Late Rally Leads OU to Victory

MIAMI Opening day for the No. 16 Oklahoma softball team got off to an exciting start as the Sooners scored seven runs on five hits in the top of the seventh to beat No. 20 Louisville, 9-5, in its opening game of the season at the Diamond Fun and Sun Classic in Miami, Fla.

Oklahoma had to rally from behind as it found itself down, 5-2, heading into the top of the seventh. Sophomore Traci Dickenson got the Sooners going in the top of the seventh after her leadoff double to left field energized the Sooner offense as Norrelle Dickson was hit by a pitch on the next play and the Sooners had no outs and runners at first and second.

Next, Amber Spaulding recorded her third hit of the day as she doubled down the left field line to score Dickenson and advance Dickson to third. The Sooner rally continued after Amber Flores' ground out as Samantha Ricketts was hit by a pitch and the Sooners had the bases loaded with one out. Senior Jamie Fox's single to center scored Dickson as OU trailed, 5-4, with one out.

The Sooners continued to pour it on as Savannah Long reached first on a muffed throw by the first baseman and Amber Spaulding and Iver McDonald scored on the error as Oklahoma took back the lead, 6-5. After Susan Ogden reached first on a dropped third strike, Fox advanced home and pushed the lead to, 7-5. Senior Stacia Aleman added to the hits as her single to left field scored Long and Oklahoma scored its final run of the inning on a Dickson RBI single to take the final 9-5 lead.

Live Stats | 2007 Schedule

The Sooner defense was able to hold the Cardinals in the bottom of seventh as junior Lauren Eckermann earned her first win in a Sooner uniform after replacing sophomore D.J. Mathis in the final 3.1 innings. Despite throwing a wild pitch, the newcomer settled down and allowed only one earned run and three hits in the 13 batters she faced. Mathis, the starter, surrendered eight hits and four earned runs in her first game of the season.

Offensively, Spaulding led the team with three hits and an RBI while two-time All-American Dickson extended her hitting streak to 13 games dating back to last season. It also marks Dickson's longest hitting streak of her career.

The Sooners, the visiting team, were the first to strike as leadoff hitter Dickson reached base after a Louisville passed ball on a third strike in the opening inning. Dickson advanced to second after a wild pitch and moved to third after Spaulding's single to the left side of the infield. Ricketts, the cleanup hitter, came to the plate with runners at the corners and recorded a fielder's choice to score Dickson and give the Sooners the 1-0 lead in the first.

Louisville answered in the third after leadoff batter Audrey Rendon opened the frame with a triple and Courtney Moore pounded a two-run homer over the left field fence with a 2-2 count to give UL the 2-1 lead after three innings.

The Sooners didn't let the Cardinals lead for long as Susan Ogden opened the fourth frame with a ground-rule double down the left field line. Next, Stacia Aleman's hit to the third baseman looked like a routine ground out but a throwing error by the third baseman scored Ogden from second as the Sooners tied it up at 2-2.

The Cards didn't back down in the bottom of the fourth as Brittany York singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. York tied the game up after Kristi Cunningham's single to left and U of L had runners at the corners. With two outs, Mathis was replaced Eckermann, who threw a wild pitch that scored Cunningham and gave the Cards the two-run lead. Louisville added another run in the bottom of the sixth as Cunningham's sacrifice fly with runners at second and third scored McCrain as Louisville led 5-2 heading into the final inning.

Next Event

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics