Softball Opens Home Slate Wednesday

THIS WEEK
Wednesday, Feb. 11
Oklahoma Christian at Oklahoma, 4 PM

Sunshine State Tournament
Friday, Feb. 13 (All Times CST)
Oklahoma vs. South Carolina, 11 AM
Oklahoma vs. Florida State, 3 PM

Saturday, Feb. 14
Oklahoma vs. Illinois, 11 AM
Oklahoma vs. Western Kentucky, 5 PM

Sunday, Feb. 15
Oklahoma vs. Southern Miss., 9 AM

SOONERS OPEN HOME SLATE
The No. 4 Oklahoma softball team begins the 2004 home schedule Wednesday at 4 p.m., when it faces Oklahoma Christian at the OU Softball Complex. The regional clash will be the first on the newly named Marita Hynes Field. Oklahoma is 5-0-1 on the season while OCC is yet to play a game.

OU owns a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series with Oklahoma Christian. The last time the teams met was in 1999 and OU won 10-0. OCC went 31-13 in 2003 and reached the NAIA Regional Playoffs. Fans who can't attend the game can follow the action via live stats on SoonersSports.com. Simply click on the link below

Live Stats | Weekly Release

A LOOK AHEAD
Oklahoma begins play in the Sunshine State Tournament with an 11 a.m. (CST), game against South Carolina, who was ranked No. 22 in the NFCA preseason poll. The Gamecocks come in with a record of 4-0 after defeating North Carolina and Charlotte in doubleheaders last week. South Carolina returns five starters from an SEC East Championship team.

Oklahoma faces another ranked opponent in No. 19 Florida State, Friday at 3 p.m. (CST). The host Seminoles returns seven starters from 2003 when they captured the ACC Championship. FSU is 4-0 on the season after sweeping their way through the Seminole Classic last weekend. The Seminoles have won 28 consecutive regular season games.

Coach Gasso's squad will try to avenge the only blemish on their record when they meet Illinois (3-2-1) at 11 a..m. (CST), on Saturday. Illinois tied Oklahoma in the championship game of the Tiger Classic, which was called after seven innings due to the travel constraints of both teams. OU cruised past Illinois by a score of 7-0 in the season opener for both teams.

The No. 4 team in the country concludes Saturday action with a 5 p.m. (CST), game against Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers return five starters from the 2003 squad, which finished fourth in the Sun Belt Conference. WKU has not played a game.

OU and Southern Miss, who meet at 9 a.m. (CST), on Sunday, have split four games since the start of 2000. The most memorable of those wins was in 2000 when the Sooners defeated the Lady Eagles 3-1 in the Women's College World Series. The 2000 match up was delayed a day by tornado warnings and was on the heels of Southern Miss' ace tossing a no-hitter against Arizona. The Lady Eagles return eight starters from a squad that finished fifth in Conference USA last season. Southern Miss is 1-1 after splitting a double header with Louisiana-Monroe on Feb. 4.

KEITER SIDELINED
All-American Kami Keiter was sidelined last weekend due to a strain biceps in her pitching (left) arm. Keiter's availability for the Sunshine State tourney will be determined when the Sooners arrive in Tallahassee.0

"This is precautionary measure'", said OU head coach Patty Gasso. "We don't want Kami to pitch until she is 100 percent."

A HISTORY LESSON
The Sooners have a history with a number of teams in the 2004 Sunshine State Tournament, although the past isn't too bright. OU has losing records in the all-time series with Florida State, South Carolina and Southern Mississippi. Florida State leads the all-time series 3-4 and has won the last two match ups dating back to 1997. OU has only defeated South Carolina once in six meetings with the lone success coming in 1996. Southern Miss leads the series with OU 3-2 but the squads have split four meetings since 2000. Gasso's squad picked up its ever win against Illinois in the LSU Tiger Classic and will aim for number two this weekend. OU and Western Kentucky have never met.

RECENT HISTORY
Oklahoma was named the tournament champion of the LSU Tiger Classic after going 5-0-1. Oklahoma was the only undefeated team in the field, in fact they were the only team without two losses. The Sooners tied Illinois 2-2 in the championship game, which was called after seven innings because both squads had travel constraints.

The Sooners cruised in their season opener against Illinois, who they beat 7-0. Sophomore Nicole Denes picked up her first career shutout, while Jessica Leslie and Heather Scaglione picked up a pair of RBI each.

Southeastern Louisiana jumped out to a 4-0 lead on April Valdez, who was making her first career start. Reliever Jessica Johnson stifled SLU before giving way to Denes who picked up her second win of the tournament. Johnson starred at the plate as well with two RBI and a double.

OU run-ruled Centenary 8-0 in five innings to begin action on Saturday, Feb. 7. Louisiana native Jamie Fox blasted a home run off the scoreboard in center field for her first career hit as Sooner. Fox and Scaglione both turned in two RBI, while freshman Jessica Johnson tossed a shutout in her first career start.

The marquee match up of the tournament was the No. 4 Sooners against No. 14 LSU. Oklahoma jumped out to 4-0 lead and held on thanks to the relief work of Johnson to defeat LSU, 6-4. Jessica Leslie clutched up for two RBI, while Norrelle Dickson drove in two and Kristin Vesely one.

OU opened championship play by run-ruling Centenary for a second time. OU topped the Ladies 9-1 in six innings with the big blow coming off the bat of Leslie in the form of three-run home run.

Scaglione was named tournament MVP for her all-around play. Not only did the junior catcher have as many hits (7) as RBI, but she also stonewalled three runners at the plate for crucial outs against LSU, Centenary (second game) and Illinois (second game). Nicole Denes (3-0, 2.61 ERA), Kristin Vesely (.455, 6 RBI) and April Valdez (.562, 5 runs) joined Scaglione on the all-tournament team.

450 DOWN, NEXT 500?
OU head coach Patty Gasso picked up the 450th win of her career when OU knocked off Illinois 7-0 in the season opener at the LSU Tiger Classic. Gasso's career Sooner record is 454-140-1 (.764). With a 51 win season Gasso will reach her 500th Sooner victory this season. OU has averaged 53 wins a season since 2000. Gasso will coach her 600th game with OU when the Sooners face Southern Miss Sunday, Feb. 15.

JOHNSON STEALS HEADLINES
Oklahoma freshman pitcher Jessica Johnson didn't expect to see much time in the season-opening Tiger Classic. Turns out she may have been the hero. Johnson's debuted with the Sooners down 4-0 to Southeastern Louisiana and runners in scoring position. She quickly stifled the Lady Lions lineup and impressed the coaches. She was in the circle the folowing morning and produced a shutout in her first career start against Centenary (2/7). Johnson relieved Nicole Denes, again with runners in scoring position, against LSU and picked up her first career save on Saturday, Feb. 7. The following day (2/8) it was more of the same as Johnson limited Centenary to one run and shut down Illinois in relief work. Johnson picked up two wins, one save and a Tiger Classic tournament best 0.52 ERA.

KEITER ON WATCH LIST
USA Softball announced the watch list for the 2004 Collegiate Player of the Year on Feb. 7 and OU All-American Kami Keiter was among 40 NCAA players on the list. Keiter is coming off a sophomore campaign in which she had a record of 34-9 and a 1.02 ERA. Keiter earned national, regional and conference honors in 2003.

SETTING THE TABLE
A common theme during the Tiger Classic was speedsters Norrelle Dickson, Kristin Vesely and April Valdez causing havoc on the base paths. The speedy trio bats No. 1, No. 2 and No. 9 respectively and they all slap hit from the left side. Their job is to set the table for the sluggers. This past weekend they were exceptional. Their combined on-base percentage was .516 with Valdez leading the pack at .611. They did their half of the job by getting on base, while the sluggers did an excellent job of clearing the bases. The 3-7 spots in the lineup produced 25 RBI, good for 74 percent of OU's weekend runs.

TWO-SPORT STAR
Kristin Vesely, an All-Big 12 Second Team performer last season, excels on two fields for the University of Oklahoma. Vesely has started at midfield for the Sooner soccer team the last two seasons. Despite the double duties, the Arizona native has excelled on both fields. She had two goals (one game-winner), four assists and eight points for the OU soccer team, which reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time this past fall.

OPENING SUCCESS
In 10 years with OU, head coach Patty Gasso has never lost a season-opener. In those 10 debut contests the Sooners have outscored their opponents by a combined total of 47-5, including the defeat 7-0 of Illinois on Feb. 6. OU has a all-time record of 23-7 in season openers and has not lost one since 1991.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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