Softball Hosts Home Opener Friday

NORMAN, Okla. - Moving up four spots in this week's polls after winning a tournament title this past weekend in Miami, the 12th-ranked Sooners bring their perfect 5-0 record to Norman.

Oklahoma will host the OU/Nike Classic in its home opener this weekend (Feb. 16-19) at the OU Softball Complex. The Sooners will meet up with Birmingham Southern at 3:30 p.m. on Friday to open their portion of the tournament.

In Saturday's doubleheader, OU will host Northwestern State (12:15 p.m.) and meet up again with Minnesota at 2:30 p.m. Rounding out Sunday action, the Sooners take on Birmingham Southern at 12:15 p.m. and Northwestern State at 2:30 p.m. in the tournament finale.

LIVE STATS AND VIDEO COVERAGE
Every game of the OU/Nike Classic will be made available through live stats. In addition, five of Oklahoma's games will be available on the O-Zone. The only game not available on the O-Zone this weekend will be Saturday's 2:30 p.m. game vs. Minnesota. The O-Zone is a subscription service part of SoonerSports.com that offers inside video coverage exclusive to subscribers. Learn more about the O-Zone.

Live Stats | 2007 Schedule | 2007 Roster

O-ZONE SCHEDULE
The O-Zone will broadcast 27 of OU's softball games this season. To view the games that will be broadcast live on the O-Zone, visit the OU softball schedule and look for the TV icon in the right-hand side of the schedule.

UPDATING THE SOONERS
Oklahoma swept through the opening weekend of play as it recorded a perfect 5-0 record and claimed the tournament title at the Diamond Fun and Sun Classic in Miami, Fla., this past weekend. The Sooners opened the tournament with a come-from-behind win over then-No. 20 Louisville. Trailing 5-2, the Sooners scored seven runs in the top of the seventh to win, 9-5.

Oklahoma didn't let up as it went on to record victories over Illinois State (3-1), Illinois (3-0), Florida International (9-1 run rule) before advancing to the championship game on Sunday against second-seeded Illinois State. The Sooners held ISU's late rally in the seventh inning and beat the Redbirds, 4-2, to claim the tournament crown.

OU placed three Sooners on the all-tournament team as Lauren Eckermann highlighted the trio with her MVP honors. The junior transfer was exceptional in her first weekend with the Sooners as she posted a 4-0 record and a 0.60 ERA in 23.1 innings of work.

Additionally, sophomores Traci Dickenson and Samantha Ricketts were named to the all-tourney team after their performances at the plate. Ricketts picked up where she left off last season and hit .462 for the weekend while recording three RBI while Dickenson recorded a .750 slugging percentage and led the team with four RBI after pounding two doubles and a home run.

UP NEXT
The Sooners finish out their seven-game home stand next Tuesday, Feb. 20 as they host in-state rival Tulsa at 4 p.m. Then, Oklahoma will hit the road again as it heads to Palm Springs for the Palm Springs Tournament next weekend. Playing five games in California, the Sooners will have to face top-10 opponents Cal and Oregon State.

PLAYER TO WATCH
Traci Dickenson opened her sophomore year on fire for the Sooners after leading the team with four RBI this weekend. Dickenson pounded two doubles and home run in the opening weekend to produce a .333 batting average. Additionally, the infielder was smooth on defense in her transition from third to second base this year.

SOONERS RANKED NO. 12
In what has become familiar territory for the Oklahoma softball team, the Oklahoma Sooners are ranked in both polls. In the USA Today/NFCA Poll the Sooners sit at No. 12 and in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, the Sooners are listed at No. 14. The Sooners have been ranked in the top 25 of every NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 157 weeks long. OU and Arizona are the only programs to be ranked in the NFCA Top-25 every week of its existence.

The preseason poll features eight of the opponents Oklahoma will face this season, including five Big 12 foes and three top 10 opponents (Arizona, Oregon State and Cal).Both polls can be found on in the left hand column.

DICKSON NAMED TO PLAYER OF THE YEAR LIST
Norrelle Dickson has been named to the initial watch list for the sixth annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. It marks the third straight season that Dickson has been named to the preseason watch list.

The two-time All-American returns for her senior season after claiming the Big 12 batting title with a .449 batting average last year, which also ranked fifth among all NCAA players. The two-time All-Region selection is on pace to break the career hits record at OU this season.

BIG 12 COACHES PICK OKLAHOMA FOURTH
The University of Oklahoma softball team was picked to finish fourth for the second straight year by the Big 12 coaches in the annual preseason poll. The Sooners were one of three teams to receive a first-place vote and picked up 58 total votes while Texas A&M was tabbed the league favorite with 80 total points.

Texas A&M received eight of the 10 first-place votes to edge out second-place Baylor, which earned 69 points, including one first-place tally. Nebraska was ranked third followed by Oklahoma, defending-conference champion Texas, and 2006 postseason winner Kansas. Filling the remaining spots in the preseason poll were Oklahoma State, Missouri, Texas Tech and Iowa State, respectively.

BIG 12 COACHES PRESEASON POLL

Rank/School (First Place Votes)	Points
1. Texas A&M (8)	80
2. Baylor (1)	69
3. Nebraska	62
4. OKLAHOMA (1)	58
5. Texas	53
6. Kansas	39
7. Oklahoma State	28
8. Missouri	27
9. Texas Tech	23
10. Iowa State	11

STRONG SCHEDULE
Head coach Patty Gasso has never shied away from playing tough opponents and 2007 is no exception. The Sooners will play a minimum of 56 games and face 14 teams from last season's NCAA postseason, including WCWS participants Texas and Oregon State as well as the 2006 national champion Arizona Wildcats. Sooner fans will be able to enjoy 30 home contests, including three tournaments, at the OU Softball Complex.

In addition, Oklahoma will face eight current top-25 opponents as well as three top-10 (No. 1 Arizona, No. 6 Oregon State, and No. 10 Cal).

GASSO IN HOME OPENERS
Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso has never lost a home opener in her previous 12 years at Oklahoma. Through the combined 12 years of season openers under Gasso, Oklahoma has outscored its opponents 75-8. The following is a year-by-year look at Oklahoma in home openers under Gasso.

Date Opponent Score
2/15/06 Central Arkansas 8-1
2/18/05 Lipscomb 11-1 (5)
2/11/04 Oklahoma Christian 8-0 (5)
2/14/03 Alabama-Birmingham 7-0
2/15/02 Creighton 6-1
2/17/01 Creighton 4-0
2/23/00 Arkansas 3-0
2/9/99 Oklahoma Christian 8-0
2/19/98 Wichita State 8-0
2/18/97 Oklahoma City 5-3
3/30/96 Iowa State 5-2
2/20/95 Oklahoma City 2-0

CHASING NO. 294
Senior All-American Norrelle Dickson is on pace to break the OU career hits record this season. The two-time All-American is the OU career leader in batting average and currently owns 246 career hits. The record, set by Kristin Vesely last season, is 294. Dickson is on pace to break that mark as the Big 12 batting leader recorded a team-best 93 hits last season.

CAREER CHART MOVEMENT
Oklahoma's success last weekend also saw a couple Sooners move up the career chart list. After earning all-tournament honors and leading the team with a .462 batting average, sophomore Samantha Ricketts pushed her career on-base percentage (.442) to second in the career list and her career batting average (.363) to fourth on the all-time list.

Senior Norrelle Dickson also had a strong weekend after recording a .333 batting average, which included a home run. The two-time All-American passed Ashli Barret on the career hits list and now ranks fifth with 246. Also adding two stolen bases on the weekend, Dickson moved into second on the all-time list with 75 and trails leader Chrity Ring who stole 86 bases in her career at OU.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA
The Gophers opened the 2007 season with a 4-1 mark after notching wins two wins a piece in the Jacksonville Tournament against UNC Greensboro and Jacksonville before dropping the tournament finale to Southern Illinois. Minnesota returns its top hitter of the last three years in Megan Higginbotham. The senior is off to a successful starter after leading the squad with a .421 batting average after two doubles and three RBI this past weekend. In addition, Lisa Parks has been steady at the plate after pounding three home runs this past weekend. In the circle, UM starter Briana Hassett has amassed a 2.02 ERA and a 2-1 record while fellow pitcher Rene Konderik owns a team-best 0.58 ERA in 12 complete innings.

SCOUTING BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN
The Panthers of Birmingham Southern are the only other team in the tournament besides the Sooners with a perfect record. BSU arrives in Norman with a 2-0 mark after sweeping Alabama A&M in a doubleheader last Saturday. BSU had its first winning season in school history last year and returns seven starters from last year. Highlighting the group is Melissa Taunton, this week's Big South Player of the Week, and pitcher Betheny Reynoldson, who was also named the Big South Pitcher of the Week this week. Taunton hit .429 against Alabama A&M this weekend and hammered two home runs while hurler Reynoldson held Alabama A&M to a .059 batting average while striking out 10 batters and throwing a one-hitter.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE
The Demons are aiming for their first win of the season after opening the season with an 0-6 mark after playing four top-25 teams this past weekend in Arizona. NSU suffered two losses against No. 5 Arizona State and one loss a piece to Florida, No. 21 Fresno State, No. 8 Stanford and Texas Tech. Despite its losses, Kelly Corliss had an impressive weekend after hitting .455 with a home run and a .727 slugging percentage. The Demons pitching staff struggled against some of the top teams in the country as the staff has a current 9.17 ERA. Starter Amanda Glenn has thrown 24 innings for the Demons and has recorded an 8.25 ERA while striking out 12 batters.

SWEET 600
Head coach Patty Gasso, the winningest coach in Big 12 and Oklahoma history, is on pace to record her 600th victory at Oklahoma this season. Entering her 13th year as head coach, Gasso has accumulated 589 victories with the Sooners and owns an impressive .746 winning percentage as the head coach at OU.

A BETTER START
Heading into the 2007 season, the Oklahoma Sooners returned eight starters from 2006 and bring a wealth of experience , as opposed to last year where the Sooners started four freshmen and opened the year at 4-1. Below is a comparison of the first five games of 2006 and the first five games of 2007. Statistically, it looks like the Sooners are off to a better start.

First Five Games 2006 2007

Batting Average	.269	.289
Runs	24	28
ERA	4.06	1.91
Fielding Percentage	.952	.992

ECKERMANN ROLLING
Junior transfer Lauren Eckermann was a standout at Temple Junior College where she was a two-time juco All-American and led the entire NJCAA in ERA with a 0.17 mark. Eckermann fared well in her first weekend of Division I play as she earned MVP honors at the Diamond Fun and Sun Classic after recording a 4-0 record. The right-handed hurler produced a 0.60 EAR and allowed 18 hits in 23.1 innings of work while striking out 17 batters this past weekend.

FRESHMEN DEBUT
In addition to Eckermann making her debut in a Sooner uniform, three freshmen saw the first action of their career with the Sooners and made and showed their promise for the future.

California native Amber Flores started all five games for the Sooners in left field. The three-hole hitter got off to a strong start with her first homer of her career in the championship game.

Rookie Iver McDonald showed her speed and potential after serving as a pinch runner in all five games and now leads the team with three stolen bases.

Oklahoma native Lindsey Vandever saw three starts behind the plate and recorded her first career hit against Florida International.

RICKETTS PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Samantha Ricketts was OU's leading home run hitter and top hitter in Big 12 play last season. The freshman was the lone rookie to be named to the All-Big 12 first team and has picked up where she left off. In OU's opening weekend, the sophomore led the team with a .462 batting average while recording team-best six hits and adding three RBI. The clean up hitter never struck out and recorded an on-base percentage of .611. Ricketts collected all-tournament honors for her efforts.

CLUTCH FOX
Senior Jamie Fox returned to the starting lineup this season healthy after serving as a pinch hitter most of last season. The right fielder was a clutch hitter for the Sooners this weekend as she pounded four hits for a .444 average with runners in scoring position and had a key hit with the bases loaded.

TOP DEFENSE
Head coach Patty Gasso has always said that this team was going to be very strong defensively. The Sooners' efforts showed this weekend as the Oklahoma led all Big 12 schools with a .992 and recorded a team-low with only one error in five games. Additionally, only one base was stolen on the Sooners in all five games.

PITCHING RANKS AMONG THE TOP
The Oklahoma pitching staff had a strong weekend after holding opponents to a 1.91 ERA. Individually, Lauren Eckermann ranks second in the Big 12 with her 0.60 ERA and leads all conference pitchers with a 4-0 record.

NOTABLE STEAKS
117-Consecutive games started by Norrelle Dickson
157-Consecutive weeks since the inception of the NFCA Poll that OU has been ranked in the top-25.
13-Consecutive trips to the NCAA postseason
13-Consecutive seasons of 40 or more wins
12-Consecutive seasons under Gasso Oklahoma has won its home opener
10-Consecutive seasons with five or more All-Big 12 selections
9-Consecutive wins for OU in the Bedlam Series
13-Norrelle Dickson's career-long hitting streak that ended this past weekend. The streak dated back to last May 1 , 2006 and ended against Illinois State on Feb. 9.

GASSO INKS FIVE FOR 2008
The Oklahoma softball program continued its success on the recruiting trail and signed five athletes to National Letters of Intent last November during the early signing period. Joining the Sooners in the fall of 2007 will be Dani Dobbs (Moore, Okla.), Krystle Huey (Garland, Texas), Chana'e Jones (San Jose, Calif.), Katelyn Rouppet (Stockton, Calif.) and Wendy Trott (Fountain Valley, Calif.). Below is a look at each signee.

Dani Dobbs
3B | 5-4 | R/R
Moore, Okla. | Moore High School

Krystle Huey
UTL | 5-1 | L/R
Garland, Texas | Garland High School

Chana'e Jones
INF | 5-6 | L/R
San Jose, Calif. | Valley Christian High School

Katelyn Rouppet
3B/SS | 5-5 | R/R
Stockton, Calif. | A.A. Stagg High School

Wendy Trott
1B | 5-11| L/L
Fountain Valley, Calif. | Fountain Valley High School