Softball Advances As No. 1 Seed

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- The No. 13 Oklahoma softball team (14-4) has won 12 straight games and no one player is more responsible for the streak than senior hurler Kami Keiter. Keiter tossed her fourth consecutive shutout in a 3-0 win over No. 21 Florida State (9-6) on Saturday morning at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. In the process Keiter extended her streak of scoreless innings to 35.

The Sooners won their pool and advanced into gold bracket championship play with a perfect 3-0 tourney record. OU enters as the No. 1 seed and will play No. 8 seed Seton Hall, who is 2-1 in tourney play.

Box Score | Championship Bracket

Keiter (6-1), who had eight strikeouts against the Seminoles, continues to be the catalyst for OU's current hot streak. Over the 35 inning stretch she has allowed just 13 hits and struck out 34 batters, while lowering her team leading ERA to 0.50. She has not allowed a run since giving up three to Florida on Feb. 5.

“Kami looks so in control and in command in the circle,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “She isn't giving teams a chance to breathe and when she gets in a zone like this, everything else falls in place. Our team hits, we play flawless defense and it all starts with her. The team is really feeding off of her efforts right now.”

Unlike her Friday start against Michigan State, who did not have a runner reach second base, Florida State had a three scoring opportunities against Keiter. The Seminoles had runners in scoring position with one out in the third, fourth and fifth innings but were unable to produce any runs against OU's ace.

OU's current winning streak is its longest since an 18-gamer in 2003. It is the 17th winning streak of 10 or more games in OU history. Thirteen of the steaks have come under Gasso.

OU, which is 11-0 when it scores in the first inning and has outscored opponents 32-2 in the opening frame, played small ball to pull ahead 1-0 in the first. Junior Kristin Vesely (1-for-3) worked a base on balls and was moved up on a fielder's choice by senior Christina Enea (0-for-2). Then fellow senior Heather Scaglione (1-for-3) put OU ahead by bouncing one threw the left side to score Vesely from second.

The speedy duo of Norrelle Dickson (1-for-4) and Vesely singled to leadoff the third frame. They were sacrificed into scored position by Enea and moments later, Dickson beat the tag at home on a fielder choice off Scaglione's bat. The lead was moved to 3-0 on a RBI double to right center by senior and OU RBI leader Jessica Leslie (1-for-3). For Leslie it was her 15 RBI of the season and 10th extra base hit.

The Sooners are hitting .338 in the tourney and have outscored opponents 16-0. Every pitcher on the OU staff has contributed to the current staff streak of 21 scoreless innings.

Game Notes: Dickson returned to OU's lineup as a designated player after sitting the previous three games out with a sprained ankle ... Vesely extended her career-high hitting streak to 11 games, which is the longest by a Sooner this season ... Dickson upped her streak to seven games ... OU has hit a double in 13 consecutive games ... Keiter already has five shutouts this season, which is two short of her 2004 total ... Keiter moved up to a tie for No. 5 on the OU career list for shutouts with 26 ... She is also just one win short of No. 2 for OU career victories (76) ... Florida State defeated OU 3-2 in play at the 2004 NFCA Leadoff Classic ... OU's record 10-game streak of scoring five or more runs was snapped.

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