Softball's Big 12 Run Ended By Texas

OKLAHOMA CITY Wasted opportunities led to the No. 10 Oklahoma softball team (47-15) being eliminated from play in the Big 12 Tournament by No. 7 Texas (41-11) in a 3-1 game on Friday evening at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

The game was tied at 1-1 going into the seventh inning when a run scoring triple by Tina Boutelle and a RBI single by Chez Sievers sealed the Sooners' fate.

The Sooners jumped on the board during a marathon first inning. UT starter Megan Denny threw 43 pitches and walked three Sooners in the opening frame. The opening at bat by Norrelle Dickson, a 13 pitch battle, was indicative of how the frame would play out. Dickson worked a walk after fouling off eight pitches and then would be on the third with the bases loaded as Jamie Fox came to the plate. Fox battled for 10 pitches, fouling off three, before working a walk to put the initial run on the board.

Box Score | Big 12 Tournament Central

OU is 28-2 when it has scored in the first inning this season. Both of those losses have come to the Texas. The other was a 4-2 defeat in Austin on April 10.

OU wasted plenty of opportunities to put the game out of reach. The Sooners left 11 runners on base through the first six frames and none was more crucial than in the bottom of the sixth inning.

“We had opportunities to win this game and we wouldn't have had to see Cat Osterman,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “If we would have done this right, we might have been standing here tomorrow.”

After singling Norrelle Dickson moved to third base on a Kristin Vesely double. With two outs the Sooners had two in scoring position for Christina Enea. Texas made the long awaited pitching change bringing in Cat Osterman to face OU's senior. Osterman struck out Enea and the momentum swung to the UT dugout.

OU starter Stacy Braddock was valiant in defeat. She worked 6.2 innings allowing seven hits and three runs. She fell to 7-7 on the season.

“We had some good performances,” said Gasso. “I thought Stacy Braddock was outstanding, as was the defense behind her.”

With the Big 12 portion of the postseason done, the Sooners will have to wait until Sunday to find out their NCAA postseason fate. The Division I Softball postseason field of 64 teams will be announced on ESPNews on Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. The Sooners are one of five Big 12 teams that have put in a bid to a host regionals and super regionals.

“I feel that we had a very respectable season,” said Gasso when asked about her team's chances to host a regional. “It's out of our hands now. Wherever we are sent, we'll be ready to play. It'd be easier to stay at home in our environment. It would be very nice for that to happened, but it we didn't earn it, we'll go wherever they send us.”

Game Notes: Vesely recorded her 90th and 91st hits of the season in the first inning, which helped her surpass Lisa Carey for second place on the OU single season list ... The OU record for hits in a season is 100 by Becky Burroughs (1994) ... Vesely had double in the sixth inning that pushed the team season total to 114, which ties the school and Big 12 single season record ... That mark was set by the 2000 team.

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