Sooner Softball Heads To Sunshine State

THIS WEEK

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, 11AM
Oklahoma vs. Western Kentucky, 5 PM

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

A LOOK AHEAD
Oklahoma begins play in the Sunshine State Tournament with a 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 return 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 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.

Fans can access live stats throughout the tournament by clicking on the link below:

Live Stats

SOONERS RULE IN HOME OPENER
The No. 4 Oklahoma softball team cruised to an 8-0 run-rule (five innings) victory over Oklahoma Christian on Wednesday afternoon. Sophomore Nicole Denes improved to 4-0 after tossing her second shutout of the season. Denes struck out eight batters and did not allow a runner past second base.

Reigning Big 12 Player of the Week Heather Scaglione continued to power the Sooner offense as she hit her third home run of the season. Scaglione leads the Sooners with nine RBI this season. Junior Christina Enea also tallied two RBI against the Eagles, while leadoff hitter Norrelle Dickson went 3-for-3.

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.

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.

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

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. So far this season they have been exceptional. Their combined on-base percentage us .542 with Valdez leading the pack at .600. OU sluggers have done a good job of clearing the table as well. The 3-7 spots in the lineup produced 31 RBI, good for 76 percent of OU's runs this season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner Softball Heads To Sunshine State

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