OU's WCWS Media Guide

NORMAN, Okla. -- After storming through the Region 1 Championships, the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (44-20-1) begin play in their fifth consecutive Women's College World Series on Thursday evening. OU will square off against No. 8 seed Washington (40-17) at 6 p.m. at the Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

The Sooners' opener in the WCWS will be televised live on ESPN 2. It will also be aired live on internet radio through the Yahoo! Oklahoma sports package with Brian Brinkley pulling the one-man show. As usual live stats will be provided through SoonerSports.com.

It marks the second straight year that OU and Washington have met in the first round of the WCWS. Last season the No. 5 seed Huskies beat OU 3-1. The big blow was a two-run seventh inning home run by Kristin Rivera.
This season a seventh inning double by Husky Dena Tyson clinched a 1-0 loss at the Kia Klassic (Fullerton, Calif.) on March 20.

Live Internet Audio Broadcast | Live Stats

The all-time series is swung in Washington's favor 5-4. OU's most recent win was during the 2001 regional in Norman. OU defeated the Huskies twice to advance to the WCWS.

Rivera is carrying a big stick for the Huskies again this season. The junior catcher is hitting .390 with 17 home runs and 47 RBI.

The catching position is the marquee match up of the opener. Heather Scaglione was the Big 12's top slugger and has very similar numbers to Rivera. Scaglione tops the Husky in batting average (.391), RBI (49) and total bases (134). Rivera's slugging percentage (.837) and on-base percentage (.563) dwarf the Sooner's numbers (.698 SLG% and .496 OB%).

In the 2003 WCWS, it was Tia Bollinger that limited the Sooners to one run. Bollinger hasn't been the ace of the UW staff this season. That role has been filled by Ashley Boek (pronounced Beck) who is 21-9 in 41 starts this season. Boek went 4-0 in Region 8 action with a 0.53 ERA and 25 strikeouts.

The Huskies and Sooners were the hottest offensive squads during regional action. For OU it was especially remarkable since the Sooners advanced from the regional that was considered the toughest in the country because it included three teams from the 2003 WCWS.

OU's regional team batting average (.358) ranks second among the eight WCWS teams, while their run differential of plus 21 was the best.

Below is a comparison of each WCWS participant's offensive output in their regionals

	Combined Score	Differential	Average
Oklahoma	35-14	+21	.358
UCLA	22-2	+20	.299
LSU	18-4	+14	.280
Stanford	18-5	+13	.340
Washington	21-10	+11	.367
Cal	10-1	+9	.202
Michigan	16-8	+8	.239
Florida State	12-5	+7	.239

The Sooners teed off on two of the NCAA's best pitchers just days after struggling to a .210 batting average in the Big 12 Tournament. In five regional games OU hit .358, an improvement of 71 points over its season average of .287.

If the Sooners can carry the regional momentum into the WCWS and defeat Washington, they will play Friday at 6 p.m., against the winner of the No. 4 seed Florida State and No. 5 seed Cal match up. A loss would give them a day off before facing the loser of the FSU and Cal at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Every game OU plays in the WCWS will be broadcast by ESPN or ESPN2.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW A PHOTO GALLERY of the Sooners' during their pre-tournament meeting with ESPN talent including Pam Ward, Holly Rowe, Beth Moans, Stacey Nuveman and Jennie Finch.

2004 WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Don E. Porter ASA Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City
Thursday, May 27
No. 8 Washington (44-20)
vs.
No. 1 Oklahoma (44-20-1) - 6 PM

WCWS
May 28-31 - TBD

2004 WCWS Bracket (PDF) | Schedule (PDF) | Live Stats

AMONG THE ELITE
* On Sunday, Oklahoma qualified for its fifth consecutive Women's College World Series. The last non-Pac 10 Softball Program to qualify for five straight was Fresno State, which had five in a row from 1988-92.

* Oklahoma is the only school not based in California or a member of the Pac 10 to make it to the series in five consecutive seasons. The Women's College World Series began in 1982.

* The only other school to parlay its first series appearance into five straight was Arizona, which made its first series in 1988. The Wildcats had been to 16 straight before being knocked out in regional action this season.

* Oklahoma's consecutive series streak is third among this year's field. Only UCLA and Cal, which have played in the last six, have longer current runs.

* Here is a look at the number of tournament appearances (including this one) for this year's field -- UCLA 21, California 9, Florida State 7, Washington 7, Michigan 5, Oklahoma 5, Stanford 2 and LSU 2.

REMARKABLE REGIONAL
The Oklahoma softball team's run through the Region I Championships in Tucson, Ariz. was remarkable for a number reasons:

* OU's 3-2 defeat of Arizona marked the first time in program history that OU has defeated a No. 1 ranked team.

* That defeat led to U-of-A being eliminated one day later, which ended the Wildcats NCAA record streak of 16 consecutive WCWS appearances.

* OU defeated the NCAA's top two pitchers in terms of wins, winning percentage and strikeouts. Hollowell was 41-4 (.911) after the regional, while Brooke Mitchell was 45-5 (.900).

* Hollowell, a 2004 USA Softball Player of the Year finalist, had 508 strikeouts on the year while Mitchell had an NCAA-best 524. OU only struck out six times against Hollowell and seven total times against Mitchell. Mitchell could only strikeout one Sooner, when OU pounded the Cajuns 15-0.

* Oklahoma's 15-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette tied a pair of NCAA records. The number of runs equaled the most ever scored in a regional final. Michigan topped Notre Dame in a Regional 1 final, 15-6, in 1995, while Arizona routed Florida State, 15-0, in Regional 3 that same year.

* The margin of victory tied the widest ever in a regional game, regardless of what round. The above-mentioned Arizona win shares that mark.

* OU is the lowest ranked team (No. 21) to ever earn a No. 1 seed in the WCWS. For OU it is the first time they have claimed the No. 1 seed in the national championship tournament.

* By advancing, OU has the third longest active streak of WCWS appearances at five. OU is one behind Cal and UCLA who have made six straight.

* Brooke Mitchell's line of four runs and eight hits in the first game on championship Sunday was her worst of the season. That lasted until OU came out in the second game and roped her for nine runs and nine hits, which are both career-worsts.

* The 15 runs OU posted on No. 9 Lafayette was the most the Sooners have ever posted against a ranked team.

* It was their largest margin of victory since 2002, when OU defeated Drake 15-0.

* It was the second time this season OU has scored 15 runs and the 10th time under coach Gasso that they have surpassed the mark. OU has scored 15 or more runs 33 times in the program's history.

OU AGAINST THE 2004 FIELD

Cal	3-9
Florida State	3-5
LSU	4-3
Michigan	5-10
Stanford	1-0
Washington	4-5
UCLA	1-5

MEETINGS THIS SEASON

Feb. 7	OU 6, LSU 4
Feb. 28	Florida State 3, OU 2
Feb. 29	OU 4, Michigan 0
March 20	Washington 1, OU 0

SCOUTING WASHINGTONFSU have the nation's most wins with 61 to its 10 losses. The Seminoles are 7-1 in the postseason with the loss coming in the regional championship, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Oregon. The Seminoles are making their seventh appearance at the WCWS in school history and their second in the last three years. Double threat Jessica van der Linden is the only USA Softball Player of the Year Finalist whose team reached the WCWS. With bat in hand, she leads the squad with 53 RBI and a .389 batting average. In the pitcher's circle she has recorded 366 strikeouts, 19 shutouts and a 0.52 ERA, both team highs. Junior Casey Hunter has the most wins for FSU, she is 33-3 on the year with a 0.58 ERA and 275 strikeouts. Florida State hosted the No. 4 Regional and its biggest victory came in the tournament opener, a 4-0 triumph over Long Island. After that, the Seminoles defeated Cal State Northridge (1-0), Oregon (5-4) and then lost to Oregon before winning the championship over the Ducks in game two, 2-0. For the regional van der Linden went 3-1 with a 0.24 ERA and at the plate she led FSU in hitting with a .462 average, four RBIs. For her efforts, van der Linden was named the NCAA Region 4 most outstanding player

Van der Linden picked up the win and game-winning RBI when the FSU knocked off the Sooners 3-2 at this year's Kia Klassic. OU pitcher Nicole Denes had a solid outing and recorded a team season-high 11 strikeouts.

SCOUTING CAL
The Golden Bears carry the longest winning streak of the eight teams participating at the WCWS. Cal has won 12 straight with their last loss coming against Arizona on April 30 (8-0). The 2004 Pac-10 Champions allowed one run throughout the Region 5 Championships, outscoring their opponents 10-1 while batting .202 as a team. Sophomore ace Kristina Thorson tossed a one-hit shutout in the championship game to lead top-seeded California to a 2-0 win over second-seeded Nebraska. Thorson, the region's most outstanding player, has been the Golden Bears best pitcher statistically all year. She holds a 27-3 record with a 0.73 ERA to accompany her 212 strikeouts. Junior Kelly Anderson also has performed well for Cal with a 23-8 mark and a 1.43 ERA. At the plate, Haley Woods leads the team in home runs (16) and RBI (57) while sophomore Vicky Galindo sports the team's best batting average (.371).

The last time the Sooners played the Golden Bears was in the 2003 WCWS where Cal defeated sent OU packing with a 5-2 loss. For a complete box score, check the game-by-game section at the back of this guide.

A CUT ABOVE
Heather Scaglione received more all-conference votes than any player and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. In the conference ranks for the regular season, she leads the Big 12 in batting average (.391), home runs (16), RBI (49), total bases (134), on-base percentage (.496), slugging percentage (.698), and walks (40), while ranking third in runs scored (42) and fifth in doubles (11).

She claimed seven conference offensive titles after leading all hitters during Big 12 play in batting average (.455), home runs (6), RBI (15), total bases (40), on-base percentage (.597), slugging percentage (.909) and walks (16).

Her most impressive stat may be on defense where she has thrown out 15 of 24 attempted base stealers (63 percent). She also has just three passed balls this season and has picked off five runners.

Her remarkable season will go down in Big 12 history as one of the best ever. Scaglione's current on-base percentage of .496 is the seventh best mark in Big 12 history. Her home run total is tied for sixth, her walk tied for third and her total bases mark is tied for eighth. She is also within reach of the top-12 in hits and RBI.

450, 600 & 650 DOWN, 500 Next?
OU head coach Patty Gasso claimed the 650th victory of her head coaching career (Long Beach City College and OU) with a defeat of No. 25 Tulsa on May 11. Her current career record is 655-219-1 (.748). Gasso picked up the 450th win of her Sooner career when OU knocked off Illinois 7-0 in the season opener at the LSU Tiger Classic (Feb. 6). Gasso's OU career record is 493-160-1 (.755). Gasso is just seven wins shy of the 500th victory of her Sooner career. She will likely surpass the mark early in the 2005 season. Gasso coached the 600th game of her Sooner career in OU's 10-0 defeat of North Carolina on Feb. 21.

OF NOTE...
For the first time since 2001 only one Big 12 team reached the WCWS ... The Pac 10 has had four teams in the WCWS every year since 2000, except in 2003 ... Arizona or UCLA have played in the WCWS National Championship every year since 1987. This season UCLA will have to extend the 18 year streak since U-of-A did not qualify ... Oklahoma (No. 21) was not the highest ranked Big 12 team in either of the major national polls on April 21, which marked the first time all season that OU did not lead the conference ... Nebraska took the Big 12's top spot at No. 15 on April 21 ... OU's current ranking is its lowest since the final poll of the 1999 season ... With 20 losses this season, OU has already surpassed its loss total from 2003 when they went 47-14 ... The most losses by an OU team under Patty Gasso is 23, which came during Gasso's first year (43-23 in 1995) at OU ... OU's current loss total ranks as the highest since 1996 when the Sooners went 50-20 ... Jessica Leslie (left field) is the only remaining regular who has not committed an error this season ... Norrelle Dickson has 23 multi-hit games this year, while Heather Scaglione has 20 ... OU's batting average has dropped 39 points since the start of the Kia Klassic on March 18 (.326 to .287) ... OU is 7-10 against ranked team's this season and 5-3 against teams currently in the NFCA top-10 ... Dickson, who has paced the Big 12 in hits (76) and ranks No. 5 in batting average (.353), leads all freshman in batting average, hits, and ranks second in stolen bases (25) ... OU is hitting just .250 (20-for-80) with the bases loaded this season, although they are hitting .297 with runners on base ... OU spiked its base loaded average by hitting .454 (5-for-11) in that situation during Region 1 contests ... Leadoff hitters are getting on at a .360 clip with Christina Enea (.462), Norrelle Dickson (.419) and Heather Scaglione (.462) and Mariee Mena (.421) all hitting above .400 when they start innings ... Leadoff hitters are batting .336 against Kami Keiter, who locks down the bases paths once a runner reaches base. Team are hitting .191 against the Sooners hurler with runners on base and just .195 with two outs.

TICKET INFORMATION
Call the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association at (405) 236-5000 for tickets. Only single-session tickets will be available once the tournament begins.

Single-Session Tickets
$20 - Diamond-Box Seat (sold out)
$15 - Premium-Reserved Seat
$12 - Baseline
$10 - Grandstand
$10 - General Admission
$5 - Senior Citizen (General)
$5 - Children Under 12 (General)

All-Session Tickets
$120 - Diamond-Box Seats (sold out)
$100 - Premium-Reserved (sold out)
$80 - Baseline
$60 - Grandstand

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