Softball Set To Salute Senior Class

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 10 Oklahoma softball team (43-13, 12-6) will close out the 2005 regular season with Senior Night on Wednesday when the North Texas Mean Green (12-32) come to the OU Softball Complex. The festivities, which will incude pre-game and post-game ceremonies for seniors Christina Enea, Kami Keiter, Jessica Leslie and Heather Scaglione, are set to begin at 7 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on KOKC (1520 AM) with the voice of OU softball, Brian Brinkley, on the one-man show. Fans can also access a live webcast of the game through the O-Zone on SoonerSports.com. As usual live stats will be provided at no cost.

The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a free OU softball team picture and glow necklace. Wednesday is also $.50 hot dog and Coke night.

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The Sooners hope to gain momentum against North Texas and enter next week's Big 12 Tournament on a roll. OU has already defeated the Mean Green twice this season by a combined total of 14-2, which includes a 9-1 run rule defeat in Denton on March 30. All-time, OU leads the series with North Texas, 6-0.

UNT has struggled to a 12-32 record this season. As a team they are hitting just .193, while the staff has an ERA of 3.56.

The top individual hitter is Stephanie Cranmer, who is swinging at .314 clip with two HR and 11 RBI. The ace of the Green staff is Kristina Fowler, who is 8-18 with a 3.32 ERA. Fowler threw in the last meeting and only lasted one inning after allowing six runs on six hits.

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On the OU staff, freshman Tayl'r Hollis has hit the UNT staff the hardest. She is 4-for-6 with two runs and three RBI against the Mean Green this season.

After the regular season finale, the Sooners will have a week off before beginning play as the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. OU will begin tourney play on Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. OU will face the winner of the play-in game between the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds. OU will play on field 4, which is adjacent to the main field at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Senior Sendoffs
OU will graduate one of the most accomplished senior classes in program history. Below are snapshots of their career accomplishments:

Christina Enea
The senior first baseman will go down in history as one of the clutchest players in Sooner history. The 2002 All-American has led the Sooners to the last three Women's College World Series by tallying a career postseason batting average of .364. Inside the state, the two-time All-Big 12 athlete, has become a legend thanks to four game winning hits against Oklahoma State. The Woodland Hills, California native will finish her Sooner tenure on nine career record lists. Keep an eye on Enea when her Norman days are done as she has been invited to work out with Team USA and has accepted an offer to play in the National Pro Fastpitch League.

Kami Keiter
There is no arguing that this senior pitcher is one of the best hurlers in OU history. She has guided OU to three consecutive Women's College World Series and along the way has tallied three All-Big 12 honors and All-America acclaim in 2003. The numbers show that Keiter ranks in the top six of every OU career pitching category, which is the best showing of any pitcher in program history. The Arvada, Colorado native is also a two-time NCAA Regional Championship MVP, who has racked up a career winning percentage of .715. The hard throwing lefty was a member of the 2004 USA Elite Team and should remain in the spotlight since she was drafted by two professional softball organizations.

Jessica Leslie
This senior has been such a steady player for four years that her accomplishments have often been overlooked. That has not been the case in 2005, when she has become one of the NCAA's leading run producers and a candidate for the USA Softball Player of the Year. The all-around athlete will long be remembered by fans for her tough and gritty play, and by her teammates and coaches for her relentless work ethic. The Raytown, Mo., native has worked her way onto two Sooner career record lists. She was recently drafted and given the opportunity to play for the LPFA Tour when her amateur career comes to a close.

Heather Scaglione
Over the last four seasons this Sooner signal caller has made a name for herself as the best all-around catcher in collegiate softball. The hard hitting and hard throwing catcher will go down as one of the best sluggers in OU history. The San Diego, California native currently appears on the career record lists 12 times and ranks no lower than sixth in the power categories. As intimidating as her work is at the plate, she may be more demonstrative behind it, where opponents rarely ever dare to attempt a stolen base on her lethal arm. This Sooner standout was a First Team All-American in 2004 and has garnered three All-Big 12 honors. With two professional softball offers on the table and a tremendously promising international career with Team USA awaiting, Sooner fans have surely not heard the last from this passionate player.

Class Rank
The 2005 senior class (Christina Enea, Heather Scaglione, Kami Keiter and Jessica Leslie) will play it final regular season home game on Wednesday against North Texas. 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 3, 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.

Nebraska Leftovers
By salvaging a split with No. 25 Nebraska last weekend the Sooners clinched second place in the Big 12 and will enter the conference tournament next week as the No. 2 seed ... OU came out flat in the opener and lost 6-4 ... Heather Scaglione's bat was anything but flat ... She had two solo home runs and a double ... She is three HR shy of the OU career record of 46 held by Ashli Barrett (1998-01) ... For conference only games, Scaglione leads the Big 12 in HR (8), RBI (18), walks (10), total bases (50) and slugging percentage (.893) ... Jamie Fox also had a two-run homer in the opener to improve her season total to seven, which equals her freshman year mark ... In the finale OU handed the ball to ace Kami Keiter and she turned in a two-hit shutout ... She struck out 10 batters, which marks the third time this season that she has reached double digits in punch outs .... Christina Enea supplied all the offense with a two-run double and two-run homer ... The four RBI day capped a seven RBI week for the senior, who single-handedly defeated Oklahoma State with three RBI ... The finale win also netted the 700th win of Patty Gasso's head coaching career ... She is 538-175-1 in 11 seasons with OU ... She began her head coaching career at Long Beach City College.

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 .324 with 20 doubles, seven home runs and 52 RBI, which ranks second in the Big 12.

Her doubles total is tied with Ashli Barrett (2000) as the second best single season mark in OU history. She is just four shy of Becky Burroughs record of 24 from 1994. The Raytown, Mo., native has catapulted up the career doubles chart where she ranks No. 5 with 37 two-baggers. She is also moving up the single season charts in RBI, where her current mark is three 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 second in the Big 12 in RBI and leads the league in doubles, while ranking in the top 10 of four other categories.

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 seasons.

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 45 of 57 games this season, including 43 of the last 49. The Phoenix, Ariz., native has already set career single season highs in runs (55), hits (87), doubles (17), RBI (30), total bases (114) and stolen bases (29).

Vesely leads the Big 12 in batting average, hits and runs while ranking second in total bases, on base percentage and third in doubles. 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 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).

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 538-175-1 (.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 700-233-1 (.752).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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