Super Regional Preview: OU vs. Arizona

NORMAN, Okla. -- After clinching its sixth straight regional championship, the Oklahoma softball team (50-15) will pack its bags and travel to Arizona (42-10) for the Tucson Super Regional. The series matching the No. 14-seed Sooners and No.3-seed Wildcats was chosen as the marquee Super Regional and will be the only best-of-three series that will air solely on basic cable stations ESPN and ESPN2.

The series opener is slated for Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CST) at Hillenbrand Field on the Arizona campus and will be aired lived on ESPN2. The second game will air live on ESPN at 4 p.m. Saturday, while the third game (if needed) will air at 8 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2. Women's College World Series veteran Pam Ward will be on play-by-play and Olympic hero Lisa Fernandez will handle the color commentary for the weekend.

Super Regional TV Schedule | NCAA Bracket

The two programs have a burgeoning rivalry that has intensified since 2000. Nothing heated the competitiveness of the programs more than the 2004 Tucson Regional, where OU defeated U-of-A by a score of 3-2. The loss sent the Wildcats to the loser's bracket, which they never escaped, and eventually ended their NCAA record streak of 16 straight Women's College World Series appearances.

The two programs have met eight times since 2000 and OU has lost six of those contests. The Sooners only other win, besides the aforementioned victory, came during their WCWS run to the 2000 National Championship. U-of-A avenged that loss with a 6-2 win in the 2001 WCWS.

This season the rivalry was brewing again when the Wildcats snapped OU's school record winning streak at 29 games with a 4-0 win at the KIA Klassic on March 19. All-time U-of-A leads the series 20-8.

Live stats will be solely provided by NCAASports.com.

Postseason Media Guide PDF | Live Stats

Scouting Arizona
While the pitching and hitting numbers are down from when the two squads met in the 2004 Regional 1 Championship, there is one dominating figure back in the Arizona corner. That figure is head coach Mike Candrea, who took a year leave in 2004 to coach the USA Olympic team to a gold medal in Athens. Candrea has an all-time record of 1024-201 (.836) and is also an eight-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year and a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He has led Arizona to six national championships and nine Pac-10 titles.

The Arizona onslaught begins in the pitching circle with two-time All-American Alicia Hollowell, who is 29-7 with a 1.00 ERA. Hollowell stands 6-1 and is a traditional strikeout pitcher, who has collected 400 punch outs this season. In 2004 Hollowell went 41-4 with a 0.79 ERA and was one of three finalist for the USA Softball Player of the Year. The slight drop off in production this season can be attributed to a few rough outings during the Pac 10 season.

Slapping leadoff hitter Caitlin Lowe is semifinalist for this year's USA Softball Player of the Year award along with OU's Heather Scaglione and Kristin Vesely. Lowe's .520 batting average is second in the NCAA. Last season it was No. 2 hitter Autumn Champion who led the NCAA with a .489 batting average. This year, Champion is hitting .344 and teaming with Lowe to form a deadly 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup.

The power in the lineup is provided by sophomore Kristie Fox, who leads the NCAA in RBI per game and has a season total of 64. Fox and C/3B Jackie Coburn (45 RBI) are the only Wildcats with more than 24 RBI.

The Wildcat offense that led Division I Softball with a .338 batting average last season is hitting .307 (15th in NCAA) in 2005. The one major difference in the last two season, is that U-of-A had five batters with at least 34 RBI last season. This year they have two hitters, Fox and Coburn.

Regional 14 Championship Leftovers
The Sooners extended their success in the NCAA Regional format by sweeping through the field in three games and claiming the Regional 14 Championship on their home turf ... OU is 23-1 in regional play since 2000 ... OU hit .275 as a team and Kami Keiter, who threw all 21 innings for OU, posted a 1.33 ERA ... If they had a MVP honor, Keiter would have been a likely candidate as she went 3-0 with 30 strikeouts and a .151 opponent batting average (11-for-73) ... Kristin Vesely and Norrelle Dickson would have also been MVP candidates, as both hit .455 and combined to score five of OU's 10 runs ... Six of OU's 10 runs were scored in the first inning ... OU is 32-2 when it scores in the first inning ... The only OU player with more than one RBI was freshman Alison Horne, who roped a two-run game winning double to defeat UL Lafayette in Game 3 of the tourney.

Regional Offensive Production
Over the last six seasons, OU's offense has scorched its way through regionals. Since 2000, OU has gone 23-1 in regionals and has hit .341 as a team. They have outscored opponents 152-38 (219-643) and opponents have managed more than two runs on just three occasions.

The offense has been even hotter when the Sooners are hosting the tournament. At the OU Softball Complex OU has hit .349 (141-403) during regional play, as opposed to a .325 (78-240) mark on the road.

Big 12 Postseason Update
Four Big 12 teams advanced to Super Regionals following the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last weekend. Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor and OU all reached the second round, with OU being the only team that won't host Super Regionals.

The only Big 12 teams that did not reach their respective regional final were Kansas and Nebraska, who both went 1-2. Missouri and Oklahoma State both went 2-2 before being eliminated in Sunday Championship play.

As a whole the Big 12 posted a 18-8 record in Regional play.

Five Sooners Earn Midwest All-Region Honors
Five players on the Oklahoma softball team were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Midwest All-Region Team on May 18. Garnering First Team acclaim were pitcher Kami Keiter, third baseman Norrelle Dickson, catcher Heather Scaglione and outfielder Kristin Vesely. Earning Second Team honors for the Sooners was outfielder Jessica Leslie.

It marks the second time that Dickson (2004), Scaglione (2004) and Keiter (2003) have garnered the All-Region honors in their respective careers. It is the first such honors for Leslie and Vesely. All-time OU has collected 58 All-Midwest accolades.

The awards add to an already long list from this season. Five Sooners were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Scaglione also garnered the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award. Additionally, Scaglione and Vesely are semifinalists for the USA Softball Player of the Year award. All five Sooners are now eligible for All-America honors, which will be announced during the week of the Women's College World Series, June 2-8.

Against The Field
Year in and year out OU head coach Patty Gasso puts together one of the toughest schedules in the country. This year was no exception. OU played 52 percent of its games this season (32) against teams in the NCAA Postseason field of 64. The softballers from Norman won 19 of the those contest for a winning percentage of .594. OU also posted a 4-6 record against the top-16 national seeds. Against the 32 opponents that landed in the postseason, OU more than doubled its opponents in scoring at a rate of 149-73. Forty percent of OU's runs this season (179-of-368) came against teams that are still playing. The only losses OU suffered against teams outside the NCAA postseason were to regional foe Tulsa.

Two Sooners Make Player of the Year Semifinal List of 10
Oklahoma softball players Kristin Vesely and Heather Scaglione were named to the semifinal list of 10 players for the USA Softball Player of the Year Award. It marks just the second time that an OU player has reached the final 10 (Leah Gulla in 2003) and the first such distinction for each player. OU and Michigan (Jennie Ritter and Jessica Merchant) are the only teams with two players on the semifinalists.

Jessica Leslie was on the initial list of 25 but did not make the semifinal cut. Norrelle Dickson and Kami Keiter were on the preseason watch list, along with Scaglione, but did not make the first cut of 25. The final cut of three will be announced just before the WCWS on May 31.

Below are profiles on the each of OU's candidates:

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 became the most feared hitter in the Big 12 after leading the league in 12 offensive categories (overall and Big 12 only) last season. This season in only conference games, she led the league in four categories (HR, RBI, TB, SLG, BB).

If it weren't for her Big 12 leading 34 base on balls, Scaglione might be again dominating the conference offensive races. Regardless, her numbers are ahead of last year's pace in every category except base on balls.

In the Big 12 ranks for all games, Scaglione leads in total bases and walks, while ranking second in RBI and coming in no lower than seventh in home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and batting average.

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 51 of 65 games this season, including 49 of the last 57. The Phoenix, Ariz., native has already set career single season highs in runs (62), hits (96), doubles (18), RBI (30), total bases (124) and stolen bases (32).

Vesely leads the Big 12 in batting average, hits and runs while ranking second in on-base percentage and fourth in doubles and sixth in 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).

Vesely Joins Enea and Scaglione Among Those Invited To USA National Team Camp
When you hit .457, you are bound to turn some heads. That time has come for Oklahoma junior center fielder Kristin Vesely, who was invited to the 2005 Women's National Team Selection Camp, June 13-17, at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

An 18-member national team and 16-member elite team will be selected from this camp to represent the United States in the various international events in 2005. The National team will participate in an exhibition versus Australia on July 12 in Irvine, Calif., the World Cup of Softball July 14-18 in Oklahoma City, and the Japan Cup July 16- August 5 in Yokohama, Japan. The Elite team will participate in the Canada Cup June 29-July 11 in Surrey, B.C., and the Inter-Continental Spain Cup July 20-July 28 in Madrid, Spain.

Vesely will joined at the camp by fellow Sooners Heather Scaglione and Christina Enea. OU and Michigan are the only schools to have three collegiate athletes heading to the tryout camp.

Streaks
Notable streaks entering the Tucson Regional:
182 - 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.
12 - 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.
6 - 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 in the midst of 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 its final season. The 2005 version appeared 21 times. The 2001 crew only improved its mark in its final season and currently appears 32 times on the career lists. As of May 23, the 2005 class appears on the career lists 31 times, which is significant considering its 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 its 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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Super Regional Preview: OU vs. Arizona

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors