Difficult Stretch Awaits No. 7 Softball

NORMAN, Okla. -- For the seventh time in Big 12 history, the Oklahoma softball team (33-6, 2-0) has started conference play with two wins. That perfect mark will get a steep challenge over the next six games when OU plays North Texas, No. 14 Missouri, Oklahoma State and No. 4 Texas.

The Sooners begin the week with a trip to Denton to face North Texas (7-18) at Denia Park. The Sooners and Mean Green will square off at 6 p.m. OU returns to conference action this weekend when they travel to Columbia to face Missouri. The top-15 teams will play on Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at Noon.

Rivalry week follows the trips to UNT and Missouri, as the Sooners will play fierce foes Oklahoma State (April 6) and Texas (April 9-10) next week.

Live Statistics | Game Notes (PDF)

OU and North Texas have already met once this season with the Sooners claiming victory by a score of 5-1. Freshman Tayl'r Hollis had a pair of RBI and a home run in the first meeting, while senior Christina Enea also added an RBI and junior Kristin Vesly went 3-for-4. Nicole Denes earned the complete game win limiting UNT to one run on four hits.

The Sooners lead the all-time series with UNT 5-0. The Wednesday meeting marks the first time that OU has traveled to Denton to face the Mean Green.

The top hitter for North Texas is Stephanie Cranmer, who is swinging at a .286 clip with seven RBI. In the circle, Kristina Fowler has carried the load and is currently 5-7 with a 2.65 ERA. Fowler took the loss in the first meeting after allowing four runs in four innings.

Scouting Missouri
Missouri (27-3, 1-1), which split with Oklahoma State last weekend, may be one of the most underrated team in the nation. The Tigers are 27-3 on the season and have been steadily climbing up the top-25 poll to their current ranking of No. 14. The Sooners shouldn't need to be reminded of the Tigers potency after the battles the squads had last season.

OU defeated MU, 5-0 and 1-0, during regular season conference play in 2004. Kami Keiter tossed a one hitter in both games of the doubleheader, but wasn't as successful when the teams met in the 2004 Big 12 Tournament.

The Tigers eliminated the Sooners from tourney play in a classic battle. The game went 13 innings before the Tigers were able to prevail with a 3-2 win. Keiter worked 12.2 innings and allowed just three runs on five hits. Missouri also bested the Sooners in the conference standings with a third-place finish, compared to OU's fifth-place mark.

The 2005 match could become a slug fest between two of the Big 12's best hitting teams. Missouri is turning an average of 9.1 hits per game into 7.6 runs, which is the top run per game average in the Big 12. In comparison, OU is averaging 9.3 hits per game and 6.4 runs per game.

Missouri's offense is power driven. They lead the Big 12 with 40 home runs and trail only the Sooners with 67 doubles. Conversely, they have just 25 stolen bases, which ranks second to last.

Redshirt freshman Micaela Minner is powering the Tiger offense. Minner is hitting .465 with 10 HR and 40 RBI. Her home run mark ranks third in the Big 12, while her RBI mark is tied for second with OU's Jessica Leslie. Nine players that have played in at least 17 games are hitting above .300 for MU head coach Ty Singleton.

Sophomore Erica Peterson (14-1) has never started against the Sooners but she has caused them fits. Peterson relieved 2004 ace Erin Kalka (1-1) in all three games last year and worked 10 innings, allowing one earned run and seven hits. Peterson was a high school teammate of OU junior Nicole Denes at Coppell HS.

Vesely Wins Big 12 Player of the Week
All-America candidate Kristin Vesely was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon, which marks the second weekly honor for OU's center fielder this season. Vesely hit .700 last week and led OU to a 2-1 mark, including a sweep in the conference opener against Iowa State. In 10 at-bats, Vesely recorded seven hits, one double, one run scored, one RBI, two stolen bases, an .800 slugging percentage and a .728 on-base percentage.

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. Eight 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 .535 batting average. Eight batters - Vesely, Christina Enea, Heather Scaglione, Jessica Leslie, Kami Keiter, Jamie Fox, Nicole Denes and Tayl'r Hollis - have at least 13 RBI, with Leslie heading the group at 40. The Sooners are one of two teams (Tennessee) in the top 25 (ESPN.com, 3/22) that can claim eight batters with 10 or more RBI.

In the circle OU's pitching staff has an above average ERA of 1.3. Three pitchers - Kami Keiter (16-3), Nicole Denes (7-0), Stacy Braddock (6-2) - have at least six wins. Only two other 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 six or more wins (as of 3/28).

Four Reliable Arms
On the cusp of the Big 12 season, 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 OU's recent hot steak. As a group they have a combined ERA of 1.31. Senior Kami Keiter (17-3, 0.99) worked 79 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run during OU's winning streak. Freshman Stacey Braddock (6-2, 1.12) has worked 45.2 innings and allowed six earned runs. Junior Nicole Denes (7-0, 2.13) has struck out 77 batters in 62.1 innings of work. Preseason No. 4 starter Jadyn Smith (3-1) has been the hottest hurler lately, which has helped drop her ERA to a staff best 0.93.

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, an All-America candidate, is hitting .364 with 16 doubles, five home runs and 40 RBI. The powerful righty has struck out just 10 times (12.1 AB per K) 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 115-game streak without committing an error. The streak stretches back to her sophomore campaign.

Streaks
Notable streaks entering the North Texas game:
156 - Consecutive games started by Kristin Vesely.
135 - Consecutive weeks since the inception of the NFCA Poll that OU has been ranked in the top-25.
115 - Consecutive games without committing an error by Jessica Leslie.
79 - Length of Kami Keiter's recent streak of innings without allowing an earned run.
29 - School record winning streak set this season from Feb. 11 to March 19.
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.
8 - Length of Kristin Vesely's curren thitting streak, which began the game after her school record 23-game streak ended.
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.

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 33 of 39 games this season, including 31 of the last 32 during which time she has hit .596. 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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Difficult Stretch Awaits No. 7 Softball

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