Huskers Hand Softball Sixth Big 12 Loss

NORMAN, Okla. Two home runs by senior Heather Scaglione were not enough to save the No. 9 Oklahoma softball team (43-13, 11-6) from a 6-4 loss to No. 25 Nebraska (32-17, 8-7) on Saturday afternoon at the OU Softball Complex.

“We came out flat today,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “Besides the heroics of Heather Scaglione and Jamie Fox, we were not on top of our game. It is a frustrating situation that we have to work our way out of.”

Oklahoma got on the board first with a Scaglione solo home run in the second inning.

Box Score

The one-run lead held up until the fourth inning when Nebraska strung together four runs. The Huskers didn't hit the ball around the yard, instead they used five singles, including three infield hits, to produce the four spot.

The big knocks were provided by Devin Porter, who had one RBI single, and Kleismith, who had a two-run base knock.

Scaglione answered for the Sooners with another solo home run in the bottom of the fourth. It marked the second time this season that she has hit two home runs in a single game and makes her the 27th player in OU history to accomplish the feat. No player in OU history has hit three HR in a game.

Scaglione (43) is three shy of OU career HR leader Ashli Barrett (1998-01), who hit 46 bombs in her Sooner career.

Two Sooner errors in the seventh inning put the game out of reach. Shortstop Tayl'r Hollis botched a grounder and reliever Kami Keiter booted a bunt. The two miscues led to two Husker runs and a 6-2 deficit.

Scaglione led off the seventh with her 16th double of the season. She trotted home two batters later when Jamie Fox hit a line drive homer to right-center. The blast was the sophomore's seventh of the season, which ties her freshman year total. The two-run blast cut the NU lead in half but that was it for the Sooners, who went down in order after that.

The Sooner dropped into third place in the Big 12 standings with the loss. OU trails Baylor (5 losses) and Big 12 Regular Season Champion Texas A&M (two losses).

OU head coach Patty Gasso needs just one win to record the 700th of her head coaching career, which includes her time at OU and a previous stint at Long Beach City College. Gasso's career mark is 699-233-1.

OU, which has lost six of its last eight games will close the Big 12 season with the Huskers at 1 p.m. tomorrow. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.