Showdown In Austin

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NORMAN, Okla. - The Sooners kept themselves in the hunt for the Big XII regular season title by salvaging a split in the series with Iowa State. Oklahoma dropped the first game to the Cyclones, 2-1, but rebounded to run-rule ISU in five innings, 10-1, over the weekend.

Oklahoma travels across the Red River for a pivotal Big 12 matchup at No. 5 Texas on Friday and Saturday. The Friday game will be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 2 p.m. from Austin. Saturday's contest is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

Texas sits atop the Big XII standings with a 6-2 record and is 21-9 overall. The Longhorns lost at Missouri, 1-0, on Saturday and left Columbia without a chance to even the series when the Sunday game was cancelled due to weather.

Oklahoma is 13-9 in the all-time series with UT and 6-4 in the last 10 games.

In the last meeting between the two rivals, second-seeded Oklahoma used a four-run fifth inning rally to come from behind and upset top-seeded Texas, 4-1, in front of an OU Softball Complex record crowd of 1,480 in the NCAA Softball Regional Tournament on May 18, 2002.

No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Texas
McCombs Field - Austin, Texas
Game 1: Friday, April 11 - 2 p.m. (CT)
Live Coverage by ESPN: Channel 29 in Norman, Oklahoma City; Channel 25 in Tulsa

Game 2: Saturday, April 12 - 1 p.m. (CT)

Scouting Texas
Texas sits on top of the Big XII standings with a 6-2 record and is 21-9 overall. The Longhorns lost at Missouri, 1-0, on Saturday and left Columbia without a chance to even the series when the Sunday game was cancelled due to weather. Once again, UT is led from the mound by sophomore sensation Cat Osterman. The Houston native (16-4) has 130.1 innings pitched with an impressive 0.43 ERA. Osterman's fanned 277 batters of 423 face (.654) and has allowed just eight earned runs. Sophomore Amy Bradford (8-2) has pitched 60.1 innings with an ERA of 0.81. At the plate, the Longhorns boast four players above .300. Freshman outfielder Tina Boutelle (.323) has 30 hits with a team-high seven doubles and 40 total bases. Senior Lindsay Gardner (.308) leads the team in hits (32) while Chez Sievers (.322) and Tamara Poppe (.311) also pose offensive threats. Wynter Turner (.289) leads the team in home runs (4) although Texas only has 10 on the season (OU has 35). UT coach Connie Clark is in her seventh season in Austin and has compiled a 249-135-1 (.648) record overall. Clark is 9-13 all-time against Patty Gasso and Oklahoma.

The Series
Oklahoma leads, 13-9
All-time Score: Oklahoma 81, Texas 44
Last Meeting Oklahoma 4, Texas 1 - NCAA Regional on May 18, 2002

Series at Austin: OU, 4-2
Series at Norman: Tied, 3-3
Neutral Sites: OU, 6-4

Biggest OU win: 11-0 (2000)
Biggest UT win: 5-1 (1999)

Streaks to Watch

	Oklahoma needs just seven more wins to record the 1,000th victory in the program's history. The Sooners are currently 993-590 (.627) in 29 years of softball.
	15 of OU's 32 wins have been shutouts. The record for shutouts in a season at Oklahoma is 30 (1997).
	Senior third baseman Leah Gulla has started 103 consecutive games for the Sooners since the beginning of the 2002 season (longest current streak on the team).
	OU has not lost consecutive games this season and has been held scoreless in just two games.
	The Sooners have had seven double-digit hit games this season without allowing one opponent to reach that mark.
	Oklahoma has never finished lower than second in the Big 12 standings.
	If Oklahoma reaches an NCAA Regional this season, it will mark the 10th consecutive for OU dating back to 1994.
	If OU reaches the Women's College World Series, it will mark the fourth consecutive trip to Oklahoma City for the Sooners since winning it all in 2000.

Grand Slam, Thank You Ma'am
Senior shortstop Kelli Braitsch belted the first grand slam of her career in OU's 10-1 run-rule of Iowa State on April 6. Braitsch is OU's all-time career total bases leader with 419 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 80. 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 (153) and third in home runs (34).

Gulla Belting Big XII
OU senior third baseman Leah Gulla leads the team with a .388 batting average this season. Against Big XII competition, Gulla is batting . 333. She leads OU in total bases (77), RBI (39), doubles (8) and hits (45). Gulla got the first hit in the seventh inning in OU's dramatic 2-1 comeback win over Oklahoma State on April 2. She also belted the game-winning home run in OU's 5-1 win over Missouri on March 26 and added another roundtripper on March 30 in the Sooners' 3-0 win over Baylor. She is second on the team with eight home runs and moved to fourth on the all-time OU career home runs list with 30. Gulla has now started 103 consecutive games for the Sooners since the beginning of the 2002 season. She owns the longest current games started streak on the team. Gulla has been named Big XII Player of the Week twice this season and was honored as NFCA National Player of the Week earlier this year. It marked the first time OU has had a National Player of the Week.

Keiter Flying High
Keiter (22-2) pitched Oklahoma to wins against intrastate rival Oklahoma State and Iowa State last week. On the season, Keiter's struck out 150 of 569 batters faced with an opponent's batting average of .163. She's allowed just 17 runs. Keiter was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after striking out a career-high 14 batters at No. 5 Nebraska on March 20. On the season, Keiter leads the Sooners on the mound with 165 innings pitched and an ERA of 0.72. Keiter leads the Big 12 with 10 shutouts.

Enea Continues Fast Start
Sophomore first baseman Christina Enea is batting .333 with 28 hits including four doubles, two triples and three home runs in 84 appearances at the plate. She's scored 12 runs with 18 RBI and 45 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.

DA as the DP
Freshman Dana Askins started as the designated player for the first time this season against Iowa State on April 6. The Moore, Okla., native smacked a triple on her first pitch at the plate and scored the second run of her career when Tiffany Weight's single brought her home.

Evans One to Watch
With 10 stolen bases to lead the team this season, senior Erin Evans has picked up where she left off last season. The centerfielder has 65 stolen bases as a Sooner and moved to third on the OU career list. Evans needs 10 more to climb to second place (74) and 22 more to overtake all-time 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 64 putouts and 56 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 & At the Plate
Sophomore Heather Scaglione hit the game-winning two-run double in the Bedlam game against Oklahoma State on April 2. Scaglione's started 36 of 38 games at catcher for Oklahoma in 2003. She's amassed 217 putouts and 19 assists with only two errors. Scaglione's powerful arm has caught nine runners attempting to steal a base. Scaglione has done a little of everything offensively for Oklahoma. The San Diego, Calif., native has batted .315 with 29 hits, six doubles, two triples, four homers and 15 RBI. Scaglione also has 12 runs, 51 total bases and leads the team with 16 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 38 games and is batting .266 with 29 hits including three doubles, one triple, 18 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 in Nanjing, China.

Depth In The Dugout
The Sooners are enjoying production out of the dugout this season. Freshman pitchers Dana Askins (6-4) and Nicole Denes (4-0) have combined for 92.4 innings. That means OU has relied on its freshman in 35% of the season so far in the circle. Sophomore transfer April Valdez has started 17 games for OU, batting .186 with eight hits including one double, a home run, four RBI and 38 putouts. Freshman Mariee Mena has started 16 games (played in 25) 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 14 games (played in 28) 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 10. 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 Holt scoring 10 runs and Shimasaki eight. Holt is 4-for-6 on steal attempts with Shimasaki 5-for-7 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.

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 105-24 (.814) 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 has been Big 12 Tournament champion 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 (1996-2003)

Oklahoma

107-25 (.810)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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