Bedlam Hits Norman Wednesday

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 20 Oklahoma softball team will play the final game of its Big 12 series with Oklahoma State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The finale of the 2004 Bedlam Series, presented by Bank of Oklahoma and your Oklahoma Ford Dealers, will be played at the OU Softball Complex on the newly-dedicated Marita Hynes Field. The Sooners enter winners of four straight while the Cowgirls salvaged a split with Texas over the weekend.

The Sooners are in fifth place in the Big 12 with a 9-6 record. Directly behind OU is Oklahoma State in sixth place with a 6-8 conference mark. The Sooners need some help if they are going to move from their fifth-place standing. Missouri (8-3 Big 12), which OU swept, is three games above the Sooners with remaining series against Iowa State, Texas Tech and Nebraska.

See how the Sooners stack up against OSU in the Bedlam Series presented by the Bank of Oklahoma and Your Oklahoma Ford Dealers!

Baylor (9-5 Big 12), who owns a tiebreaker with OU, is one game ahead of the Sooners with a single game against Texas and a series with Oklahoma State remaining.

The Sooners went to Stillwater for the first Bedlam game and won 2-1 thanks in large part to junior Christina Enea, who has haunted the Pokes during her career. During her three year career, Enea is hitting .421 against OSU with one home run, four runs and eight RBI.

Enea has single handidly won three games against the Pokes since her arrival in Norman. In 2002's first meeting, OU mounted a five-run seventh-inning rally that was sealed by an Enea RBI single for the 6-5 win. In the 2002 finale, a two-run single sealed the extra innings win for the Sooners. Add the two-run home run in Stillwater on April 8 and the junior first baseman has five game-winning hits against OSU.

OSU has lost three of its last five games this season and 17 of the last 18 in the Bedlam rivalry. Below is a snapshot of the all-time series between the rivals:

Series record: OSU leads 62-50
Longest winning streak: 14 by OU, snapped on April 24, 2003
Largest margin of victory: OU won 16-0 on April 19, 2001;
OSU won 11-0 in 1976
1-run games: OU leads 22-21
2-run games: OSU leads 15-5
5+run games: Series tied 12-12
In Stillwater: OSU leads 27-16
In Norman: OU leads 21-12
*Stillwater and Norman records do not include 1975-78 seasons.

The Cowgirls' pitching staff is headed by Jessica Hoppock who has thrown a conference-high 273.1 innings. She has accounted for 79 percent of OSU's innings pitched this season. She is 21-17 on the year and is averaging just over one strikeout per inning.

On offense freshman outfielder Shanel Scott is atop the Cowgirl stack with a .346 batting average. She is ranked second among conference freshman in batting average and stolen bases. She trails OU's freshman third baseman Norrelle Dickson (.358 BA, 24 SB) in both categories.

Wednesday's game will be broadcast locally by Cox Communications with Dave Hunziker on play-by-play and Nancy Teehee on color commentary. In the Oklahoma City and Stillwater areas the game will be carried by KSBI, while in Tulsa it will be carried by Cox Channel 78. Fans in Woodward can watch the game on KOMI, while those in Lawton can tune in on KWSO.

The game will also be broadcast on local radio station KREF (1400 AM) with Brian Brinkley pulling the one-man show. As usual fans can log into SoonerSports.com's O-Zone and watch a live video feed of the game. Live stats will also be provided on OU's official athletics web site.

THIS WEEK
Wednesday, April 28
Oklahoma State at Oklahoma - 7 PM

Friday, April 30
Oklahoma at Iowa State - 3:30 PM

Saturday, May 1
Oklahoma at Iowa State - Noon

O-Zone Broadcast | Live Stats

VITAL STATS
Record - 35-16-1
Streaks - Won four
USA Today/NFCA Ranking - No. 20
ESPN.com/USA Softball Ranking - No. 19
Big 12 Record - 9-6
Home Record - 20-3
Road Record - 5-8
Non-Conference Record - 26-10-1
Midwest Region Record - 15-9
Out of Region Record - 20-7-1

RECENT HISTORY
OU won all four of its conference games last week to improve to 9-6 in conference. The busy week was ended with a truly unique series against Kansas.

The Sooners run-ruled KU 10-1 on Saturday without the luxury of an earned run or extra base hit. The story was similar on Sunday when OU won 2-1 and finished the series without hurting KU's team ERA or notching an extra base hit. Mariee Mena had two RBI in the opener, while four other Sooners plated individual runs. The Sunday game was decided in the bottom of the seventh when a passed ball allowed Kristin Vesely to score the decisive run in the 2-1 win.

The Sooners swept both games of a Wednesday doubleheader against Texas Tech. OU won the opener 7-3 and took the finale 4-3. Kami Keiter took the win in the opener and reentered in the second game to record the save. Freshman Jessica Johnson earned the win in game two and improved to 5-0 on the season. The Lady Raiders were only able to retire Heather Scaglione once in two games. The junior catcher went 3-for-4 with three RBI and four walks. Freshman Jamie Fox had a two-run single, while Stacia Aleman and Jessica Leslie also picked up RBI.

MAKING A CASE
Heather Scaglione is has established herself as a favorite for the Big 12 Player of the Year award. In the conference ranks for the entire season, she leads the Big 12 in hits (62, tied with Norrelle Dickson), batting average (.413), home runs (13), RBI (42), total bases (111), on-base percentage (.522) and slugging percentage (.740), while she also ranks third in doubles (10), runs scored (35) and walks (34). She is the only player in conference hitting above .400, while also being the only player to eclipse .500 in on-base percentage, .700 in slugging percentage, 100 in total bases and 40 in RBI.

Her numbers have only improved since the start of Big 12 play. In conference only games she leads or is tied for the lead in batting average (.447), home runs (4), RBI (12), total bases (31), on-base percentage (.577), slugging percentage and walks (12).

Her most impressive stat may be on defense where she has thrown out 12 of 19 attempted base stealers (.632). She also has just three passed balls this season and has picked off four runners.

BEDLAM UPDATE
With a 2-1 win in the Bedlam softball opener OU took a 6-5 lead in the Bedlam Series, presented by Bank of Oklahoma and your Oklahoma Ford Dealers. Currently OU leads 7 to 6.5 with seven contests left. Click here to view the complete standings.

BEDLAM OPENER RECAP
OU notched its third straight win against Oklahoma State with a 2-1 win in Stillwater on April 8. Christina Enea did in the Pokes once again. Enea, who had the game winning RBI in both of OU's wins over O-State in 2002, put the game out of reach with a two-run opposite-field home run in the first inning. OU ace Kami Keiter improved to 7-7 while striking out a season-high nine batters and allowing no earned runs.

For OU, the win snapped a six game (five official road games, one neutral) losing streak away from Norman and sent the Cowgirls under .500 (20-21) for the first time since 1999. At the time OSU was mired in a 0-5 Big 12 start (currently 2-5), which was the worst in program history.

FLOURISHING AT THE TOP
Kristin Vesely bounced around OU's lineup for the first two months of the season. It appears she may have found a home as the Sooners leadoff hitter. Since moving up to the top spot nine games ago she is hitting .379 with six runs scored and a .455 on-base percentage. She has improved her batting average 14 points (.303 to .317) since the change. Coach Gasso has acknowledged on several occasions the improved approach she is taking at the plate. Gasso has also been impressed by the way Vesely has become a student of the game.

SWITCHING THINGS UP
After defensive struggles in Nebraska (4/7-8), OU coach Patty Gasso felt it was time to shake up the infield. The result against Texas Tech was moving Norrelle Dickson to her natural position, third base, and inserting senior Katie Overton at short stop. Dickson had started the previous 48 games at short, while freshman Jamie Fox has started the same number at third. Fox has since found herself penciled in at designated player and right field.

READY FOR PRIMETIME
There is no waiting in the shadows for freshmen on the Oklahoma softball team. Coach Gasso expects contributions immediately. This season the Sooners have had to rely on freshman more than any season since 2000. Freshman have accounted for about three starting spots (32%) in every game. Jamie Fox and Norrelle Dickson are two of five Sooners that have started in every game this season. Amber Spaulding, Stacia Aleman and Jessica Johnson have accounted for 58 percent of the starting nods at designated player, while Spaulding has also started in right field 20 times (40 percent). Fox, Dickson, Aleman and Spaulding, who have received the most playing time of the rookie group, have a combined batting average of .300.

STOPPING CRIME
In 52 games this season only 19 runners have attempted to steal a base against junior catcher Heather Scaglione and she's gunned down 12 of them (63 percent). Last year 38 runners tried to steal on the Sooner signal caller and she tossed out 14 (38 percent). Scaglione had a streak of 34 straight games without allowing a stolen base snapped against Arizona (3/19). 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
Baseball statisticians say individuals need to successfully steal 80 percent of the time to help their team. How about if your team completes the theft at an 83 percent rate? The Sooners have swiped 80 bases on 96 attempts (83 percent) this season. Twelve Sooners have recorded a stolen base with Norrelle Dickson at the top of the pack with 24.

The Sooners work on the base paths is an added dimension from last season. In 2003, OU stole 56 bases on 88 attempts (64 percent). A safe estimate is that OU will play 9 more games, including the Big 12 Tournament, for a regular season total of 61. At their current rate OU is projected to steal 93 bases, which is 19 shy of the school record of 112 set in 2000.

MENA TIME
Sophomore Mariee Mena has picked the right time to find her swing and that stroke has solidified her as the starting right fielder of late. Mena is hitting .417 in conference, which would rank third if she had the necessary at bats (shy six). The Escondido, Calif., native has improved her season batting average 33 points since the start of the Big 12 season. She was hitting .260 following the Kia Klassic and is currently swinging at a .293 clip. Her .293 average is the fifth best on the squad, while her conference number ranks second behind Scaglione.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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