No. 2 Sooners Down UNT, 9-2

DENTON, Texas OU starter Lauren Eckermann pushed her record to 26-1 as the No. 2 Oklahoma softball team stepped out of conference play Wednesday night and beat North Texas, 9-2, in Denton, Texas. The second-ranked Sooners improved to 42-4 on the year while North Texas fell to 16-27.

The Sooner offense, which leads the nation in batting average and runs scored, combined for 10 hits behind Samantha Ricketts' 4-for-5 outing with four RBI and Norrelle Dickson's 2-for-3 performance. Mariee Mena also added two RBI in the contest. Including her four RBI tonight, Ricketts owns 67 on the season, only trailing the OU single season record by 10 (77 by Lisa Carey).

Eckermann, the Big 12 leader in wins, scattered five hits and allowed two runs while striking out nine Mean Green batters. The junior recorded her 21st complete game of the season.

OU 9, North Texas 2

The Sooners didn't waste any time getting on the board as Dickson reached first to open the game after being hit by a pitch. Stealing second on the next play, Dickson advanced to third on Mena's groundout to shortstop. Next, Amber Flores pounded an RBI single to center field on the first pitch of her at bat to score Dickson and give OU the initial 1-0 lead. Following a Samantha Ricketts fly out to left field, Susan Ogden's bloop single to right placed runners at the corners. Next, Jamie Fox walked to load the bases with two outs. Lindsey Vandever roped a ball to left field on a full count, but UNT's left fielder made a diving catch to end the frame as UNT escaped with only run given up.

The Sooners couldn't get anything going until the top of the fourth as the first two batters of the frame, Fox and Vandever, reached by a walk and hit by pitch, respectively. Next, Jessica Legendre, who replaced starter Savannah Long, laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Traci Dickenson's hard-hit ball to the UNT shortstop caused an error as one run scored and OU had runners at the corners.

Dickson extended her hit streak to a career-long 14 games with her RBI single as Mena followed that with a two RBI single that gave OU the 5-0 lead. Samantha Ricketts' RBI double added the final run of the inning before the final two outs of the inning were recorded as OU led 6-0 after the top of the fourth.

Eckermann had the shutout going until the bottom of the fourth when North Texas answered the Sooners' big inning. Eckermann retired the first two batters of the frame before giving up her first hit since the first inning, a double to left center. Next, a walked batter placed and a passed ball placed UNT runners at first and third. Kadie Platt's two RBI double broke up the shutout as UNT got on the board, but still trailed 6-2. Eckermann settled and retired the next batter to end the frame.

The Sooners answered back in the fifth as Oklahoma also used a two-out rally to score two runs. Dickson walked with two and stole second on the following play. Stacia Aleman, replacing Mariee Mena in the lineup, followed that with a walk and Amber Spaulding, who replaced Amber Flores in the lineup, recorded fielder's choice to load the bases as Dickson slid around the third baseman who was trying to tag her out. OU's RBI leader Ricketts followed that with her two RBI single that stretched the OU lead to 8-2 before the final out of the frame was recorded.

OU didn't let up in the top of the seventh as Dickenson and Dickson opened the frame with two straight singles. Aleman followed that with a fielder's choice that saw Dickenson called out at third on the force out. With two outs, Ricketts added her fourth RBI of the game, a single to center field that scored Dickson and pushed the OU lead to 9-2. Ogden followed that with a walk to load the bases with two outs, but a fly out by Fox ended the Sooners' final at-bat.

The Sooners return to Big 12 play this weekend for a crucial series against Missouri, who owns a perfect 5-0 record in Big 12 play. Oklahoma will take on Missouri at 6 p.m. in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday. The weekend series will wrap up on Sunday with a 1 p.m. meeting.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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