Streaking Softball Aims at KIA Klassic

BREA, Calif. -- The No. 9 Oklahoma softball team and its 26-game winning streak will get a major test this weekend when they enter the 2005 Kia Klassic, which is hosted on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.

OU will ride Division I softball's longest winning streak into one of the most prestigious annual non-conference tournaments. Ten of the 16 teams in the field are ranked, including No. 1 Arizona, No. 4 Texas, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette and the ninth-ranked Sooners.

OU will play in Pool A with Lafayette, Syracuse and No. 21 Arizona State. The Sooners open with a Thursday doubleheader against ULL and Arizona State. First pitch against Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns is set for 11 a.m. Central, while the contest with Sun Devils is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

On Friday, OU will close pool play with a 1:15 p.m., game against Syracuse. Championship Play will be determined by the results of pool play and will begin on Saturday and run through Sunday. All times are subject to change/delay due to the timing of previous contests in the tournament.

Live Statistics | Game Notes PDF | KIA Klassic Central

In 2004 OU went 2-3 in Klassic play. The Sooners defeated Illinois and Nebraska, while dropping hard fought battles with Fresno State, Arizona and Washington. OU's best all-time finish in the Klassic came in 1997, when it won the tourney.

Scouting No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette
This rematch has been a highlight since the schedule was announced last November. The Sooners' and Rajin' Cajuns met in the Region I Championship last season and produced one of the most memorable days of softball history. After losing 8-4 in the first game on championship Sunday, the Sooners bounced back to thump ULL, 15-0, and clinch a fifth consecutive trip to the Women's College World Series. This season Lafayette is off to a 21-2 start and ranked one spot ahead of OU at No. 7 in the NFCA Coaches Top 25 poll. As usual, the free swinging Cajuns are hitting a lot of home runs (29) and scoring over five runs a game. The top hitter for the defending Southland Conference Champions is Lacey Bertucci, who is hitting .409 with nine home runs and 27 RBI. Senior Brooke Mitchell is once against carrying the majority of the load for ULL. The All-American has thrown 70 percent of the team's innings. She has excelled with the heavy load, going 16-2 with a 0.27 ERA.

Scouting No. 21 Arizona State
The Arizona State Sun Devils are one of the biggest early surprises of the 2005 season. After going 33-31 and missing the post-season in 2004, ASU is 23-5 this season. A balanced attack has keyed their success. ASU is hitting .288 as a team with four regulars hitting above .300. The top slugger is Mindy Cowles, who is hitting .364 with 10 HR and 28 RBI. ASU's staff goes three deep with Katie Burkhart and Desiree Serrano topping the group. Both players have sub-1.0 ERAs, while Serrano has the best record at 9-1.

Scouting Syracuse
Syracuse (9-4) made a name for themselves early in the season when they knocked off defending national champions UCLA in the Orange's season opener. Since then the Cuse has won eight of 12 games with impressive wins over Florida State and South Carolina. As a team Syracuse is hitting .271 with a season run differential of 54-29. The top Orange hitter is Melissa Kelly, who is swinging at a .417 clip. Heading the staff for Syracuse is Courtney Mosch, who is 5-3 with a 1.48 ERA.

Leslie Garners National, Big 12 Weekly Honors
Oklahoma outfielder Jessica Leslie was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the week for the week of March 7-13. She was also been named the Big 12 Player of the Week for the same time period. Leslie, a senior from Raytown, Mo., hit .500 in the Sooners' six games last week while delivering 14 RBIs to help No. 8 Oklahoma win its 25th consecutive game.

“This is tremendous honor that I think is more representative of our team accomplishments,” said Leslie. “We have been playing so well lately and I just want to do my part. I am excited about the contributions I have been able to make but its a team effort and a ton of my teammates have to be on base for me to accomplish the things I did last week.”

She also scored 10 runs, had five doubles, 11 hits, one home run, three stolen bases and slugged at a .864 clip. Leslie had at least one RBI in all six games, while driving in a weekly high of four against Valparaiso (March 10). She also knocked in three in the opener of the doubleheader against Valparaiso and another three against UTEP (March 13). She also hit safely in all of the contests while recording multi-hit games on four occasions.

Leslie is the third Sooners to claim a Big 12 weekly honor, joining Kami Keiter (3/1) and Kristin Vesely (3/8) and the first player to garner national honors since Leah Gulla on March 5, 2003.

Balancing Act
Balance is a magic word for any coach. The early success of the Sooners this season is largely due to the balance throughout their offensive lineup and pitching staff. Nine regulars in OU head coach Patty Gasso's current lineup are hitting above .300, with junior Kristin Vesely (No. 2 hitter) leading the pack with a .533 batting average. Eight batters - Vesely, Christina Enea, Heather Scaglione, Jessica Leslie, Kami Keiter, Jamie Fox, Nicole Denes and Tayl'r Hollis - have at least 12 RBI, with Leslie heading the group at 34. The Sooners are the only team in the top 25 (NFCA, 3/9) that can claim eight batters with 10 or more RBI.

In the circle OU's pitching staff has an above average ERA of 1.17. Three pitchers - Kami Keiter (13-1), Nicole Denes (7-0), Stacy Braddock (6-2) - have at least six wins. Only two teams (Baylor and Alabama) in the top-25 can claim a staff with that much well-rounded success.

The Sooners are the only team in the top-25 that has eight batters with 10 or more RBI and three pitchers with five or more wins (as of 3/9).

Four Reliable Arms
Through five weekends of competition, the OU pitching staff has already shown why it may be the deepest of the Patty Gasso era. After carrying the team in the opening weekend, the staff has taken it to a new level during the current 26-game winning streak. As a group they have a combined ERA of 1.15 and have only allowed 27 earned runs in that last 26 wins. Senior Kami Keiter (13-1, 0.26) has worked 75.1 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Freshman Stacey Braddock (6-2, 1.09) has worked 45.2 innings and allowed six earned runs. Junior Nicole Denes (7-0, 2.45) has struck out 70 batters in 54 innings of work. Even No. 4 starter Jadyn Smith (2-1, 1.35 ERA) has impressed and is becoming a very reliable relief pitcher.

Enea Sidelined With Ankle Sprain
Senior first baseman Christina Enea sprained her ankle in the opener of a doubleheader against Valparaiso on March 10. The 2002 All-American is the Sooners' leading run producer with 29 RBI and will certainly leave a big hole in the middle of the lineup. She was hitting .355 with 23 runs, 27 hits, five doubles, one HR, 13 walks and eight stolen bases at the time of the injury. Currently, there is no timetable for her return. Sophomore Jamie Fox and junior Nicole Denes are the leading candidates to replace Enea at first base, while senior Jessica Leslie will likely move from to No. 5 to No. 3 in the lineup.

Streaks
Notable streaks entering the Kia Klassic:
149 - Consecutive games started by Kristin Vesely.
133 - Consecutive weeks since the inception of the NFCA Poll that OU has been ranked in the top-25.
108 - Consecutive games without committing an error by Jessica Leslie.
75.1 - Length of Kami Keiter's current streak without allowing an earned run.
26 - Current winning streak, the longest since a 20-game stretch in 2000-01.
23 - Game hitting streak by Kristin Vesely, which set the OU record before being broken against UTEP on March 14.
14 - Consecutive season openers won by the OU softball team, including 11 straight under Patty Gasso.
12.1 - Innings Stacy Braddock worked without allowing an earned run to start her career.
11 - Consecutive trips to the NCAA postseason.
11 - Consecutive seasons of 40 or more wins, 10 under Gasso.
10 - Consecutive games that OU scored five or more runs. The record streak was snapped vs. FSU (2/26).
12 - Career high hitting streak for Norrelle Dickson, that was snapped against UNLV (3/6). It is just the second of at least 12 games since 2001. Vesely's record streak is the other.
7 - Current hitting streak for Christina Enea.
7 - Current hitting streak for Jessica Leslie.
6- Current hitting streak for Heather Scaglione.
5 - Consecutive Regional Championships.
5 - Consecutive Women's College World Series appearances.
2 - Consecutive seasons that head coach Patty Gasso has started a freshman at shortstop.

More Streaks
OU is in the midst of a 26-game winning streak and an all-around effort has been the catalyst.
Below are the details:

>> OUs streak is the longest active streak in the NCAA Division I softball. The second and third longest streaks will be in play at the Kia Klassic as well. Michigan is second with a 21 gamer, while Arizona is third with a 20 game streak. Only one will survive the weekend. It is the second best start in OU history, trailing the 34-4 mark set in 2000.
>> The steak is the longest in OU history. The previous record was a 23-gamer from 2001.
>> OU has outscored its opponents 202-36 during the streak.
>> The offense is hitting .397 with 28 home runs, 186 RBI and 58 stolen bases.
>> Eight regulars are hitting above .300 with five (Vesely, Dickson, Scaglione, Enea, Hollis) of those topping .400.
>> OU has scored 10 or more runs six times during the streak. The Sooners have reached 10 or more hits 18 times and have run-ruled opponents 10 times.
>> The pitching staff has a combined ERA of 1.15 and ace Kami Keiter is yet to allow an earned run during the streak.
>> No. 2 hitter Kristin Vesely is in the midst of the best stretch of her career. She has hit safely in 24 of the last 25 games, which includes the OU record hitting streak of 23 games. She is hitting .589 with 53 hits, 14 extra base hits, 23 RBI, 17 stolen bases and a .619 on-base percentage.
>> Leadoff hitter Norrelle Dickson has also caught fire with a .485 batting average during the streak. The 1-2 duo of Dickson and Vesely have scored at least one run in 24 of the 26 games. During the streak the rally starting pair of Dickson and Vesely are hitting .727 and .600, respectively, when they lead off an inning.
>> OU scored five or more runs in 10 consecutive contests (Feb. 12-26), which is a school record. The previous best was seven, which was set five times. The most recent time was in 2002.
>> The streak is the 17th of 10 or more games in OU history. Thirteen of those stretches have come under current head coach Patty Gasso.

Kicking It Up A Notch
Jessica Leslie got off to a quick start in 2004. She has followed the same recipe in 2005, but kicked it up a few notches. Leslie, a preseason All-America candidate, is hitting .364 with 15 doubles, four home runs and 34 RBI. The powerful righty has struck out just seven times while hitting in the five spot for the majority of the season. Recently she filled Christina Enea's No. 3 spot and hit .500 with 14 RBI to claim national and Big 12 Player of the Week honors. Her work in the field sets her apart from everyone else on the team. She is currently in the midst of a 108-game streak without committing an error. The streak stretches back to her sophomore campaign.

Big 12 Honors
Senior Jessica Leslie is the most recent Sooner to earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors for OU, which leads all Big 12 schools with 40 weekly honors since the start of the conference in 1996. Senior Kami Keiter and junior Kristin Vesely have also earned the acclaim, below are details:

Senior Kami Keiter was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for the games of Feb. 22-28, the league office announced. Keiter (6-1) extended her scoreless innings streak to 35 innings and her consecutive shutout streak to four while leading the Sooners to the NFCA Leadoff Classic championship.

Centerfielder Kristin Vesely was named Big 12 Conference Softball Player of the Week for the games of March 1-7. Vesely hit .667 while extending her hitting streak to 18 in OU's six wins during the previous week. The Phoenix, Ariz., native's streak was tied for the longest stretch in school history. On the week, Vesely recorded nine runs, 14 hits (14-for-21), seven RBI, four doubles, six stolen bases, and an .857 slugging percentage and a .696 on base percentage.

Locked In
OU junior center fielder Kristin Vesely is locked into a hitting zone that no other player in OU history has touched. She has hit safely in 26 of 32 games this season. She also set the OU record with 23-game hitting streak during which time she hit .638 and improved her season average to .556. During the streak Vesely accumulated 32 runs, 51 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, one home run, 23 RBI, 69 total bases, .863 slugging percentage, .659 on-base percentage and 15 stolen bases.

Long Arm
She is just a freshman, but shortstop Savannah Long may have the strongest arm on the Oklahoma team. The rocket-armed rookie is the product of tremendous genes. Her uncles, Cale and Mike Gundy, are two of the most famous collegiate football quarterbacks in Oklahoma state history. Cale, who currently serves as OU's running back coach, was the Sooners QB from 1990-93 and ended his career with nearly every OU passing record. Mike, who is currently the head coach of Oklahoma State, was the Cowboy signal caller from 1986-89 and is the all-time leading passer in OSU history. Long's father, Jim, was a pitcher in the Anaheim Angels organization after a collegiate career at Duke.

Southern Power
First came Lafayette, La., native Jamie Fox with seven HR and 34 RBI as a freshman in 2004. This year it's Tayl'r Hollis, another Lafayette native, who is impressing with power that isn't usually scene by a rookie. Hollis has four HR, which ranks second on the team, and has driven in 13 runs. The infielder isn't a one dimensional hitter though. The rookie is hitting .379, which makes her one of six Sooner regulars above .350.

As for Fox, forget the sophomore slump. She is leading OU with six home runs while hitting at a .325 clip. She also has 24 RBI, 14 runs and five doubles.

Worth Noting...
OU set a new single game record by hammering out 19 hits in the season opener against Florida Atlantic ... They broke that mark with 20 hits against Illinois Chicago (3/4) ... The previous mark of 18 hits was set against Central (Okla.) State in 1978 and San Diego State in 2001 ... By starting against Florida Atlantic (2/4) freshman Savannah Long became the second consecutive freshman to start the season at shortstop for OU head coach Patty Gasso ... In 2004 Norrelle Dickson began at short before moving to third base ... Sophomore Jade Prather had an infield single in her first career at bat against FAU (2/4) ... OU tied the single game record with six doubles against FAU, which has now happened on seven occasions in school history ... Scaglione tied the OU single game record for doubles (3) against FAU and now shares the mark with three others ... OU already has 68 doubles (2.1 per game) and is just 10 shy of its 2004 total ... The offense is well ahead of its 2004 pace in stolen bases, runs, and home runs ... Stacia Aleman set a career-high with four RBI, which all came on her first career home run - a grand slam - against Lipscomb (2/18) ... OU freshman Stacy Braddock struck out a career high 10 batters against Oklahoma City University (2/22) ... Christina Enea tied a career high with an 11-game hitting streak that was snapped against Michigan State (2/24) ... Tayl'r Hollis became the first freshman in OU history to hit a home run in three straight games when she did it against Lipscomb, North Texas and Michigan State.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Streaking Softball Aims at KIA Klassic

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