No. 3 OU Wins Top-Five Battle, 4-2

NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 3 Oklahoma softball scored all its runs in the bottom of the fifth as it edged No. 2 Texas A&M, 4-2, Saturday afternoon in front of 1,268 fans in the top-five showdown at the OU Softball Complex.

Led by Jamie Fox's two RBI single to give OU the lead, the Sooners pushed their record to 38-3 on the season, including an impressive 8-1 against teams in the top-25. OU owns a 4-1 start to the Big 12 season while Texas A&M fell to 28-5 on the year and 2-2 in conference play.

Offensively, the top five teams looked very similar as the Sooners collected nine hits while Texas A&M scattered seven. Amber Flores and Fox highlighted the night with two hits a piece as Fox added two RBI and Flores added another. Mariee Mena added the only other RBI for the Sooners.

Box Score | Dickson on Big Play | Gasso Post-Game

“I thought Jamie Fox was such a leader for us tonight,” head coach Patty Gasso said. “She took ownership in the dug out and then showed what a leader she is by hitting the single up the middle to give us the lead. That is the sign of a great player.”

OU starter Lauren Eckermann pushed her record to 22-1 on the season as she pitched the complete game white allowing only one earned run and striking out five.

The Sooner defense, which ranked tops in the Big 12 coming into the contest, showed its strength behind shortstop Savannah Long and catcher Lindsey Vandever. The Aggies, who had stolen 81-of-87 bases before today's game, couldn't get one stolen base as Vandever threw out both Aggies that attempted. Long provided strong defense behind Eckermann as she recorded three putouts at shortstop, including two against Sharonda McDonald, one of the fastest leadoff batters in the conference.

“We had great defensive performances from Savannah and Lindsey tonight,” Gasso said. “Lindsey wasn't allowing anybody to steal on her and Savannah took control of the infield as she made great plays at shortstop tonight.”

The No. 2 Aggies got out to a quick start as McDonald, sister of OU's Iver McDonald, led off with a double down the left field line to extend her hit streak to 19 games. Macie Morrow followed that with an RBI single as TAMU took the quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first.

The Sooners threatened in the bottom of the first as Norrelle Dickson was hit by a pitch to lead off and moved to second on Mena's sacrifice bunt. After a Flores bunt, Samantha Ricketts loaded the bases with a single and only one out. However, TAMU starter Megan Gibson retired the next two as OU came away with no runs.

Texas A&M put another run on the board in the top of the fourth as Gibson led off with a walk. However, the pitch prior to the fourth ball, Gibson hit a foul fly ball that bounced out of Traci Dickenson's glove for an error. Amanda Scarborough followed that with a single to move Gibson to third and Jami Lobpries' double scored Gibson to give the Aggies the 2-0 advantage. However, the run didn't count as an earned run as Gibson would have been out on the dropped Dickenson fly ball.

The Sooners responded in the top of the fifth as the Sooners opened the frame with four consecutive singles. Dickenson led off with a single to center field and Dickson followed with another single, but a throwing error by the catcher placed both runners in scoring position. Mena followed that with an RBI single to knock in Dickenson and score OU's first run of the game. With runners at first and third, Mena safely stole second. Flores followed that with an RBI single to tie the game up at 1-1 with runners at first and third. Flores stole second as OU had two runners in scoring position again.

Two outs later, Fox ripped a two RBI single through center field as OU led 4-2. Lindsey Vandever stepped to the plate next, but the freshman interfered with the catcher's throw as Jamie Fox attempted to steal second. Vandever was called out on the play and it ended the OU rally, but the Sooners wouldn't need anymore as Eckermann didn't allow a runner past first in the next two innings as Oklahoma secured the victory.

The Sooners will aim for the sweep of Texas A&M on Sunday as the series concludes at 12 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex with the first 500 fans receiving a free OU visor.

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