Freshmen Lead Softball Past Iowa State

AMES, Iowa The No. 20 Oklahoma softball team battled through the rain and cold weather to defeat Iowa State, 6-1, on Friday afternoon at the Southwest Athletic Complex in Ames, Iowa. The Sooners extended their winning streak to six games and improved to 37-16-1 on the season and 11-6 in Big 12 play.

It took three innings for OU's offense to warm up in the damp 50 degree weather. A leadoff walk by Norrelle Dickson and single by Heather Scaglione put the offense in gear in the fourth inning. A sacrifice bunt by Jessica Leslie moved both Sooners into scoring position for freshman Jamie Fox. Fox laced a double down the left-field line and gave OU a 2-0 lead.

Iowa State cut the lead in half in the bottom of the fourth inning on a RBI double by designated player Kim Rodgers.

Box Score

The Sooners extended their lead to 4-1 in the fifth inning. All the damage came with two outs. Kristin Vesely began the rally with a walk and stolen base. She was driven in by Dickson on a single to center. Dickson promptly stole second base, which led to Scaglione being intentionally walked. The plan would have worked but Cyclone centerfielder Ashley Core dropped a Jessica Leslie fly ball. The error allowed Dickson to score from second.

Scaglione was intentionally walked twice in the game, which gives her 36 free passes this season. Her current total is the third best single-season mark in program history. She surpassed Jennifer Stump (35 in 2002) for third place and is five shy of the school record of 41 set by Casey Dickson in 1997. The junior catcher has been walked seven times in the last six games, during which time she has been intentionally walked four times.

A Jessica Leslie two-run double in the sixth inning put the game out of reach at 6-1.

It was a classic performance for OU ace Kami Keiter. Only four balls left the infield, while Keiter used her infield to retire 16 of 21 batters. The junior lefty also struck out three batters while allowing just three hits and the single earned run. Keiter improves to 14-9 and has won five straight decisions.

Junior April Valdez started her second game of the season at first base as a replacement for junior Christina Enea, who has been sidelined for the last two contests with a sprained ankle.

The defensive star of the game was Stacia Aleman, who was replacing Valdez at second base. Aleman was peppered by the Cyclones, which led to her having a hand in 10 of 21 outs in the game. Her highlight play was a diving snag of a weak pop up just shy of the outfield grass behind first base.

Iowa State dropped to 11-29 overall and 1-12 in conference.