Sooner Softball Blanks Tulsa, 8-0

April 22, 2003

TULSA, Okla. - No. 5 Oklahoma blanked Tulsa, 8-0, in front of 923 fans at the Hardesty Sports Complex on TU's campus Tuesday evening. With the win, the Sooners notched their 17th shutout of the season and improved to 24-0 all-time against the Golden Hurricane.

Freshman rightfielder Kristin Vesely (2-for-4) belted her first home run of the season in the Sooners' first at bat of the game to give OU an early 1-0 lead. Vesely became the 12th different player to hit a homer for the Sooners this season. Leah Gulla (3-for-4) then extended her hitting streak to seven games with a single following Vesely's roundtripper but Tulsa escaped the inning on a fielder's choice.

OU added two runs in the top of the third. Designated player Jennifer Stump walked to first and Kristin Vesely singled again and moved to second on an error by TU's Crissy Strimple. OU then loaded the bases when Erin Evans was hit on a pitch from Maren Genow. On a 1-0 count, Leah Gulla plated Stump and Vesely on a single and the Sooners took a 3-0 lead.

The score held until the top of the sixth. Senior shortstop Kelli Braitsch (2-for-4) blasted her 10th home run of the season with a shot over the left field wall. Freshman Mariee Mena singled to reach first and pitcher Kami Keiter (1-for-3) brought her home with another home run over the left field wall. Keiter rounded the bases on her fourth homer of the season and Oklahoma was up, 6-0.

Ami Day then replaced Maren Genow on the mound for Tulsa and closed out the inning with ground outs by Jennifer Stump and Kristin Vesely.

The Sooners iced the game with two more runs in the top of the seventh. Freshman Lori Shimasaki (1-for-1) singled to reach first and dashed to third on Leah Gulla's third hit of the night. Pinch runner Nikki Holt replaced Gulla at first. April Valdez (1-for-1) then brought both players home with a single to center field.

Kami Keiter picked up the win for the Sooners to improve to 25-4 on the season. Keiter pitched five innings without giving up a hit and only one walk. Keiter fanned five TU batters before Dana Askins replaced her for the final two stanzas. Askins gave up one walk, struckout one batter and preserved the shutout for the Sooners.

The shutout was OU's second consecutive after blanking Texas Tech in Lubbock last Saturday.

Oklahoma (36-8, 10-5 Big 12) returns to conference play with the Bedlam series finale at Stillwater against Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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