Softball Shuts Out Centenary In Doubleheader

It is a safe guess that Centenary is happy to have seen the Oklahoma softball team for the last time this season. The sixth-ranked Sooners shut out Centenary in both ends of a doubleheader during Sunday action at the OU/Worth Invitational and have now defeated the Ladies by a combined score of 32-1 over four meetings this season. Sophomore Nicole Denes snared her 15th win of the season as the Sooners took the opener 6-0, while All-American Kami Keiter notched her first shutout of the year in a 9-0 run-rule (six innings) victory in the nightcap.

“We rebounded well from our disappointing split yesterday,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “Our bats came alive today. Now we need to step up and have the same mind frame and effort when we play San Diego State on Tuesday. We head to California, where we will face our toughest competition of the season, and we need to duplicate the intensity we displayed today.”

Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score

Junior Jessica Leslie ignited the Sooner offense in the second inning of the first game with an RBI double that bounced to the left field wall. Leslie would come around to score on a Centenary error that gave OU a 2-0 advantage after two frames.

The Sooners put the game away in the bottom of the third with four runs on five hits. The damage was done by Kristin Vesely, Nicole Denes, Norrelle Dickson and Leslie who all contributed RBI.

Nicole Denes was perfect through the first three innings and sent the Ladies down in order four times on the afternoon. Denes allowed just two hits in route to her fifth shutout and 11th complete game of the season. The sophomore hurler, who led the Big 12 in wins coming into the weekend, improved to 15-5 on the year.

Oklahoma ace Kami Keiter (1-1) picked up where Denes left off in the second game. Keiter had a no-hitter going through 4.2 innings when it was broken up by pinch-hitter Meghan Hall. Keiter was undeterred and retired the final four batters in order to polish off an impressive one-hitter. Keiter finished with six strikeouts, one base on balls and did not allow a runner past second base.

Heather Scaglione knocked in OU's first two runs in the night cap. A single to left field plated April Valdez in the first inning, while the junior catcher's ninth home run of the year came in the fourth inning and gave OU a 2-0 lead.

The Sooners would add another two runs in the fifth inning before putting the game out of reach in the sixth. With two outs in the sixth inning, OU strung together five hits and posted five runs to extended its lead to 9-0. Kristin Vesely, Scaglione, and Valdez each drove in one run during the rally, while Dickson had a two-run single.

Dickson was 5-for-7 on the doubleheader with three RBI in the night cap. The freshman shortstop hit .632 on the tournament with one home run, five RBI, five runs scored and four stolen bases.

OU run-ruled Centenary twice during the LSU Tiger Classic (Feb. 6-8) by scores of 8-0 and 9-1.

OU finished with a 5-1 record to improve to 23-6-1 on the season. The Sooners had the best record in the Invitational field, followed by Centenary (13-13) at 4-2.

Oklahoma leaves tomorrow morning for a spring break filled with softball in California. The Sooners face San Diego State at 3 p.m. (PST) on Tuesday, March 16, before travelling north for the Kia Klassic hosted by Cal-State Fullerton. OU will face second-ranked and undefeated Arizona as well as No. 15 Fresno State and Illinois in pool play at the Kia Klassic.

Softball Shuts Out Centenary In Doubleheader

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Softball Shuts Out Centenary In Doubleheader

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