Oklahoma 11, Oklahoma State 2 (Final)

May 4, 2003

Oklahoma set a Big 12 Tournament record for runs in an inning with eight in the top of the first and cruised to an 11-2 run-rule victory over Oklahoma State to advance to this afternoon's 2:30 tourney title game against No. 1 seed Texas.

The fourth-seeded Sooners pounded out seven hits in the first inning, including back-to-back homers from Erin Evans and Kristin Vesely. Evans' blast was a three-run shot. OU added two runs in the fourth, one coming on a Leah Gulla homer that bounced off of OSU centerfielder Lacy Darity's glove and over the fence. It was Gulla's ninth roundtripper of the season.

The second-seeded Cowgirls plated an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth and added a tally in the fifth as catcher Ryan Realmuto doubled home Stephanie Nicholson.

The Sooners pounded out 13 hits and had four players collect two apiece. Tiffany Weight and Evans, OU's No. 8 and 9 hitters, combined to go 4-for-6 with five RBIs.

Freshman Dana Askins threw 4.0 innings and gave up one unearned run on five hits without a walk to pick up her eighth win of the year against four losses. Nicole Denes pitched the fifth and gave up a run on one hit and two walks. OSU's Cami Carter started the game but lasted only two-thirds of an inning after allowing five runs (all earned) on four hits and a walk. She was replaced by Sarah Seagraves who gave up six runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk in 4.1 innings. OU improved to 42-11 while OSU fell to 37-13.

Additional Notes

OU tied the Big 12 Tournament record for homers in a game with three (Evans, Vesely and Gulla).

The Sooners have won 16 of their last 17 games against Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma tied a Big 12 Tournament record with 11 runs scored in a game (happened three previous times with the most recent being an 11-0 OU win over Texas in the 2000 event).

Oklahoma Head Coach Patty Gasso
On winning by nine runs:
"We've been pushing one across and winning by one with everything we've been doing. We were surprised not to see Lauren Bay pitching against us, but I guess there was an injury. They just saw this as an opportunity to bust the game open and get Kami Keiter off the mound which was a beautiful thing because we didn't have to use her at all. They kept plugging and hit some good hard balls today. It's a good way to send us into the championship game."

On being a No. 4 seed in the championship game:
"The only way we know is the long way and the long road. This is a blue-collar team that knows how to come back and do things like that. This will be a very competitive game this afternoon."

Oklahoma State Head Coach Margaret Rebenar
On health status of pitcher Lauren Bay:
"It was in our better interest to not put her in the game today. We are not going to know anything (regarding her injury) until we get back to town.. She has something going on and we just want to be real careful and conservative with her because we need her down the road."

On the end of Big 12 season:
"You know how second place only counts in horseshoes as they say. We have three weeks left in the season. I think up until today we had a good Big 12 Tournament. We've had great year and we need to keep that going. We certainly need to put this one (loss) way back there."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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