Softball Trumps No. 13 Washington, 8-1

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- In a rematch of the opening game of the 2004 Women's College World Series, the No. 11 Oklahoma softball team (19-4) defeated No. 14 Washington (11-4) by a score of 8-1 in Saturday action at the Las Vegas Classic. A sparkling effort by hurler Kami Keiter and three RBI by Heather Scaglione powered the Sooners to their 17th consecutive win.

“This is certainly one of our better wins this season,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “We took an early lead against one of the best teams in the country and never allowed them to get back into the game. This team continues to put pressure on our opponents and they refuse to let up.”

Box Score

As has been the case 11 times during OU's streak, the Sooners scored in the opening frame. A trio of singles by Norrelle Dickson, Kristin Vesely and Christina Enea loaded the bases with no outs for Heather Scaglione. Scaglione plated the first run on a fielder's choice. Two batters later sophomore Jamie Fox drove in two more runs with a double down the right field line.

OU has outscored opponents 38-7 in the first inning this season and is 16-1 when it scores in the opener.

The singles by Dickson and Vesely extended both players hitting streaks. Vesely's improved to 16 games, which is the longest by an OU player since 2000 when Lisa Carey set the school record with an 18 game streak. Dickson increased her career high streak to 12 games. The duo are the first OU players to have streaks of longer than 11 games since 2001.

Vesely wasn't done pestering the Huskies. The junior, who is hitting .494, led off the fifth inning with an opposite field double. She came around to score on a run scoring single by Scaglione.

In the sixth inning it was Vesely's turn to drive in a run. She knocked in OU's first run of the four run frame with a slap single. For the day Vesely was 3-for-3, with three runs scored, one RBI, one walk and one double.

The rest of the sixth inning scoring came courtesy of Enea and Scaglione. Enea had two run double to increase her team-leading RBI total to 25. Scaglione had an run producing single that increased her two-day Las Vegas Classic total to eight RBI. She is second on the OU squad with 22 RBI on the season.

The Sooners gave ace Kami Keiter plenty of support. Keiter improved to 9-1 with the complete game victory. She allowed five hits, struck out seven batters and gave up one unearned run.

Keiter extended her streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 51.

OU will play UNLV at approximately 4:15 p.m. (PST) Saturday afternoon. The Sooners will close out play in the Las Vegas Classic on Sunday morning when they face Drake at 9 a.m.

Game Notes: OU collected 14 hits, which marked the 12th time this season they have recorded at least 10 hits ... OU has outscored its opponents 139-20 during the 17-game winning streak ... OU has hit a double in 17 straight games ... The current winning streak is the longest since 2003, when OU won 18 straight ... Vesely has collected three hits on seven occasions this season ... Vesely is just three doubles shy of her 2004 total of 14 ... Enea has knocked in two or more runs on nine occasions ... OU defeated Washington, 6-2, in the 2004 WCWS ... The longest winning streak in OU history is 23 games ... The school record was set in 2001.

Softball Trumps No. 13 Washington, 8-1

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Softball Trumps No. 13 Washington, 8-1

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