Softball Takes OU/Nike Classic Crown

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 13 Oklahoma softball team (10-4) capped a perfect weekend with a 5-1 win over North Texas (1-9) on Sunday evening at the OU/Nike Classic. The Sooners took the tourney championship for the seventh consecutive season and extended their current winning streak to eight games.

“We hit the ball well,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “Our defense was outstanding and the pitching continued to dominate. More importantly, we built confidence throughout the lineup and we are really clicking well as a unit.”

Gasso was correct in praising the Sooners' all-around weekend effort. As a team they .432 while outscoring opponents 46-4, run ruling four teams and roping eight home runs. The pitching staff struck out 39 batters, walked four and tallied a 1.00 ERA in 28 innings. The defense was perfect, not committing an error in 84 attempts during the tournament.

Box Score

Oklahoma jumped out to a one run lead in the first inning, thanks in part to a leadoff walk by sophomore Norrelle Dickson (1-for-1). Dickson moved to third on a Kristin Vesely single, but came up lame after rolling her ankle while rounding third. Dickson has a high ankle sprain and is expected to return to the lineup next weekend at the NFCA Leadoff Classic (Columbus, Ga.). Pinch runner Jade Prather scored moments after the injury on an errant throw by the UNT catcher.

UNT was able to tie the score up at 1-1 in the second inning, which marked the first time in the tournament that OU did not lead.

“The game was tight early, but I was proud of them for responding and opening up it up in the last half,” said Gasso.

Tayl'r Hollis (2-for-3) broke the deadlock with an RBI double in the fourth. She also plated the games final run in the sixth when she hit her first career home run.

Sandwiched between Hollis's work was a pair of fifth inning runs. Vesely, who went 3-for-4, led off with a double that was followed by an RBI single from Christina Enea (1-for-2). Enea came around to score on a passed ball for the innings second run.

Junior Nicole Denes dazzled in the circle. The hard-throwing righty struck out 10 batters, which is one shy of a career high, and allowed one run to claim the complete game victory and improve to 3-0 on the season.

“It's tough to throw against a free swinging team like North Texas, but Nicole was able to settle down immediately. She set the tone early by striking out the side in the first inning and finish in dominant fashion by ringing up the last three batters,” praised Gasso.

Eight of the nine regular starters hit at a .385 clip or better this weekend. Topping the group was Vesely, who hit .579 with 11 hits, two doubles, five RBI and three stolen bases. Senior Jessica Leslie wasn't far off with a .500 batting average, seven hits, two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI.

One streak was snapped for the Sooners. OU had scored six or more runs in six straight games, which was a first for the 30 year old program.

The Sooners will finish off their current homestand on Tuesday when Oklahoma City University comes to Norman for a 3 p.m. game at the OU Softball Complex.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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