OU Shuts Out No. 10 Texas, 7-0

AUSTIN -- The Oklahoma offense took off behind Traci Dickenson's and Susan Ogden's home runs and Lauren Eckermann threw her eighth shutout of the season as the No. 3 Sooners (36-2) improved to 3-0 in the Big 12 with a 7-0 shutout over No. 10 Texas (24-7, 0-1) Saturday afternoon in front of a visiting crowd of 934.

The Sooners combined for 11 hits as Ogden, Norrelle Dickson and Mariee Mena led the way with two hits each. Dickson is one hit shy of tying the career hits record (293) held by former Sooner Kristin Vesely. Ogden (three) and Dickenson (two) combined for five of OU's six RBI against the Horns. Samantha Ricketts, the Big 12 and National Player of the Week, recorded the other.

“I really liked how Norrelle came out and set the tone for us, offensively, in the first inning,” head coach Patty Gasso said. “We needed to do a better job executing in the first couple innings, but Traci Dickenson's home run to give us the lead allowed us to exhale a little. It was new for some of our younger ones to play in front of a big crowd like there was today, but we settled down and got the job done. Mariee (Mena), Norrelle (Dickson), Susan (Ogden) and Traci were all very clutch for us today.”

OU 7, Texas 0

UT used three different pitchers against the potent offense as starter Meagan Denny took the loss after tossing 4.1 innings and giving up four runs on four hits while also walking five Sooners. Denny fell to 15-6 on the year.

OU's Eckermann answered in the circle for the Sooners as she threw a four-hitter against the Horns while allowing no earned runs. The junior kept her record perfect as she improved to 21-0 on the year and currently owns a 1.28 ERA and has not given up an earned run in her last two starts.

“Lauren did a good job of establishing a good mound presence early in the game,” Gasso said. She was ahead of hitters the whole game and never really allowed them to threaten.”

The Sooners threatened in the top of the first as Dickson led off with a double to left field and the Sooners had runners at the corners after Mena followed with a single. Amber Flores struck out for the first out of the inning as Ricketts stepped to the plate. Next, the Sooners attempted to steal home as Mena headed toward second and Dickson went home. Texas cut off the throw to second and threw home as Dickson was called out on the bang-bang play at the plate. The Sooners weren't able to capitalize with Mena on second as Ricketts struck out to end the inning.

Oklahoma couldn't get another hit until the top of the fifth when nine-hole hitter Traci Dickenson hammered her eighth home run of the year. The two-run homer gave OU the 2-0 lead as Jamie Fox scored after leading off the frame with a walk. The Sooner offense kept it going as Dickson walked and moved to second on Mena's single. Following the single, UT starter Meagan Denny was replaced by Erin Tresselt.

The pitching change didn't halt the Sooners as they loaded the bases after Flores was hit by a pitch. Ricketts stepped up and delivered a bases-loaded RBI single to right field. Ogden followed with a two-out bases-loaded RBI single to left field to extend OU's lead to 4-0.

OU scored an additional run in the top of the sixth off of one play that included a hit and two errors. Dickson recorded a two-out single to left field and a throwing error by the left fielder advanced Dickson all the way to third. However, another throwing error by the first baseman trying to catch Dickson at third sailed over the third baseman's head and into the fence as Dickson rounded third and scored on the error.

Oklahoma posted more runs on the board in its final at bat in the seventh. Flores led off the frame with a single to center field. The Texas coaching staff had seen enough of Tresselt as UT's Torrey Schroeder came in for relief. Schroeder got two quick outs as Ricketts grounded into a double play, but the OU offense rallied with two outs. Stacia Aleman's pinch-hit single to left got the offense going again. Susan Ogden followed that with a two-run homer just inside the left foul pole to push the OU lead to 7-0. It marked Ogden's third home run of the year. Fox kept the offense going with her single to left field, but the rally came to an end on Savannah Long's strikeout.

The Sooners will aim for a sweep of Texas as they conclude the series on Sunday at 12 p.m.

Game Notes: The Sooners have scored seven or more runs in their last four straight games ... The OU offense has recorded 10 hits or more on 18 occasions this season ... The Sooners evened the series between both schools at 17-17 with the win ... OU's last victory over Texas was a 4-0 win over the Longhorns in Austin on April 10, 2005 when UT was No. 4 in the country ... The Sooners own a perfect 7-0 record against teams in the top-25 this season.

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