Completed Event: Softball at #12/14 Texas A&M on May 1, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 8
Final
Softball
5
at #12/14 Texas A&M
8
.png&width=40&height=40&type=webp)
.png&width=40&height=40&type=webp)
University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Heads South to Open Big 12 Play
March 21, 2007 | Softball
NORMAN, Okla. - No. 3 Oklahoma will take momentum from its championship weekend into conference play as the Sooners open the Big 12 with a road trip to the state of Texas for games against Texas Tech and Texas.
The Sooners, whose latest victory was a run rule over Arizona to claim the Judi Garman Classic title, will take on the Red Raiders in the conference opener this Thursday. The two games of the twin bill are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. Oklahoma and Texas Tech will kick off the conference season with the match up being the first of any Big 12 schools.
The Sooners will leave Lubbock and head to Austin for a weekend series against the No. 11 Longhorns. The Red River Rivalry will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday followed by a Noon contest on Sunday.
|
SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
The Sooners will be aiming to avenge last year's loss against the Red Raiders in the split series in Norman last season. Oklahoma has won 12 of its last 13 games against Tech. Owning a 17-13 record, the Red Raiders have had an up and down season with wins over no. 16 Washington, Ohio State, Nevada as well as a close 1-0 loss to Arizona. However, Tech has also dropped losses to Texas State, Cal State Fullerton and Florida Atlantic.
Offensively, the squad ranks sixth in the Big 12 with a team batting average of .276 and is led by lead off batter Ashley Parker's .379 average. Also adding offensive power is clean up hitter Jennifer Corkin who is leading the team with 26 RBI, including a team-best five home runs on a .364 batting average.
Defensively, the pitching staff has put together a 2.61 ERA (seventh in Big 12) behind Ashly Jacobs' 1.90 ERA in 121.2 innings of work. The freshman is holding opponents to a .240 batting average while throwing 111 strikeouts this season.
SCOUTING TEXAS
It is no secret the Longhorns are a different team without all-world pitcher Cat Osterman. However, Texas still remains one of the top teams in the country with a No. 11 ranking and a 23-6 overall record. The Longhorns lost three out of five at the Judi Garman Classic this past weekend, but prior to that had put together a 13-game win streak and have notched key wins over ranked teams UCLA, Stanford, Washington and Oregon State.
Defensively, it doesn't look like UT has missed a beat as the staff has combined for a 1.37 ERA (second in the Big 12) behind the play of Meagan Denny who ranks third in the Big 12 with a 0.99 ERA. The right-handed junior owns a 15-5 record in 23 appearances and has thrown 200 strikeouts in 120.1 innings while holding opponents to a .170 batting average.
The Longhorn offense ranks fifth in the Big 12 behind leader Oklahoma with a team clip of .283 and is one of the best home-runs clubs in the conference with 30 on the year. Headlining Texas' lineup is leadoff batter Shannon Thomas who leads the team with a .347 average while freshman Tallie Thrasher has been pounding the ball at the designated player position with a team-best 10 home runs and 22 RBI on a .744 slugging percentage.
BIG 12 OPENERS
The Sooners own an impressive 8-3 mark in Big 12 conference openers and have never played Texas Tech in its first Big 12 game of the year. In its 32-year history, OU is 17- 13 in conference openers. Oklahoma did not play in a conference from 1975-1976.
PLAYER TO WATCH
First baseman Samantha Ricketts picked up her first Big 12 Player of the Week honor after she recorded a .471 batting average last weekend to lead OU to their second Judi Garman Classic title. She compiled a 1.235 slugging percentage after notching four home runs, including her third grand slam of the year against No. 5 Arizona, and a double with nine RBI in six games.
SOONERS JUMP TO NO. 3
Following its strong performance at the Judi Garman Classic, the Sooners moved up to No. 3 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. The No. 3 ranking marks OU's highest since the 2001 team opened the season at No. 2.
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.
BIG 12 STRENGTH
The Big 12 is making a strong case for one of the top softball leagues in the country. The conference currently has two teams in the top five (No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Texas A&M) a well as two others in the top 15 (No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Baylor). Additionally, Nebraska is receiving votes in both polls.
UPDATING THE SOONERS
Oklahoma closed out its final non-conference tournament in strong fashion as it run ruled No. 5 Arizona, 11-0, to claim the Judi Garman Classic Championship. It marked OU's second Judi Garman title after winning it 1997 as it set milestones in the championship contest against Arizona.
The run rule marked the first time the Wildcats had been run ruled since April 16, 1995 when UCLA won 9-1 in six innings. Additionally it marked the 15th run rule of the season for the Sooners and first shut out for Arizona all season.
Reaching the title game wasn't an easy contest as the Sooners had to defeat DePaul, 3-2, in eight innings to reach the finals. OU took advantage of three DePaul errors in the bottom of the eight to win its first extra-innings game of the year.
Oklahoma opened the tournament with three games in pool play. The Sooners defeated Pacific, 10-3, in the opener on Thursday afternoon and followed that with a 6-2 victory over No. 5 Arizona that evening to clinch the No. 1 seed from its pool and advance to championship play.
The Sooners suffered their second loss of the season to N.C. State, who moved up to No. 25 in this week's poll. The Wolfpack threw a no-hitter against the potent OU offense and shut out OU, 7-0. However, the Sooners bounced back with a run-rule win over Northridge in the quarterfinals of championship play, 8-0.
Samantha Ricketts was the key over the weekend as the sophomore pounded three home runs against Arizona in two games, including a grand slam. The first baseman sent the DePaul game into extra-innings with her solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.
UP NEXT
Following its Big 12 road trip through the state of Texas, the Sooners will take a break from league play to take on Central Arkansas next Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex. Then, the Sooners will host one of their biggest series of the year, a top-5 showdown between No. 3 OU and No. 4 Texas A&M next Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (Noon). The Saturday game will be televised on ESPN2.
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 22-of-24 stolen bases on the season, which ranks third among all Big 12 players.
EIGHT MORE HITS TO TIE RECORD
Senior All-American Norrelle Dickson is on pace to break the OU career hits record this season and could do it this weekend. The two-time All-American is the OU career leader in batting average and currently owns 285 career hits, which is third on the all-time list. The record, set by Kristin Vesely last season, is 293.
ONE MORE RUN TO TOP NOTCH
Dickson is also set to become the OU career leader in runs scored. The leadoff batter only needs one more run 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 has also moved into the top 10 in at bats and total bases.
LEADING THE PACK IN OFFENSE AND DEFENSE
A good recipe for a 33-2 record is strong defense and a potent offense. The Sooners are making a strong case as they currently lead all Big 12 teams in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, home runs and RBI while also ranking last in strikeouts.
The pitching staff is also one of the best in the Big 12 with a 1.43 ERA. However, the girls in the circle have depended heavily on the Sooner defense as OU is only tied for eighth in the conference in strikeouts. However, the defense ranks tops in the league with a .973 fielding percentage and a Big 12-low 25 errors.
WINNING STREAK ENDS
Oklahoma's 23-game winning streak came to an end against Tulsa on March 7. 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 8.0 runs per game. Below is a look at the top five teams in the country in runs scored as of March 18.
|
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 280 runs in 35 games, compared to 52 for its opponents. OU averages 8.0 runs per game while holding opponents to 1.49. Additionally, nearly half of OU's 35 games have been shortened to five innings by run rule.
SOONERS VS. RANKED TEAMS
The Oklahoma softball team has accumulated a perfect 6-0 record against teams that are in the top-25 when Oklahoma has played them. The Sooners are the only current team in the top-25 with a perfect record against the rest of the field.
SOONERS SWEEP BIG 12 HONORS
The Sooners swept Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of March 12-18. Eckermann posted a perfect 4-0 record on the week, including a victory over No. 5 Arizona and a no-hitter against Northridge, her third of the season. Ricketts shared the honor with OSU's Courtney Totte after recording a . 471 batting average last weekend to lead OU to their second Judi Garman Classic title. The San Jose, Calif. native posted two home runs, including one grand slam in the championship game against No. 5 Arizona. Ricketts and Eckermann became the first OU pair to nab both honors in the same week since Nicole Denes and Heather Scaglione did it in 2004.
RICKETTS NEARING SINGLE SEASON BESTS
Clean-up hitter Samantha Ricketts is off to a record start in 2007 and is on pace to break a few single season records. Below is a look at where Ricketts stands currently and what the OU single season record is:
|
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 (.753) mark at OU since taking over the Sooner program in 1995. She is 21 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.
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 8.0 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 280 runs in 35 games, while they scored 347 in 62 games in 2006. Below are the averages for the last six seasons:
|
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 33 of its 36 games and has recorded more than one multiple-base hit on 27 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 42 home runs. Samantha Ricketts is leading the way with 12 home runs (second in the league). Additionally, OU has also recorded six grand slams this season by Ricketts (three), Susan Ogden, Stacia Aleman and Traci Dickenson.
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 stats in February:
|
Sunday, May 24
Saturday, May 23
Saturday, May 23
Friday, May 22
