist will be announced on April 8th. The list will then be reduced to ten players on April 29th, with three finalists being named on May 13th. The winner of the 2003 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced at the 2003 NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Depth In The Dugout
The Sooners are enjoying production out of the dugout this season. Freshman pitchers Dana Askins (6-3) and Nicole Denes (4-0) have combined for 88.3 innings. That means OU has relied on its freshman in 42% of the season so far in the circle. Sophomore transfer April Valdez has started 14 games for OU with seven hits including one double, a home run, four RBI and 37 putouts. Freshman Mariee Mena has started 14 games (played in 20) and has six hits with one double, two runs and one RBI. Mena's stolen two bases on three attempts and has 13 putouts on the season. Jessica Leslie has started 11 games (played in 23) and belted her second career homer during OU's 8-0 win over UMKC on March 3. In fact, two of Leslie's five hits this season were extra-base hits (a double against UMKC in the first game of the twinbill). Junior Katie Overton has started one game and played in eight. Overton has three hits in nine at bats (.333) and has scored two runs for the Sooners.

Dana Askins (Fr.)	Moore, Okla.
Nicole Denes (Fr.)	Coppell, Texas
Nikki Holt (Jr.)	Camarillo, Calif.
Mariee Mena (Fr.)	Escondido, Calif.
Lori Shimasaki (Fr.)	Edmond, Okla.
April Valdez (Fr.)	Hacienda Hts., Calif.
Kristin Vesely (Fr.)	Phoenix, Ariz.

Pinch Me
Junior transfer Nikki Holt and freshman Lori Shimasaki are seeing playing time as pinch runners with each scoring eight runs for the Sooners. Shimasaki is 5-for-6 on stolen base attempts this season. Holt added some offensive stats to her resume by getting an RBI in just her second at bat as a Sooner in OU's 10-0 run-rule of No. 24 Kansas. Holt also has stolen three bases in five attempts.

Sooners First to 100
Justifying its nickname, the Oklahoma Sooners became the first Big 12 team to reach the 100-win mark in conference play. OU beat No. 5 Nebraska, 1-0, in Lincoln for its 100th Big 12 victory on March 20. Since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996, Oklahoma has amassed a league-best 102-23 (.816) record and never finished lower than second in the standings. The Sooners lead the conference in first team All-Big 12 selections with 29 and have the most All-America selections since 1996 with 15. Over that span, OU has captured three conference titles (1996, 1999, 2000) and have been Big 12 Tournament champions twice (1996, 2001). Head Coach Patty Gasso was named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 1996, 1999 and 2000. Here's a closer look at how OU stacks up against one of the most competitive conferences in the nation:

All-time Big 12 Records

Oklahoma

102-23 (.816)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 4 Oklahoma Hosts Missouri in Big 12 Home Opener

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