Syracuse Down, No. 1 Arizona Up Next

FULLERTON, Calif. -- The No. 8 Oklahoma softball team (31-4) defeated Syracuse (9-8) by a score of 3-0 on Friday morning to claim the No. 1 seed in Pool A and advance to a Saturday morning meeting with No. 1 Arizona in championship play at the KIA Klassic. OU extended its winning streak to 29 games, which is a school record and the longest active streak in Division I softball.

“We're excited about our start in this tournament and we're excited about the championship round,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “We played a very clean game against Syracuse today. Our seniors were clutch at the plate and in the field, especially Kami, who was dominant from the first pitch.”

Box Score

If opponents want to beat Oklahoma this season, they better not let them score in the first inning. OU is 21-0 when they score in the first inning. The Orange became victim No. 21.

It was no surprise when junior Kristin Vesely, who is the hottest hitter on the nation's hottest team, began the first inning rally with a double off the left-center wall. Then reigning NFCA National Player of the Week, Jessica Leslie, knocked her home to begin a 3-for-3 day. Leslie has 18 RBI in the last 10 games.

Live Statistics | KIA Klassic Central

Heather Scaglione and Leslie begin a two-run third inning rally with a pair of singles. They also scored the both runs on RBI singles by Jamie Fox and Nicole Denes. Denes also had a 3-for-3 day.

Senior Kami Keiter got the start and left the Orange bruised. Keiter worked five innings and was responsible for 10 of the 15 putouts. Keiter struck out one SU batter per inning and fielded five ground outs. She allowed just two hits and one runner into scoring position. The victory is her 15th straight and improves her season ledger to 16-1.

Junior Nicole Denes relieved Keiter in the sixth and work two innings for her first save of the season.

The win improved the Sooners' record in the 2005 KIA Klassic to 3-0. Syracuse dropped to 0-3, while upcoming opponent, Arizona, went 2-1 in Pool D.

Barring any rain, which is in the forecast, championship play will begin on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. Central. At that time the Sooners will play the consensus No. 1 team in the land, Arizona (22-1). No. 11 Texas handed Arizona its first loss of the season by a score of 1-0 on Friday afternoon.

The meeting between the Sooners and Wildcats is a rematch of the 2004 Region I Championship. The Sooners went to Tucson and claimed the championship by defeating No. 1 seed Arizona and No. 5 seed Louisiana Lafayette. OU defeated ULL on Thursday morning by a score of 7-3.

“This is the reason we come to these type of tournaments,” said Gasso. “We want to face the best competition in preparation for the Big 12 season. Playing Arizona again is an exciting opportunity for this team.”

OU has defeated a number one ranked team on two occasions and both times the opponent has been Arizona. Both instances occurred in Tucson on the Wildcats' home field. The first was on March 6, 1998, while the second came during the aforementioned regionals on May 22, 2004.

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