Sooners Shake No. 19 A&M, 4-2

April 26, 2003

NORMAN, Okla. - No. 5 Oklahoma capitalized on offensive production from the bottom of its lineup to turn back No. 19 Texas A&M, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at the OU Softball Complex. Kami Keiter and Jessica Leslie, hitting in the eighth and ninth slots, combined for four hits and three RBI to power the Sooners to the win over the visiting Aggies.

OU moved to 37-9 overall and 11-6 in the Big 12 while A&M dropped to 34-17 and 9-6. The victory marked Oklahoma's 13th win over a team ranked in the NFCA Top 25 and 12th win in the last 13 meetings with the Aggies. OU leads the overall series, 28-19.

Kami Keiter improved to 26-5 with a complete game from the mound for the Sooners. The lefty struck out seven batters, walked two and allowed eight hits and two runs. But it was her performance at the plate that Keiter (2-for-3) chose to highlight in front of 633 fans this afternoon. The sophomore from Arvada, Colo., belted her fifth home run of the season in the third inning to give Oklahoma a 1-0 lead.

OU extended its margin to 3-0 with two runs in the fourth. Christina Enea reached first on an error by A&M's Kristin Gunter at first base and moved to second after a single by Heather Scaglione (1-for-3). Shortstop Kelli Braitsch (1-for-2) connected on the next at bat to load the bases for the Sooners. Designated player Jennifer Stump then reached on a fielder's choice and Enea crossed home plate as the Aggies tossed Scaglione out at third.

Keiter singled to center field as OU reloaded the bases. A&M coach Jo Evans had seen enough and replaced her starting pitcher Jessica Slataper with Lindsey Rippee. On a 1-2 count, Jessica Leslie (2-for-3) grounded out to second baseman Adrian Gregory but Braitsch had time to dash home and OU was up, 3-0. Rippee regrouped to fan Kristin Vesely and end the inning for the Aggies.

The Aggies would answer in the top of the fifth with two runs of their own. DP Lindsay Wilhelmson homered to center field on a 2-2 count to give A&M its first run. Later in the inning, rightfielder Rocky Spencer got a one-run single that plated pinch runner Ashley Awalt.

The score held at 3-2 until the bottom of the sixth when Leslie again came up big for the Sooners. With two outs, the junior from Raytown, Mo., singled to RBI Kelli Braitsch for the second time in the game and Oklahoma took the 4-2 win.

OU senior Leah Gulla continued to display her hitting prowess with a 2-for-2 performance and a walk. Her .419 batting average leads the Big 12 with one game to go in conference action.

Oklahoma and Texas A&M conclude their series at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the OU Softball Complex.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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