Stacked NFCA Leadoff Classic Awaits Softball

The No. 5 Oklahoma softball team will play DePaul, UMass and Central Michigan in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., this weekend. The stacked tournament field features 14 teams ranked in last week's ESPN.com/USA Softball top-25, including five teams in the top-10.

Oklahoma begins the tourney schedule with UMass on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. UMass, which was named champion of the rain-shortened Leadoff Classic last season, is outside the top-25 but still receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top-25 poll despite getting off to a 1-4 start. UMass began the season in the Fiesta Bowl Classic and lost games to three ranked teams (Cal-State Fullerton, Washington and Fresno State). Sophomore Jenna Busa managed to post a 1.79 ERA against the steep competition UMass faced in Arizona.

Oklahoma essentially plays a doubleheader as they take on Central Michigan immediately after the UMass contest. Central Michigan was picked by MAC coaches to win the conference's West Division. The Chippewas will play their first game of the season earlier in the day when they face DePaul in pool play.

Oklahoma closes out pool play against DePaul at 8 a.m., Saturday. DePaul has struggled to a 1-4 record, although three of their losses have come to top-15 teams Cal, UCLA and Nebraska. OU and DePaul have met five times with the Blue Demons holding a 3-2 advantage. Junior infielder Saskia Roberson leads the team with .500 batting average and four RBI. The Blue Demons are also among the teams receving votes in both national polls.

OU holds a 25-15 all-time record in the Leadoff Classic, which is considered one of the toughest annual tournaments around. OU has competed in every Leadoff Classic dating back to the inaugural event in 1996. Only Washington has played (41) and won (33) more games in the tourney than OU. Last season, the Sooners went 2-1 defeating Villanova and Cal-State Fullerton and losing to LSU.

THIS WEEK
NFCA Leadoff Classic (All Times CST)
Friday, Feb. 27
Oklahoma vs. UMass - 4 PM
Central Michigan vs. Oklahoma - 6:30 PM

Saturday, Feb. 28
Oklahoma vs. DePaul - 9 AM
Championship Bracket Play - 4, 6 PM

Sunday, Feb. 29
Championship Bracket Play - 8 & 10 AM
Championship Game - Noon
Bold indicates home team during tourney play.

VITAL STATS
Record - 12-2-1
Streaks - Won one
USA Today/NFCA Ranking - No. 5
ESPN.com/USA Softbal Ranking - No. 5
Home Record - 4-2
Road Record - 4-0
Neutral Site Record - 4-0-1

OU Weekly Release | Big 12 Weekly Release | Live Stats
NOTE OF THE WEEK
Despite two disappointing losses last weekend, OU still has the best record in the Big 12 at 12-2-1. OU's current record is the sixth best start to a season since OU head coach Patty Gasso arrived in 1995. Gasso's squads are known to get off to tremendous starts. In fact, during her tenure OU has an .813 winning percentage (122-27-1) during its first 15 games of the season. What makes this year's start more impressive is that the Sooners have accomplished it without All-American Kami Keiter.

450 & 600 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 (Feb. 6).   Gasso's career Sooner record is 461-142-1 (.763). With a 51 win season Gasso will reach her 500th Sooner victory this season. OU has averaged 53 wins a season since 2000. Gasso coached the 600th game of her Sooner career in OU's 10-0 defeat of North Carolina on Feb. 21.

FOX TROT
Freshman Jamie Fox has led the offensive charge for the Oklahoma softball team over the last week (eight games). Fox hit .500 on the week with two doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI. The rookie third baseman paced the Sooners' offense as she also tallied four walks, an .833 slugging percentage and a .552 on-base percentage. On the week Fox had four multi-RBI games, five multi-hit games and hit safely in seven of eight contests. The productive week improved Fox's season batting average .164 points, from .200 to .364.

THE NICEST SURPRISE
Oklahoma softball beat writer Guerin Emig (Norman Transcript) called junior April Valdez the "nicest surprise" performer for the Sooner squad in a article detailing OU's quick start (Feb. 21). He definitely has a point. Valdez, who hit .191 last season after transferring from DePaul, has been dominate in the batters box and in the pitching circle. The California native is hitting .439 with a .511 on-base percentage, both of which ranked second on the squad. Valdez has already put together an 11-game hittng streak, which is the best of her career and the longest on the squad this season. The offensive highlight of the season was the grand slam she hit in a 10-0 run-rule defeat of North Carolina on Feb. 21. In the circle Valdez has filled a needed hole left by the early injury to Kami Keiter.   On the season she is 2-0 with a 1.58 ERA, which ranks second on the team. Valdez, who was recruited as pitcher/utility player out of high school, picked up the first shutout, complete game and win of her OU career during the OU/Nike Classic.

SETTING THE TABLE
A common theme this season has been speedsters Norrelle Dickson, Kristin Vesely and April Valdez causing havoc on the base paths. The speedy trio bats normally 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 is .500 with Dickson leading the pack at .526. OU sluggers have done a good job of clearing the table as well.   The 3-7 spots in the lineup (Enea, Scaglione, Fox, Leslie, Denes) produced 58 RBI, good for 73 percent of OU's earned runs this season.

STOPPING CRIME
In 15 games this season only three runners have attempted to steal a base against junior catcher Heather Scaglione and she's gunned down all three. Last year 38 runners tried to the steal on the Sooner signal caller and she tossed out 14 (38 percent). Coach Gasso has taken to calling her the best catcher in the country and it's clear that Scaglione's reputation is preceding her.

PROMOTING THEFT
While opponents aren't even attempting to run on OU catcher Heather Scaglione, the exact opposite is true of OU. The Sooners have swiped 25 bases on 29 attempts (86 percent) this season. Eleven Sooners have recorded a stolen base with Norrelle Dickson at the top of the pack with six.

RECENT HISTORY
Oklahoma posted a 4-2 record in the OU/Nike Classic to tie Louisville for the best record in the field. The Sooners came into the tournament undefeated but couldn't escape with a perfect record.

OU's undefeated season went down the drain in the opener against Louisville, who won 3-1. Nicole Denes gave up the decisive three-run home run, while the Sooners lone run was driven in by Kristin Vesely.

OU rebounded from its first defeat by trouncing Louisville 8-0 in the night cap. Freshman Jamie Fox, who led the Sooners all week, blasted a three run home run to left field for her second round-tripper of her career. Junior April Valdez picked up her first career shutout in her second career start.

Of the three OU/Nike Classic participants, the Sooners had the easiest time with North Carolina. In the opener against the Tar Heels, the Sooners blasted three home runs and Nicole Denes dealed her third shutout of the season. Heather Scaglione's two-run home run bounced off the top of the scoreboard in left field, which was only outdone by the April Valdez's first career grand slam.

The Sooners scored four unanswered runs to beat UNC 4-2 in the nightcap. Nicole Denes, Heather Scaglione and Christina Enea all picked up RBI, while Valdez claimed her second win in as many days.

A lackadaisical Sooner squad fell prey to upstart Sam Houston State on Sunday afternoon as the Bearkats upset the Sooners by a score of 3-1. OU left 10 runners on base, as they did in the loss to Louisville, and were doomed by another three-run home run off of Nicole Denes.

The final game of the OU/Nike Classic turned out to be the most entertaining. OU and Sam Houston State exchanged leads three times and posted a combined 25 runs on the scoreboard. OU took a 7-0 lead thanks to RBI from Fox, Scaglione and Christina Enea. The Bearkats clawed back with 10 unanswered runs to take a 10-7 lead. OU answered immediately in top of the fifth with eight runs of their own. The fifth inning rally was highlighted by the first home run of freshman Amber Spaulding's career, which was a three-run jack to left. Nicole Denes made it back-to-back jacks as she hit solo shot to center for her second home run of the season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Stacked NFCA Leadoff Classic Awaits Softball

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