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University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Set for Final Big 12 Home Series
April 20, 2007 | Softball
NORMAN, Okla. - Carrying momentum from its sweep of seventh-ranked Baylor, the No. 4 Oklahoma softball team will host another crucial conference series this weekend at the OU Softball Complex.
Oklahoma (45-5, 10-3) and Nebraska (34-13, 7-4) will meet up on Marita Hynes Field for a two-game set in OU's final home Big 12 series of the year. The Sooners and Huskers are set to play the first game of the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday and will finish out on Sunday in a 12 p.m. contest.
This weekend's matchup will feature a battle between the conference's best hitting team, Oklahoma, and the top pitching staff in Nebraska. Oklahoma's offense, which is averaging a .339 clip, will face a Nebraska staff that is putting together a 1.18 ERA for the season and even better 0.79 ERA in Big 12 action.
MEDIA COVERAGE
The Nebraska series will be broadcast live with Brian Brinkley providing the play-by-play. The action can be heard live on KOKC (1520 AM) on Sunday and on Yahoo! on Saturday. Both games will also be broadcast on the O-Zone for subscribers.
Live stats of both games will be available on SoonerSports.com.
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TICKETS AND PROMOTIONS
Seats to this weekend's games are still available for $10 (reserved), $7 (adult general admission), $5 (youth general admission) and $3 (groups of ten or more must be ordered 24 hours in advance) at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (800-456-4668) and at SoonerSports.com. The gates will open an hour and a half before game time.
The first 1,000 fans through the gate on Saturday will receive free OU softball trading cards of every player and an autograph session will be held with the team following Saturday's game. Sunday's promotion will feature mini bats for the first 500 fans through the gate.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska enters the weekend's matchup as one of the hottest teams in the Big 12 as it currently owns a seven-game win streak. The Huskers are coming off two straight sweeps of Iowa State and Texas.
Currently, the Huskers own a 7-4 record in Big 12 action after dropping two series to Texas A&M and Baylor. Overall, NU owns a 34-13 mark with key wins over No. 11 DePaul, Georgia and California.
Defensively, Nebraska is tops in the league as its pitching staff has combined for a conference-best 1.18 ERA. Nebraska boasts two of the league's top pitchers in Molly Hill (1.00 ERA, 15-7) and reigning National Player of the Week Ashley DeBuhr (1.25 ERA, 17-6). The pitching staff also has a great defense behind them as the Huskers are recording a .983 fielding percentage in Big 12 play which is best in the conference while only committing five errors in 11 games.
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The Husker offense owns a team batting average of .243 (eighth in the Big 12), but puts pressure on the defense by putting the ball in play as it is only seventh in the conference in strikeouts.
Center fielder Meghan Mullin is leading the Nebraska offense with a .324 clip and is quick on the base paths as she leads the team with 12-of-15 stolen bases. Three-hole hitter Crystal Carwile is bringing the runs in as she is leading the team with 20 RBI and a .409 slugging percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between the two squads is close with Nebraska owning the 39-30 advantage dating back to 1977. Nebraska has won seven of the last nine meetings. OU's last victory was a 5-0 win in 2005 in Norman as the Sooners split with the Huskers.
LAST TIME THEY MET
Nebraska dominated the Sooners last year in a doubleheader in Lincoln. Led by three home runs, the Huskers run ruled the Sooners, 9-1, in six innings in the first game . NU earned the sweep after shutting out the OU offense and winning 3-0.
SOONERS FALL TO NO. 4
The Sooners remained in the top five this week, but fell to No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll after splitting with Missouri this past weekend. The Sooners remain at No. 3 in the NFCA poll as the new poll does not come out until Wednesday. The No. 2 ranking ties 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 166 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 as OU (No. 4) , Texas A&M (No. 5) and Baylor (No.7) headline the top 10. Texas (No. 19) rounds out the top 20 while Kansas and Missouri are receiving votes in the top-25.
UPDATING THE SOONERS & BIG 12
The Sooners earned a much-needed sweep over No. 7 Baylor Wednesday night, as the Bears suffered their first two losses of the Big 12 season. OU only has a week left of regular season play as it continues to aim for the Big 12 championship. In addition to its series against Nebraska this weekend, the Sooners still have a road series against Kansas and a single game against Oklahoma State (in Stillwater) left.
The top of the Big 12 race still remains jumbled as Missouri, whom the Sooners split with last weekend, owns an 8-1 mark in conference play but still has remaining series against Baylor, Iowa State, Texas A&M and Nebraska. Baylor sits at 9-2 in league play with remaining contests against Texas A&M, Texas, Iowa State and Missouri.
Along with Oklahoma (10-3), Texas A&M (9-3) and Nebraska (6-4) are also among the cluster of teams at the top of the conference.
OU's offense remains the best in the Big 12 with batting average leader, Norrelle Dickson, leading the way with a .523 clip in league play while RBI leader Samantha Ricketts owns 70 RBI on the season. Ricketts had the winning RBI in OU's extra-innings win over Baylor .
With the offense clicking, OU's go-to girl in the circle has been the Big 12 leader in wins, Lauren Eckermann (28-2, 1.55 ERA). However, sophomore D.J. Mathis (11-3, 2.25 ERA) showed promise against Baylor as the lefty came in for relief of Eckermann to earn the win in the second game against the No. 7 Bears.
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UP NEXT
Beginning Saturday, OU enters its final week of the Big 12 regular season. Following its Nebraska series, the Sooners will hit the road for their final week of Big 12 action.
Oklahoma will head to Stillwater next Wednesday for a Bedlam rematch against Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. The Sooners won the first contest , 8-0, in five innings.
Following the Oklahoma State game, the Sooners will head to Lawrence, Kan., for their final Big 12 series of the season. Oklahoma will match up against Kansas at 2 p.m. on Saturday and round out the series and Big 12 regular season on Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Jayhawks.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Samantha Ricketts and Norrelle Dickson were honored by USA Softball as one of 25 finalists around the country selected for the USA Softball National Player of the Year Award. Ricketts and Dickson were two of the seven Big 12 athletes selected by the committee. Dickson appeared on the preseason watch list for the third time in her career but is making her first appearance on the list of 25 while it marks Ricketts' first honor by USA Softball.
On May 9, just days before the start of post-season play, a list of 10 finalists will be named. On May 23 the list will be cut to three and those final three players will travel to Oklahoma City for the announcement of the winner at the 2007 NCAA Women's College World Series.
ANOTHER 40-WIN SEASON
For the 14th straight year, including the last 13 under head coach Patty Gasso, the Sooners have recorded a 40-win season. OU's win against Iowa State (4/6) marked the 40th win of the season and OU now owns more wins than the 2006 squad did all of last season.
CAREER HITS LEADER
Senior Norrelle Dickson made history against No. 10 Texas as she became the all-time hits leader at the University of Oklahoma. The third baseman did it in strong fashion as she went 5-for-5 against Texas (March 25) to pass Kristin Vesely's (2003-06) previous mark of 293. To the left is a look at the updated career chart.
MAKING HISTORY ... AGAIN
The opening of Big 12 was very historical for Norrelle Dickson. In addition to becoming the all-time hits leader, the senior also took the title of runs scored leader at Oklahoma. Dickson became the all-time leader in runs scored against Texas Tech (March 22) as she passed Christy Ring's (1999-2002) previous mark of 206.
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 31-of-35 stolen bases on the season, which ranks second among all Big 12 players.
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, hits, and runs. She has also moved to No. 4 in at bats and sixth in total bases.
RICKETTS SHOWING UP ON CAREER CHARTS
Despite only being a sophomore, first baseman Samantha Ricketts is beginning to climb up career charts. Ricketts is 10th on the all-time list with 24 home runs and ninth with 121 career RBI. Her career averages are also on pace to set records as she is second in career batting avg. (.394) and on-base percentage (.489) and leading the pack with a .697 slugging percentage.
300/200/100
Recording her 100th stolen base of her career against Iowa State (April 4), Norrelle Dickson became the first player in OU and Big 12 history to record at least 300 hits, 200 runs and 100 stolen bases in her career. Additionally, Dickson became only the 11th player in NCAA history to accomplish the feat. Below is a look at the players Dickson joined in the record books after recording her 100th steal:
Members of the 3-2-1 Club
(Compiled with help from the 2007 NCAA Softball Records Book)
Nicole Barber, Georgia (2001-04) 379 hits, 266 runs, 257 SB
Natasha Watley, UCLA (2000-03) 395 hits, 252 runs, 158 SB
Kelly Krestchman, Alabama (1998-01) 368 hits, 288 runs, 133 SB
Alison McCutcheon, Arizona (1995-98) 405 hits, 289 runs, 148 SB
Amy Chellevold, Arizona (1992-95) 371 hits, 252 runs, 113 SB
Lauren Bauer, Arizona (1998-01) 349 hits, 238 runs, 133 SB
Shamalene Wilson, Florida St. (1993-96) 310 hits, 223 runs, 161 SB
Tiff Tootle, South Carolina (1990-93) 351 hits, 207 runs, 114 SB
Lindsay Schutzler, Tennessee (2004-Present)* 341 hits, 227 runs, 112 SB
Caitlin Lowe, Arizona (2004-Present)* 319 hits, 226 runs, 143 SB
Norrelle Dickson, Oklahoma (2004-P) 313 hits, 226 runs, 104 SB
Amber Jackson, Maryland (2004-P)*^ 326 hits, 244 runs, 97 SB
* Stats as of April 16
^ Close to joining list
OFFENSE TO DEFENSE RATIO
OU has scored 367 runs in 50 games, compared to 92 for its opponents. OU averages 7.34 runs per game while holding opponents to 1.84. Additionally, 17 of OU's 50 games have been shortened to five or six innings by run rule.
PROLIFIC OFFENSE
The Sooners own one of the top offenses in the country and it became evident as the first set of NCAA stats were released on April 10. Oklahoma is second in the country in runs scored per game and third in batting average while Norrelle Dickson ranks fifth in batting average and second in runs scored and Samantha Ricketts is second in the country in RBI. A complete list of where the Sooners rank as a team and individually in every category is located on page seven.
SEVEN AWAY
Sophomore Samantha Ricketts continues her torrid pace in the cleanup spot for the Sooners as she is now only seven RBI shy of tying the OU and Big 12 single season record held by former Sooner Lisa Carey in 2000. Averaging 1.40 RBI per game, Ricketts is second in the country.
SOME OF BIG 12'S BESTS ARE SOONERS
The Big 12 released its conference stats this past Thursday for all games and OU claimed the top three hitters in the Big 12 in Norrelle Dickson, Samantha Ricketts and Susan Ogden. Dickson, last year's Big 12 batting leader, is leading the league again with a .490 batting average in all contests while Ricketts currently leads with 70 RBI. Below is a look at all of the individual categories that the Sooners are leading the Big 12 as of April 19.
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CLOSING IN ON BIG 12 RECORDS
The team as well as OU individuals are closing in on Big 12 single season records. Below is a look at the single season marks OU is chasing:
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