Softball Wins Two, Claims No. 1 Seed At Tiger Classic

The No. 4 Oklahoma softball team won two games Saturday afternoon at the LSU Tiger Classic to advance to championship play, which begins on Sunday, as the No. 1 seed in the tournament. OU opened with an 8-0 run-rule defeat of Centenary and followed with a 6-4 defeat of No. 14 LSU.

The Sooners will play Centenary (No. 4 Seed) in an elimination game Sunday at Noon with the winner advancing to the play either LSU or Illinois in the championship game.

Junior catcher Heather Scaglione dominated the early part of the first game against Centenary. Scaglione's two-run home run off the left field foul poll in the first inning put the Sooners up 2-0. Then in the top of the third, Scaglione blocked Centenary's Jordan Lansdale at the plate to keep the score at 2-0. The play at the plate was set up by a double from Ladies designated player Janis Kelley. Left fielder Jessica Leslie fielded the double on a ricochet of the wall, fired to cutoff man Norrelle Dickson who gunned down the potential score at home.

OU made the most of a couple Centenary miscues as they scored two runs on one hit in the third inning. That hit was a single to center, which gave leadoff hitter Norrelle Dickson the first RBI of her young career.

Louisiana native Jamie Fox was hitless on Friday but busted out with a home run to center field for the first Sooner hit. Her blast put the Sooners up 5-0 after four innings.

OU finished off the Ladies with a three-run fifth inning in which Leslie and Fox both picked up RBI.

Freshman Jessica Johnson picked up the shutout in her first career start. She allowed just five hits, while walking one batter and striking out two.

No. 4 Oklahoma 8, Centenary 0 (Box Score)

The Sooners had a 35 minute break before they squared off with the Tigers. OU continued its weekend trend of capitalizing on opponents miscues. The Sooners scored all six runs in their 6-4 victory with two outs.

Kristin Vesely began the charge with a one out seeing-eye single to left in the top of the first inning. A botched force out and a stolen base put Christina Enea and Vesely in scoring position. Junior Jessica Leslie followed one batter later with a clutch double down the right field line to bring home the Sooners first two runs.

The Sooners got busy again with two outs in the top of the second inning. Back-to-back hits by April Valdez and Dickson put runners on the corners for Vesely. Vesely dropped a looper into left field to score Valdez and increase the Sooners lead to 3-0.

Leslie began the rally in the third inning with a single and swipe of second base. Louisiana native Jamie Fox lined a double into left field to score Leslie and put herself in scoring position. A walk to sophomore Mariee Mena and another single by Valdez loaded the bases for rookie Norrelle Dickson. Dickson laced a single up the middle to extend the Sooners lead to 6-1.

Starter Nicole Denes slowed the Tiger through five innings as she surrendered four runs on six hits. Her luck ran out, as did her energy, in the bottom of the sixth as she loaded the bases and walked in the Tigers fourth run. Freshman Jessica Johnson entered with the bases loaded and one out. The rookie got a LSU leadoff hitter Leslie Klein to fly out to left field and Enea picked off LSU freshman Kristen Hobbs at third base to end the inning with a vital double play.

After walking the tying run with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Johnson rang up shortstop Lauren Delahoussaye for the second out and the Sooner pitching staff's first strike out of the game. The final Tiger hitter of the game grounded out to short and Johnson earned her first career save. Denes picked up her third win of the season and improved to 3-0.

No. 4 Oklahoma 6, No. 14 LSU 4 (Box Score)

Follow Sunday's championship action at the Tiger Classic with Live Stats from Baton Rouge, La.