Completed Event: Softball at #12/14 Texas A&M on May 1, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 8
Final
Softball
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at #12/14 Texas A&M
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Top-25 Games Highlight SB Road Trip
March 14, 2007 | Softball
NORMAN, Okla. - No. 6 Oklahoma will end its non-conference stretch of the season this weekend as it heads out to Fullerton, Calif., for the Judi Garman Classic. The tournament will present one of the biggest challenges for the Sooners this season as the Classic will include a 16-team field that includes eight ranked teams, including five in the top 10.
The Sooners will open pool play on Thursday with two games. Oklahoma will face Pacific at 3:30 p.m. (CST) and follow that with a meeting against perennial powerhouse No. 5 Arizona at 10 :30 p.m. The Wildcats will be the highest-ranked team the Sooners have faced so far this season.
OU will round out pool play on Friday with an 8:15 p.m. meeting against North Carolina State. Following pool play the Sooners will enter tournament play. Game times and opponents will be determined upon OU's record in pool play. However, OU is guaranteed to match up with a team from pool A on Saturday which includes No. 7 Michigan, Cal State Northridge, No. 13 Washington and Florida. State.
The top two teams from each pool will enter into the Championship Bracket with only the winners advancing and the losers playing in the consolation games. There will also be a consolation bracket for the bottom two teams from each pool. The other two pools consist of Arizona State, Fresno State, Louisiana Lafayette, Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, Cal State Fullerton and DePaul.
SoonerSports.com will have the most up-to-date coverage on the tournament as well as times and opponents once tournament play begins.
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SCOUTING PACIFIC
The Tigers enter the tournament with a 14-7 record and have notched key wins over Tulsa, Santa Clara and Missouri after opening the season with a seven-game win streak. UOP is one of the top scoring teams in the country as the offense combines for a .336 batting average behind Gina Carbonatto's .471 clip and Jennifer Curtier's 22 RBI. The pitching staff has a combined 3.16 ERA as Chelsea Engle leads with a 2.94 ERA in 66.2 innings pitched.
SCOUTING ARIZONA
The defending National Champs sit in a very familiar spot - near the top of the rankings. The No.5 Wildcats own a 17-5 record, but have played one of the tougher schedules in the country as they have knocked off Ohio State, Northwestern, Texas A&M and Missouri. U of A is coming off a series loss to Baylor as the Bears took two of three from the Wildcats this weekend. However, Arizona still owns one of the top lineups in the country as leadoff batter Caitlin Lowe continues to impress with a clip of .485 while Taryne Mowatt has replaced former All-American pitcher Alicia Hollowell and is averaging 1.6 strikeouts per inning with a 2.01 ERA.
SCOUTING N.C. STATE
N. C. State, who is receiving votes in the top-25, owns an 18-8 overall mark and has notched key wins over Florida and Florida State while dropping two games to undefeated Alabama. The offense has put together a team batting average of .245 while Allison Presnell is leading the way with a .370 clip and 16 RBI. The pitching staff has a combined 1.62 ERA with Abbie Sims (1.72 ERA) and Shaina Ervin (1.86) splitting time in the circle.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Designated player/catcher Susan Ogden has been on a roll and currently owns a career-best five-game hitting streak after batting .750 in the OU/Worth Invitational this past weekend with four RBI. The junior currently leads the team with a .491 batting average.
UPDATING THE SOONERS
Owning one of the best records in the country, the 28-1 Oklahoma softball is coming off a 5-1 week. The Sooners ended their 23-game winning streak to Tulsa last Wednesday as the Golden Hurricane's Jackie Lawrence threw the first no-hitter of her career. The loss ended the best start in OU softball history and the second-best winning streak ever.
However, the Sooners bounced back as they recorded five more wins and won the OU Worth Invitational at the OU Softball Complex. OU edged Evansville on Thursday night, 6-2, to get back into the win column.
Oklahoma opened Worth Invitational action with a 6-0 shut out of Evansville and capped off the doubleheader with a 6-1 victory over Centenary College. In Saturday action the Sooners run ruled Centenary, 11-1, in six innings and added its 13 run rule of the season with a 10-2 victory over UMKC.
Offensively, Susan Ogden was began a five-game hitting streak against Evansville and went on torrid pace over the weekend as she recorded a .750 batting average (9-for-12) and added four RBI through four games.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma's trip to Fullerton will close out its non-conference portion of the season. Following its trip to California, the Sooners will open Big 12 play on the road. The Sooners will make the most of their trip to Texas as they take on Texas Tech in a doubleheader next Thursday at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Following the twin bill, OU will head to Austin, Texas for the series against the Texas Longhorns. The Sooners will take on the Horns at 1 p.m. next Saturday followed by a Noon meeting on Sunday.
DICKSON BREAKS STOLEN BASE RECORD
Senior Norrelle Dickson stole the 87th base of her career against Ohio State (Feb. 25) in Palm Springs. The theft broke the career stolen base record at OU that was previously held by Christy Ring (1999-2002) with 86. Dickson leads the Sooners with 21-of-23 stolen bases on the season, which ranks second among all Big 12 players.
16 MORE HITS TO RECORD
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 278 career hits, which is third on the all-time list. The record, set by Kristin Vesely last season, is 293. The senior is currently averaging 1.28 hits per game.
SEVEN MORE RUNS TO TOP NOTCH
Dickson is also set to become the OU career leader in runs scored. The leadoff batter only needs seven more runs to tie Christy Ring's 206 mark. Dickson also currently leads the Big 12 Conference in runs scored this season.
DICKSON ALL OVER THE CHARTS
Two-time All-American and 2007 Player of the Year Watch List candidate Norrelle Dickson has left her mark on the OU program and nowhere is it more noticeable than the career record book at Oklahoma. The senior owns the top career marks in stolen bases, on-base percentage, batting average. She is on pace to set the hits mark (currently third) and runs scored (second). She is also moving into the top 10 in at bats and total bases.
SOONERS IN TOP 10
Despite dropping its first loss of the season last week, the Sooners fell only one sport to No. 6 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. In the USA Today/NFCA Poll, the Sooners find also themselves still at No. 6. The Sooners have been ranked in the top 25 of every NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 161 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 featured eight of the opponents Oklahoma will face this season, including five Big 12 foes and two top 10 opponents (Arizona and Oregon State).Both polls can be found on in the left hand column.
BIG 12 STRENGTH
The Big 12 is making a strong case for one of the top softball leagues in the country. For the first time in the history of the ESPN.com/USA Softbal Poll (March 6), four teams from the Big 12 Conference are ranked in the top 10. The Southeastern Conference, Pac 10 and Big Ten each have two teams each in the top 10.
Texas A&M leads the group in the No. 3 spot while Oklahoma sits at No. 6. Rounding out the top 10 are Texas (No. 8) and Baylor (No. 10). The Bears moved into the top 10 after taking two of three from Arizona in a series in Waco this past weekend.
WINNING STREAK ENDS
Oklahoma's 23-game winning streak came to an end last week against Tulsa. It tied with the 2001 squad for the second-longest in school history behind the 2005 team that produced a 29-game winning streak. It marked the best start in school history and the 16th winning streak under head coach Patty Gasso of 10 or more games. Below is a look at the details of the win streak :
WINNING STREAK DETAILS
OU recorded the best start in school history by winning 23 consecutive games from Feb. 9 to March 7. Below are the details:
*It marked the second-longest streak in school history.
* OU's streak began with a 9-5 come-from-behind win over then-No. 16 Louisville on Feb. 9 and ended with a 2-0 loss to Tulsa.
* OU outscored its opponents 203-30 during the stretch
* The offense hit .364 with 26 home runs and 182 RBI.
* Eight regulars hit above .300 with four (Dickson, Mena, Ogden and Flores) of those topping .400.
* OU scored 10 or more runs on 10 different occasions and run-ruled its opponents 11 times.
* The pitching staff had a combined ERA of 1.31 ERA and Mathis and Eckermann combined for three no-hitters in one week.
NATION'S BEST IN RUNS SCORED
As the pitching continues to improve, so does the offense. The Sooners are an offensive juggernaut and are leading the nation in runs scored with an average of 8.34 runs per game. Below is a look at the top six teams in the country in runs scored as of March 11.
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BEST START EVER
Oklahoma made history with its 23-0 start to the 2007 season. No other Sooner squad in OU history has recorded a better mark. The previous best was a 12-0 start by both the 2001 and 2002 squads.
OFFENSE TO DEFENSE RATIO
OU has scored 242 runs in 30 games, compared to 38 for its opponents. OU averages 8.1 runs per game while holding opponents to 1.3. Additionally, nearly half of OU's 30 games have been shortened to five innings by run rule.
LEADING THE PACK IN PITCHING AND OFFENSE
A good recipe for a 28-1 record is strong pitching and a potent offense. The Sooners are making a strong case as they currently lead all Big 12 teams batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, runs, home runs and RBI. Additionally, the OU pitching staff has combined for a 1.22 ERA which leads all other conference schools. The staff is also holding opponents to a league-best .197 average.
TOP DEFENSE
Despite committing seven errors this past week, the Oklahoma defense still ranks tops in the Big 12 with a .972 fielding average. The Sooners have committed 22 errors all season. Additionally, only eight bases have been stolen on the Sooners so far this season.
SWEET 600 & 800
Gasso won the 600th game of her OU coaching career on Feb. 25, 2007 in a 7-2 win over Ohio State in the Palm Springs Classic this past weekend. The winningest coach in Big 12 history now owns a 612-201-2 (.752) mark at OU since taking over the Sooner program in 1995. She is 26 wins away from her 800th career victory.
PERFECT IN FEBRUARY
Head coach Patty Gasso has recorded her first perfect February. The Sooners went 18-0 in the month of February, marking the first time in OU school history an Oklahoma squad has done that.
EXTRA BASES
The Sooners had their streak of 18 straight games with an extra-base hit snapped against North Texas. The Sooners had recorded at least one extra-base hit in all 18 games prior to that. Oklahoma has notched an extra-base hit in 28 of its 30 games and has recorded more than one multiple-base hit on 23 different occasions this season.
HOME RUN CENTRAL
Head coach Patty Gasso added more power to the lineup this season and it has been evident as OU leads the Big 12 with 33 home runs. Samantha Ricketts is leading the way with eight home runs (second in the league). Additionally, OU has also recorded five grand slams this season by Ricketts (two), Susan Ogden, Stacia Aleman and Traci Dickenson.
RECORD PACE
It's only about the half-way point of the season, but OU's offense is on a record pace. They are averaging 8.1 runs per game, which over an entire season would set the OU school record. The 200 National Championship squad averaged 6.2 runs per game. The Sooners already have 242 runs in 29 games, while they scored 347 in 62 games in 2006. Below are the averages for the last six seasons:
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BLOSSOMING IN MARCH
D.J. Mathis has come on strong in the month of March and looks like a different pitcher compared to the beginning of the season. Below is a comparison of her pitching stats in March to her stas in February:
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NO EARNED RUNS ALLOWED
Junior college transfer Lauren Eckermann led all of NJCAA in ERA last season with a .171 ERA. The right-handed hurler has adapted well to NCAA Division I hitters and has only given up one earned run in her last 35 innings. The Big 12 leader in wins owns a 15-0 record and posts a 1.03 ERA for the season.
THREE NO-HITTERS IN ONE WEEK
The Oklahoma pitching staff was on a four-year drought of throwing no-hitters until D. J. Mathis and Lauren Eckermann combined for three no-hitters this week. The last no-no prior to that was thrown by Kami Keiter against Tulsa on April 22, 2003.
Junior Lauren Eckermann became the first Sooner to pitch a no-hitter in back-to-back starts as she held Temple hitless on Saturday night and was one error away from throwing a perfect game against Wichita State in the Sunday finale of the tournament.
Additionally, Eckermann and Mathis became the first Sooner pair to throw three no-hitters in one week. Mathis pitched her first collegiate no-hitter this past Wednesday against Arkansas and was one walk away from a perfect game.
VANDEVER SETTLES IN
Freshman catcher Lindsey Vandever has often drawn comparisons to former All-American OU catcher Heather Scaglione. The rookie has been splitting time with last year's starter Susan Ogden in the lineup. Vandever has shown her all-around talent since entering the starting lineup as she is hitting at a .350 clip and has thrown out five base runners in eight attempts.
COME-FROM-BEHIND VICTORIES
Oklahoma owns a 28-1 record, but not all the wins came easy. The Sooners have had to record some come-from-behind wins this season. The Sooners have trailed after five innings on four different occasions and have come back to win three of them. In OU's season opener against then-No. 16 Louisville, the Sooners scored seven runs in the top of the seventh to win, 9-5. Against Minnesota, OU scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to win 6-5. OU recorded its most recent come-from-behind victory against No. 6 Oregon State as the Sooners produced four runs in the top of the seventh to best the Beavers, 4-1.
ANOTHER BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A week after OU's Mariee Mena earned Big 12 and National Player of the Week honors, the Sooners added another award as Lauren Eckermann collected Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors for her perfect 3-0 performance for the week of Feb. 26-March4 that included a 0.00 ERA and two no-hitters.
MENA NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Mariee Mena was recognized by USA Softball as the National Player of the Week for her play Feb. 19-25. The Escondido, Calif., native produced a .692 batting average over the Palm Springs weekend with eight RBI, including a double and two home runs. It marks the first National Player of the Week honor for Mena and the first for the Sooners since 2005 when Jessica Leslie was selected for the honor.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
OU placed three Sooners on the all-tournament team at the Diamond Fun and Sun Classic in it opening weekend of the season. 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.
BIG 12 COMMISSIONER'S HONOR ROLL
Nine members of the OU softball team were named to the 2006 Fall Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. Senior Stacia Aleman led the way with a perfect 4.0 GPA in Health and Exercise Science. Also making the list were Traci Dickenson, Norrelle Dickson, Jeannie Douglas, Lauren Eckermann, Jamie Fox, Savannah Long, Jade Prather and Jadyn Smith. Student-athletes must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA for the semester to qualify for the list.
DICKSON PICKED SIXTH IN NPF DRAFT
OU senior third baseman Norrelle Dickson, a two-time All-American, was one of 27 senior softball players taken in the 200 National Pro Fastpitch Senior Draft. Dickson was the sixth overall pick and the Akron Racers' first overall selection. It marks the second straight year a Sooner has been drafted in the first round.
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Oklahoma softball senior Norrelle Dickson was named to the second-team ESPN.com Preseason All-America team in a list released by the web site. Dickson was one of two Big 12 Conference players selected to the list as Chelsi Lake of Baylor was selected as a first-team catcher.
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 annua
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