OU's Big 12 Tournament Preview

NORMAN, Okla. -- The second seeded and 10th-ranked Oklahoma softball team (45-13, 12-6) will open the 2005 Big 12 Tournament against the winner of the play-in game between No. 7 seed Nebraska (33-19, 9-9) and No. 10 seed Iowa State (18-31, 3-15). The Sooners and the victorious play-in team will meet on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., on Field 4 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

A win for the Sooners in their opener would advance them to a 7 p.m., Thursday game with the winner between No. 3 seed Texas and No. 6 seed Kansas. The Longhorns and Jayhawks will square off on Thursday at 11 a.m. If OU loses their opener, it will play the loser between UT and KU on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

OU will be after its third Big 12 Tournament title and its first since 2001. OU won the inaugural Big 12 tourney in 1996, while also claiming the title with four straight wins in 2001.

Tournament Bracket | OU vs. Nebraska | OU vs. Iowa State

OU owns an all-time Big 12 tourney record of 26-13 and is 8-1 in openers. As the No. 2 seed, OU has a 13-5 record and one tourney championship (2001). The Sooners have won five of nine all-time tournament meetings with Nebraska, while also prevailing in the only meeting with Iowa State (2002).

Last season fifth-seeded OU knocked off No. 4 Baylor by a score of 5-2 in its tourney opener. The Sooners then lost to eventual champion Nebraska, when tourney MVP Peaches James dealed a perfect game. OU went on to defeat Kansas (1-0) before being eliminated by Missouri after a 3-2 loss in 13 innings.

Oklahoma Postseason Media Guide PDF | Postseason Covers

The Sooners opener will be broadcast on KOKC (1520 AM) with the voice of OU softball, Brian Brinkley, on the one-man show. If OU plays the late game on Friday it will be carried on KOKC, if it is during the afternoon, it will only be on Yahoo! audio. Regardless of time, if OU is playing on Friday the games will only be broadcast on the internet, while any Saturday game will be broadast on KOKC and the internet. As always, free live stats are available through SoonerSports.com.

Fox Sports net is broadcasting two tournament games. In addition to the Championship game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., FSN will pick up Game 9 on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. OU has no chance of playing in Game 9 because it is on the other side of the bracket.

Live Statistics | Yahoo! Audio | Big 12 Tournament Central

Scouting Nebraska
Two weekends ago, OU and Nebraska split two games in Norman (April 30, May 1). Nebraska won the opener by a score of 6-4 despite the heroics of Heather Scaglione, who had two HR in the game. OU rebounded behind a two-hit shutout from Kami Keiter to take the finale 4-0.

As a team OU hit .240 against Nebraska this season, while the Huskers hit .255 in the series. OU was led by Scaglione, who hit .667 with two HR and two RBI. Three other Sooners hit above .300 in the season series, including Norrelle Dickson, who hit .500 (3-for-6).

Offensively, Nebraska was led by leadoff slapper Anne Steffan, who went 4-for-7 with one run scored in the series. Trisha Tannahill and Cassie Kleinsmith led the Husker run producers with two RBI each.

In the circle, Ashley DeBuhr threw 12 of 13 innings in the two-game set. Debuhr allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 12 hits and was effective against OU, except for allowing three home runs.

Kami Keiter worked 10.1 innings of scoreless ball against the Huskers. She allowed six hits over the span and struck out 13, including 10 in the finale. Stacy Braddock started the opener and was touched up for four runs on eight hits in 3.2 innings of work.

OU trails the all-time series with Nebraska, 26-36. Nebraska has won four of the last five games and six of the last 10.

Scouting Iowa State
OU swept a doubleheader from Iowa State in its opening series of the Big 12 season on March 25. The Sooners took the opener 7-3 and the finale 2-0.

The Sooner pitching staff held the Cyclones to three runs on eight hits in the twin bill. ISU hit .167 in the doubleheader, which is only seven points worse than its combined batting average of .173 during Big 12 play. All of Iowa State's runs came on a base loaded triple by Kim Rodgers, who went 2-for-7 in the series.

On offense for OU, six starters hit above .300 in the two-game set. The top producer was Jamie Fox, who hit .429 with four RBI. Seniors Kami Keiter and Heather Scaglione both hit solo home runs and hit above .300. The Sooners tagged ISU ace Alyssa Ranson (11-19) for five runs on 12 hits in four innings of work.

All-time OU leads the series with ISU, 49-24, and has won eight of the last 10 meetings.

Sooners In Good Seeding
Either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed has won each Big 12 Softball Tournament title. The No. 1 seed won the first three Big 12 tourneys 1996 (Oklahoma), 1997 (Missouri) and 1998 (Nebraska) while No. 2s won in 1999 (Texas), 2000 (Nebraska) and 2001 (Oklahoma). In 2002 and 2003, Texas became the first back-to-back Big 12 Softball Tournament champions. Both were as the No. 1 seed. Nebraska also won as a No. 1 in 2004. Only seed No. 9 has yet to win a play-in game. Also, in looking at the seed records, the 2002 event marked the third time in the history of the tournament that the champion won the event with one loss. Missouri won the 1997 title with a 4-1 record, Nebraska went 4-1 in 2000 and Big 12.

Big 12 Tournament Records By Seed
No. 1 - 29-8 (.784)
No. 2 - 25-13 (.658)
No. 3 - 16-16 (.500)
No. 4 - 19-15 (.559)
No. 5 - 17-17 (.500)
No. 6 - 7-17 (.292)
No. 7 - 9-14 (.391)
No. 8 - 10-17 (.370)
No. 9 - 0-8 (.000)
No. 10 - 4-11 (.267)

OU In The Big 12 Tournament
Team-by-Team Record
vs. Baylor: 3-0
vs. Iowa State: 1-0
vs. Kansas: 2-2
vs. Missouri: 2-2
vs. Nebraska: 5-4
vs. Oklahoma State: 6-0
vs. Texas: 4-3
vs. Texas A&M: 2-1
vs. Texas Tech: 1-1

1-Run Games: 11-5
2-Run Games: 1-5
5+Run Games: 9-1

As No. 2 Seed: 13-5
Best Finish as No. 2 Seed:
2001 Tourney Champions

Three Sooners Up For Player of the Year
Oklahoma softball players Jessica Leslie, Heather Scaglione and Kristin Vesely were announced as three of the final 25 candidates for USA Softball Player of the Year on April 6. It marks the second consecutive year that Scaglione has made the list of 25, while it is the first such honor for Vesely and Leslie.

“This is a tremendous honor for the players and I know the team is very excited for them, but we never talk about individual accolades. This group is focused on the team's goals,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “I know that if you asked these three players, they would give all the credit to their teammates, first and foremost. We are lucky to have a very unselfish team and that attitude is a major reason we have been so competitive this season.”

Oklahoma is one of only four teams with three members on the 25-player list. Scaglione was on the Preseason Watch List that was comprised of 40 players. She was joined by fellow Sooners Norrelle Dickson and Kami Keiter.

Player of the Year Profile - Jessica Leslie
Jessica Leslie got off to a quick start in 2004. She has followed the same recipe in 2005, but this season she carried the streak over the course of the season. Leslie, an All-America candidate and USA Softball Player of the Year finalist, is hitting .328 with 21 doubles, seven home runs and 53 RBI, which ranks third in the Big 12.

Her doubles total is three shy of the OU single season record held by Becky Burroughs, who set the record with 24 in 1994. The Raytown, Mo., native has catapulted up the career doubles chart where she ranks No. 5 with 38 two-baggers. She is also moving up the single season charts in RBI, where her current mark is two shy of the top 10.

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. She hit .356 with 31 hits, 25 RBI and 14 extra base hits in that role. She ranks third in the Big 12 in RBI and leads the league in doubles, while ranking in the top 10 of four other categories. Shy is one shy of the tying the Big 12 single season doubles record of 22, which was set by Jaime Foutch of Oklahoma State in 1997.

Her defense has also been exceptional for the last three seasons. She recently (4/9 at Texas) committed her first error in a span of 119 games, dating back to her sophomore season.

Player of the Year Profile - Heather Scaglione
Perhaps the forgotten force in the OU lineup, Heather Scaglione needs to just step in the batter's box to understand the type of respect she has garnered. She has become the most feared hitter in the Big 12 after leading the league in 12 offensive categories (overall and Big 12 only) last season. To date this season in only conference games, she leads the league in five categories (HR, RBI, TB, SLG, BB).

If it weren't for her Big 12 leading 31 base on balls, Scaglione might be again dominating the conference offensive races. Regardless, her numbers are ahead of pace in several categories (BA, 2B, RBI) and on pace with last season in every category.

In the Big 12 ranks for all games, Scaglione ranks No. 2 in RBI and comes in no lower than eighth in walks, home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, doubles and total bases.

Player of the Year Profile - Kristin Vesely
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 46 of 58 games this season, including 44 of the last 50. The Phoenix, Ariz., native has already set career single season highs in runs (57), hits (88), doubles (17), RBI (30), total bases (115) and stolen bases (29).

Vesely leads the Big 12 in batting average, hits and runs while ranking second in on-base percentage and fourth in doubles and total bases. She is ranked in the top-10 of every Big 12 offensive category except home runs, in which she has tied a career single season high with two blasts.

She also set the OU record with a 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.

The smooth center fielder, who gets as good of a jump on fly balls as anyone in the country, has also been nearly flawless in the field. She recently had a 46-game errorless streak snapped (4/11).

Top 10 In The NCAA
The top 10 team batting averages as reported by the NCAA (5/1):
1. Texas A&M - .342
2. Texas San Antonio - .340
3. Tennessee - .333
4. Oklahoma - .328
5. Michigan - .327
6. Georgia - .326
7. Ohio State - .325
8. Baylor - .324
9. Bethune Cookman - .322
10. BYU - .320

Streaks
Notable streaks entering the Big 12 Tournament:
175 - Consecutive games started by Kristin Vesely.
141 - Consecutive weeks since the inception of the NFCA Poll that OU has been ranked in the top-25.
119 - Consecutive game errorless streak for Jessica Leslie that was snapped against Texas (4/9).
79 - Length of Kami Keiter's career best streak of innings without allowing an earned run.
31- Length of home winning streak that was snapped by Texas A&M on April 16.
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.
12 - Consecutive seasons of 40 or more wins, 11 under Gasso, which OU clinced with DH sweep of Texas Tech on April 11.
11 - Consecutive trips to the NCAA postseason.
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.
6 - Consecutive wins for OU in the Bedlam Series.
5 - Consecutive Regional Championships.
5 - Consecutive Women's College World Series appearances.

Class Rank
The 2005 senior class (Christina Enea, Heather Scaglione, Kami Keiter and Jessica Leslie) is entering its final collegiate postseason. The class may go out as the best in school history.

In fact, based on career accomplishments, the 2005 class' only competition is the 2001 six pack (LaKisha Washington, Lisa Carey, Jamie White, Ashli Barrett, Andrea Davis and Mandy Fulton). The 2001 group appeared on the OU career record lists 25 times going into their final season. The 2004 version appeared 21 times. The 2001 crew only improved their marks in their final season and currently appears 32 times on the career lists. As of May 6, the 2005 class appears on the career lists 30 times, which is significant considering they have two less players than 2001.

The 2005 senior class holds a couple distinctions over 2001. The quartet is the first in OU history to have three different graduating-players with All-America honors. It also is more well rounded than their counterparts. The 2001 version did not have a pitcher on any lists. The 2005 team has Kami Keiter, who ranks in the top six of all nine career pitching categories.

Gasso Joins 500 & 700 Clubs
OU head coach Patty Gasso won the 700th game of her collegiate head coaching career with a 4-0 defeat of Nebraska on May 1. The 700 victories have come during stops at OU and Long Beach City College.

Gasso won the 500th game of her OU coaching career on Feb. 18 in a 11-1 win over Lipscomb. Her OU career mark is 539-175-1 (.756). She distanced herself from the previous Sooner coaches a long time ago. In fact, the next closest in career wins is OU administrator Marita Hynes, who went 256-189 from 1977-84.

Her current career record (OU and LBCC) is 701-233-1 (.752).

Written In Dirt
Senior Heather Scaglione, a USA Softball Player of the Year candidate and 2004 First Team All-American, goes through a couple unique pre-game rituals.

With her bat Scaglione writes the initials, J.A.S., of her deceased mother, Joyce Ann Scaglione, in the dirt behind home plate before each game. Usually, if OU is visiting, the opposing catcher will wipe the initials away thinking that Scaglione is just marking her territory. Scaglione will inform the home plate umpire the next inning and he'll inform the opponent.

She also writes her mother's initials on her left wrist with a Sharpie before every game.

Her mother passed away in her sleep during the fall season (2002) of her sophomore. The team was taking pre-game batting practice before facing Neosho County Junior College when a police officer and priest came to field to break the news to Scaglione.

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