Turnpike Rivalry Set for Tuesday

NORMAN, Okla. - The 12th-ranked Oklahoma softball team will close out its six-game home stand this Tuesday at the OU Softball Complex against Tulsa at 4 p.m. The Sooners enter the turnpike rivalry with a perfect 10-0 record while Tulsa carries a 3-7 mark into the game and is looking for its first true road win after the opening the season with an 0-3 mark on the road.

LIVE STATS AND VIDEO COVERAGE
Fans that can't attend the game Tuesday can follow the game on live stats. In addition, the game will also be available on the O-Zone. The O-Zone is a subscription service part of SoonerSports.com that offers inside video coverage exclusive to subscribers.

Live Stats | 2007 Schedule | 2007 Roster

SCOUTING TULSA
The Golden Hurricane has registered wins over Nicholls State, Alabama-Birmingham and Notre Dame, who was receiving votes in the top-25, this season. This past weekend, TU played in the Auburn Tiger Invitational where it dropped games to Virginia Tech and host Auburn before losing the tournament finale in a close 3-2 game to Tennessee Tech.

In the preseason, Tulsa was picked to finish second in Conference USA after winning the league crown in 2006. TU returns five starters from last year's championship team, including Preseason Conference USA picks Sara Dyer and Brooke Smart. Dyer has not disappointed as last year's first team all-conference selection is leading the team in 2007 with a .345 batting average. The designated player is leading the team with eight RBI on a .655 slugging percentage that includes two home runs and three doubles.

Julie Fennell is leading TU in the circle with a 2.21 ERA and a 1-3 record. The senior left hander has thrown 25.1 innings while holding opponents to a .237 clip.

OU/TU SERIES RECORDS
Oklahoma owns a commanding 27-4 lead against the Golden Hurricane in the all-time series. However, Tulsa has won four of the last seven games against the Sooners with OU winning the last two. Last season, Oklahoma run ruled TU, 8-0, in Tulsa and defeated the Golden Hurricane 3-0 at home.

UP NEXT
The Sooners will head to sunny Palm Springs this weekend for a tournament against some of the top teams in the country. Oklahoma will open the Palm Springs Invitational with a 12 p.m. match up against Notre Dame on Friday and follow that with a 3 p.m. meeting against Loyola Marymount. In Saturday action, the Sooners will top-25 teams in Cal (12 p.m.) and Oregon State (2:30 p.m.). OU rounds out the tournament with an 11 a.m. contest against Ohio State on Sunday.

UPDATING THE SOONERS
The Oklahoma offense dominated the OU/Nike Classic this weekend as the Sooners swept through the tournament with a 5-0 record, while also winning in a run rule in four of the contests. The Sooners own a perfect 10-0 record so far this season.

Oklahoma opened its tournament with a 14-1 run-rule win over Birmingham-Southern as Samantha Ricketts and Stacia Aleman both pounded grand slams in the victory.

The Sooners continued their dominating play in Saturday's action as they shut out Northwestern Louisiana State, 12-0, and used a late-inning rally to top Minnesota, 6-5. In its second come-from-behind victory of the season, the Sooners scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth while Jadyn Smith earned her first win of the season after throwing the final 3.2 innings and allowing no hits.

Oklahoma ended the tournament on a strong note as it run ruled Birmingham-Southern, 17-0, and pounded Northwestern Louisiana State, 15-0, in the second game of the Sunday doubleheader.

Freshman Amber Flores and senior Jamie Fox were the offensive leaders for the Sooners in the tournament. Flores recorded a team-best .667 batting average in the Classic. The rookie tallied 10 RBI while also hitting a double, triple and home run in the three-day tournament. Fox led the squad with 11 RBI while also pounding two home runs over the weekend.

PLAYER TO WATCH
Freshman Amber Flores is referred to as “little Manny Ramirez” by head coach Patty Gasso and the rookie is putting up major league numbers in her opening season of collegiate softball. The California native led the team with a .667 batting average this weekend while also recording 10 RBI, a double, triple and home run in five games. For the season, the three-hole hitter is second on the team with a .423 clip with two home runs and a .808 slugging percentage.

BEST START SINCE '02
Oklahoma is off to its best start since the 2002 season when the Sooners opened the year with a 12-0 mark. The Sooners currently own a 10-0 mark since the beginning of the season.

SIX WINS TO 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 594 victories with the Sooners and owns an impressive .757 winning percentage as the head coach at OU.

TOP DEFENSE
Head coach Patty Gasso has always said that this year's team was going to be very strong defensively. The Sooners' efforts have showed in the last two weekends of play as OU is leading all Big 12 schools with a .988 fielding average.

OFFENSE LEADING BIG 12
The Sooner offense took off over the weekend as the team combined for a .431 batting average through five games in the OU/Nike Classic. Now, the Sooners sit at the top of the Big 12 in batting average with a .360 clip that is tied with Baylor. Also, the Sooners have registered the fewest strikeouts of any conference team. OU only has 26 strike outs in 258 at bats while also leading all conference schools in on-base percentage and runs scored.

SOME OF BIG 12'S BESTS ARE SOONERS
OU claims two of the top seven hitters in the Big 12 in Norrelle Dickson and Amber Flores. Dickson, last year's Big 12 batting leader, currently ranks fifth in the conference with a .433 clip while Flores is seventh with a .423 average that bests all other freshmen in the league. Below is a look at where current Sooners rank in the Big 12 in offensive categories:

Player Statistic Rank

Dickson	15 Runs	Tied for 1st
Dickson	8 Stolen Bases	3rd
Fox, Flores	13 RBI	Tied for 3rd
Flores	.529 On Base%	3rd

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 254 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.

DICKSON ALSO CLOSING IN ON STOLEN BASES
Senior Norrelle Dickson is also closing in on the career stolen bases mark as the All-American is second on the career charts with 81 and only trails leader Christy Ring's mark by five. Dickson is leading the Sooners with 8-for-8 stolen bases on the season.

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 9-1. Below is a comparison of the first 10 games of 2006 and the first five games of 2007. Statistically, it looks like the Sooners are off to a better start.

First 10 Games 2006 2007

Batting Average	.353	.360
Runs	67	92
ERA	3.27	1.63
Fielding Percentage	.968	.988

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 has fared well in her first two weekends of Division I play as she earned MVP honors at the Diamond Fun and Sun Classic, the opening tournament of the weekend after recording a 4-0 record. Currently, the right hander owns a 1.37 ERA and a 6-0 record while holding opponents to a .227 batting average.

SMITH HOLDING THEM HITLESS
Junior Jadyn Smith saw little action last season in the circle, but the Oklahoma native has been one of OU's most dependable pitchers in 2007. Smith has been given the role of reliever this season and has down an outstanding job finishing off games for the Sooners.

Smith has made five appearances in the circle this season and has given up zero hits in six complete innings pitched and 17 batters faced. Smith has already recorded a save this season and produced her first win of the year after pitching the final 3.2 innings against Minnesota and holding them hitless in OU's come-from-behind win.

PITCHING RANKS AMONG THE TOP
All four of Oklahoma's pitchers saw action in the circle this weekend with Jadyn Smith and Morgan Hudsonpillar picking up their first wins of the season. The staff currently owns a 1.63 ERA which ranks third in the Big 12 standings. Over the weekend the group produced a combined 1.30 ERA with three shut outs.

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 has always been a clutch hitter and that is no different in 2007 as the senior is hitting .529 with runners in scoring position and pounded a key two RBI double to tie the game up in OU's come from behind win against Minnesota this weekend.

HOME RUN CENTRAL
Head coach Patty Gasso added more power to the lineup this season and it was extremely evident in OU's five games at the OU/Nike Classic. The Sooners recorded 10 home runs in the three-day tournament. Jamie Fox and Samantha Ricketts led the way with two home runs each while Ricketts, Stacia Aleman, Traci Dickenson and Susan Ogden all connected on grand slams.

DICKSON PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Senior All-American Norrelle Dickson is one of the best leadoff hitters in the country and the third baseman has picked up where she left off last season. Last year's Big 12 batting leader is leading the team with a .433 batting average while owning a .528 on base percentage. Only striking out once in 30 at bats, the slapper has also shown her power after connecting on a double and a home run while contributing seven RBI this season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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