Sooner Softball Begins Busy Week In San Diego

The No. 6 Oklahoma softball team begins a busy week in California with a Tuesday afternoon game against San Diego State. The 16-15 Aztecs are the Sooners final tuneup before OU enters the prestigious Kia Klassic this weekend. OU will look to extend its three-game winning steak when the two squads square off at 5 p.m. (CST) Tuesday.

OU will be the 12th ranked team and the sixth in the top-10 that SDSU has faced this season. The Aztecs are 3-8 against ranked teams with one win over Fresno State and two against then-No. 23 Oklahoma State..

San Diego's staff is anchored by Celena Velasquea who is 7-4 with a 1.94 ERA. Behind her is Cori Janelli, who leads SDSU with a 1.02 ERA.

San Diego State's offense is yet to hit its stride. The Aztecs are hitting .228 as a squad with a .282 on base percentage. Megan Hartung (.356) and Janna Kovensky (.337) are the only Aztecs hitting above .300.

As for the Sooners, the team put together two of its most well-rounded performance in a pair of Sunday shutouts against Centenary. Pitchers Nicole Denes and Kami Keiter allowed only three hits to the Ladies over 13 innings, while only one runner reached third base against the duo. The offense posted 15 runs during the two games and saw contribution up and down the lineup.

No Sooner hitter is hotter than Norrelle Dickson, who is hitting .444 on the year and hit. 632 during the OU/Worth Invitational. Dickson reached base 17 times in 24 plate appearances and highlighted her weekend with a rare inside the park home run. Steady catcher Heather Scaglione upped her batting average and home runs numbers to .427 and nine. Scaglione leads the Big 12 in home runs and RBI (29).

After its game in San Diego, OU will travel north to Cal-State Fullerton for the Kia Klassic. OU will play three games in pool play before the chamnpionship round begins Friday afternoon. On paper OU's pool is the toughest in the tournament with soon-to-be No. 1 Arizona, No. 15 Fresno State and Illinois joining the Sooners.

The first tie in OU softball history came this season during the Tiger Classic (Baton Rouge, La.). The deadlock came during the championship game of the tournament, when both squads had to leave after seven innings due to travel constraints. OU will look to avenge the blemish against the 14-5-1 Illini at 11 a.m., Thursday morning. Illinois has been riding the arm of ace of Amanda Fortune (10-2, 0.98 ERA) and consistent team offense, which is hitting .297.

The Sooners will have a couple hours off before facing perennial powerhouse and suddenly streaking Fresno State (20-8). The 15th-ranked Bulldogs are led by ace Jamie Southern who has an astonishing ERA of 0.18. Southern is 13-3 on the season with two of those losses coming last week against San Diego State and then-No. 1 UCLA. While the Bulldog pitching staff is proving to be one of the best in the country (1.10 combined ERA), their offense is yet to hit its stride. As a team they are hitting .269 with slugger Christina Clark (.411, 9 home runs) leading the charge.

Oklahoma begins Friday pool play with the daunting challenge of the nation's only remained undefeated team, Arizona (28-0). The Wildcats have outscored opponents 220 to 26 this season and have won 21 games by five or more runs. U-of-A has six regulars batting above .300 including Caitlin Lowe (.530) and Autumn Champion (,526). As a team they are hitting .361, while their pitching staff is anchored by Alicia Hollowell, who has an ERA of 0.82. Hollowell is 17-0 and has struck out 225 batters in 110 innings.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner Softball Begins Busy Week In San Diego

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