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
Super Regional Action Hits Norman
May 24, 2007 | Softball
NORMAN, Okla. - The third-seeded Oklahoma softball team (55-6) clinched its seventh regional championship last weekend in Amherst, Mass., and will host 14th-seeded DePaul (44-11) in a Super Regional May 26-27 in Norman. All games of the best-of-three series will be shown live on ESPN.
The series opener is slated for Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST) at Marita Hynes Field at the OU Softball Complex. The second game will begin at 12 p.m. on Sunday while the third game (if necessary) will start at approximately 2 p.m.
OU joins Texas A&M as the two squads to solely have all of its games shown live on basic cable station ESPN. Veteran softball announcer Pam Ward will be on play-by-play and Karen Johns will handle the color commentary for the weekend.
|
In addition to television, OU play-by-play voice Brian Brinkley will call all of OU's games this weekend on KOKC 1520 AM. Live stats will be solely provided by NCAAsports.com.
The two programs are familiar with each other after playing against each other earlier this season in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton Calif. (March 18). The Sooners came out on top in a close game as OU won 3-2 in eight innings. The two squads have never met in NCAA Tournament action, but the all-time series is tied between the two schools, 4-4. Neither team has won two straight games against the other in the series history.
TICKET INFORMATION
Reserved all-session tickets are sold out, but general admission all-session tickets will be $18 for adults and $15 for youth. Single session tickets will not be available until the first day of the super regional, at which time they will be available in person at Marita Hynes Field. Tickets may be purchased by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 800-456-GoOU or 405-325-2424.
SUPER REGIONAL HISTORY
Both DePaul and Oklahoma are making their second appearances in a Super Regional since the new format began in 2005. The Sooners and Blue Demons advanced to Super Regionals in 2005 while DePaul also advanced all the way to the Women's College World Series that season. DePaul topped Northwestern in the Chicago Super Regional to advance to the school's third world series.
Ironically, OU was a 14th seed in 2005 facing a third-seeded Arizona team in Tucson for the Super Regional. The Wildcats swept OU in the regional with scores of 6-0 and 7-6.
OU's loss in the Super Regional in 2005 snapped Oklahoma's five-year streak of consecutive trips to the Women's College World Series. The streak began in 2000, the year Oklahoma won the National Championship.
REGIONAL THREE LEFTOVERS
The Sooners claimed their seventh regional championship in the last eight years after sweeping through the field in three games at the Amherst Regional ... OU is 28-3 in regional action, excluding Super Regionals, since 2000 ... OU hit an uncharacteristic .237 in the regional while Lauren Eckermann, who threw all 21 innings for OU notched a 0.67 ERA ... If there was an MVP honor, Eckermann would have been the most likely candidate as she went 3-0 with 19 strikeouts and only one walk while holding opponents to a .155 batting average (11-of-71) ... Samantha Ricketts was also a strong candidate after recording four of OU's 10 RBI in the three games, including a three-run game-winning homer in the opening game against Colgate ... The Sooners snapped UMass' nation's-best win streak of 27 straight and its home winning streak of 33 consecutive wins ... The Sooners were a No. 3 national seed and the highest seed not to host a regional.
AGAINST THE FIELD
OU played 41 percent of its games this season (24) against teams in the NCAA Tournament field of 64. Oklahoma owned a 20-4 record against the field with a winning percentage of .833. In those 24 games, the Sooners outscored the opposition, 153-72. Oklahoma beat the top overall seed, Arizona, twice this season including an 11-0 run rule.
REGIONAL OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION
Since the 2000 regional when the Sooners went on to win the national championship, the Sooner offense has been on fire in regional action. Since 2000, OU has gone 28-3 in regionals and has outscored opponents 177-50 during those eight regionals.
NCAA TOURNAMENTAT OU SOFTBALL COMPLEX
The OU Softball Complex has been good to the Sooners in the NCAA Tournament. Marita Hynes Field has never hosted a Super Regional, but the Sooners are a perfect 15-0 at the Complex in NCAA Regional action. OU recorded four-game sweeps from 2000-2002 and went 3-0 in 2005 when the new format began. While the Sooners own a perfect NCAA tournament record at the OU Softball Complex, they do not own a perfect mark in NCAA action in Norman. Prior to the complex being built, OU hosted an NCAA Regional in 1997 across the street at Reaves Park. The Sooners went 1-2 with two losses to Oklahoma State.
TOP MARK ENTERING TOURNAMENT
The Sooners entered the 2007 NCAA tournament with the least amount of losses of any Sooner team in history. OU began tournament action with a 52-6 overall record. The 2000 squad, which also won the National Championship that season, entered tournament play with a 58-8 record before running through the entire tournament without a loss on its way to its first ever national title.
SCOUTING DEPAUL
The Norman Super Regional will be a match up between one of the country's top offensive teams in Oklahoma against one of the nation's best pitching staffs (DePaul). The Blue Demons have the luxury of having two of the top pitchers in the nation. DePaul enters the weekend with the sixth lowest ERA in the country while both of its pitchers ranked in the top 15 in lowest ERA in the country.
Senior pitcher Tracie Adix enters the weekend match up with a 0.79 ERA and 154 strikeouts in 169.1 innings pitched. The Big East Pitcher of the Year owns a 19-2 record with a loss to then-No. 24 UMass and then-No. 7 Northwestern. Adix, a first team all-region selection, is holding opponent batters to a .152 ERA and has thrown nine shutouts this season while only walking 21 in 33 appearances.
Providing a good 1-2 punch in the circle is freshman Becca Heteniak, the Big East Rookie of the Year and first team all-region selection, who owns a 1.16 ERA and a 20-6 record. The freshman pitched the shutout against Missouri in the regional final and owns 173 strikeouts in 150.1 innings. Appearing in 29 games this season, Heteniak is holding opponent batters to a .142 clip. Heteniak was the losing pitcher against the Sooners earlier this season but only gave up one earned run in OU' 3-2 extra-innings win as the Sooners scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth on two errors.
|
|
Super Regional |
Savannah Long talks about playing at home Coach Gasso on DePaul
DePaul's offense enters with a team batting average of .277 with four Blue Demons hitting above .300. Sandy Vojik leads off the lineup and is one of the main power hitters on the team with 11 home runs and 31 RBI for a team-best .441 on-base percentage. Mary Wilus is also providing power in the lineup with a .316 batting average and a leads the team in home runs (12) and RBI (38).
The Blue Demons have been one of the hottest teams in the country in the latter half of the season. Since losing to the Sooners on March 17, DePaul has only lost five times and tore through the Big East regular season with a 20-0 record. DePaul's lone postseason loss was to Notre Dame in the Big East semifinals. The Blue Demons have recorded six wins against top-25 teams, including three straight shutouts in the Carbondale Regional.
SIX SOONERS NAMED ALL-MIDWEST REGION
Oklahoma placed six players on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Midwest All-Region Team on May 16, including a team-leading five on the first team. Third baseman Norrelle Dickson, pitcher Lauren Eckermann, left fielder Amber Flores, designated player Susan Ogden and first baseman Samantha Ricketts highlighted the first team while second baseman Traci Dickenson represented OU on the second team.
OU's five first team selections ties a school record for the most in one season as the 2000 National Championship squad also placed five on the first team. Dickson, also the Big 12 Player of the Year, became the first Sooner in history to be named to the All-Midwest Region first team all four years of her career. Ricketts, a sophomore, picked up her second straight first team honor.
The awards add to an already long list from the season. Five Sooners were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Dickson captured Big 12 Player of the Year honors and Eckermann was named the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year. Additionally, Dickson was one of 10 semifinalists for USA Softball National Player of the Year while Ricketts is one of three finalists for the award. All six Sooners are now eligible for All-America honors, which will be announced during the week of the Women's College World Series, May 31-June 6.
RICKETTS ONE OF THREE POY FINALISTS
The awards keep pouring in for OU sophomore Samantha Ricketts as the first baseman was named one of three finalists for USA Softball Player of the Year, the Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced Wednesday. The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, in its sixth year, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by NCAA Division I collegiate softball players across the country. Ricketts joins fellow sophomore Kaitlin Cochran of Arizona State and senior pitcher Monica Abbott of Tennessee on the list.
Ricketts is the first Sooner in history to ever be named a finalist (top 3) while two other Sooners (Norrelle Dickson in 2007 and Leah Gulla in 2003) have been named semifinalists (top 10). Dickson made the final cut of 10 in 2007 after making the list of 25 in 2006.
ONE WIN AWAY FROM SINGLE SEASON RECORD
Juco-transfer Lauren Eckermann led the junior college ranks in ERA last season and the junior hasn't missed a beat in Division I action this season. Eckermann tied the OU single season record for wins in a season (37) after defeating UMass in the regional final. Eckermann will be aiming to break Jennifer Stewart's 2001 single season win record when she enters the circle this weekend.
SOONERS WIN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
The Sooners claimed their third Big 12 Championship on May 12 as they defeated Texas Tech, 6-3, in the title game. Oklahoma, a No. 2 seed, knocked off Kansas (5-0) and No. 18 Missouri (7-1) on its way to the finals. The Sooners also played all three of their tournament games within a 24-hour span due to weather adjustments.
It marked OU's third Big 12 Tournament trophy after winning the title in the inaugural year of the Big 12 (1996) and then again in 2001. The Sooners have collected five total Big 12 trophies, including the three postseason trophies as well as the two regular season in 1999 and 2000.
ECKERMANN NAMED MVP OF BIG 12 TOURNEY
Lauren Eckermann, the Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, took home MVP honors of the Big 12 Tournament after throwing all three games for the Sooners, except for 1/3 of an inning. Eckermann recorded a 0.68 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched, while holding opponents to a .162 average with 18 strikeouts. Eckermann improved her record to 34-3 on the year after adding three wins in a day's span with a gutty performance.
Earning all-tournament honors were freshman Lindsey Vandever, junior Savannah Long and senior Norrelle Dickson. Vandever caught fire in the tournament as the rookie compiled a .571 clip in three games with five RBI. Long led all Sooners with a .750 average in three games.
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.
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 37-of-43 stolen bases on the season.
DICKSON SETS BIG 12 SINGLE SEASON RECORD
Scoring three runs against Kansas on April 29, senior Norrelle Dickson broke her own OU and Big 12 single season record for runs scored. The previous record was 66 runs in an entire season.
DICKSON ALL OVER THE CHARTS
Two-time All-American and 2007 Player of the Year finalist 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, runs and at bats. She has also moved to fifth 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 eighth on the all-time list with 27 home runs and eighth with 132 career RBI. Her career averages are also on pace to set records as she is second in career batting avg. (.391) and tied with Dickson for first in on-base percentage (.484) and leading the pack with a .694 slugging percentage.
DICKSON NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior Norrelle Dickson was named the Big 12 Player of the Year this season and became the first Sooner to earn the honor since Kelli Braitsch in 2001 and the fifth Sooner in the 12-year history of the Big 12 Conference.
The lefty slapper led the conference in batting for the second straight year with a .479 batting average, including an even better .484 average in Big 12 action. She led all Big 12 players in hits, runs and batting average in both overall games and conference only action. She already set the Big 12 single season record for runs scored with 68 scored so far this season.
ECKERMANN SHARES CO-BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Junior pitcher Lauren Eckermann also highlighted the individual conference awards as the juco-transfer was named Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, sharing the honor with Texas A&M's Amanda Scarborough. Eckermann becomes the first Sooner to ever win Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors since the award began in 2002.
Eckermann has been a key component to the squad's success this season as the juco-transfer is third in the country with a 34-3 record while she also led the league in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts, appearances and complete games in Big 12 action. She also led the conference in overall games with 11 shutouts.
SEVEN SOONERS NAMED ALL-BIG 12
The No. 2 Oklahoma softball team placed seven players on the All-Big 12 teams. Senior Norrelle Dickson, junior Lauren Eckermann, freshman Amber Flores, junior Susan Ogden and sophomore Samantha Ricketts highlighted the Coaches All-Big 12 first team while sophomore Traci Dickenson and senior Jamie Fox collected second team honors.
The Sooners tied with Baylor, the Big 12 regular season champions, with the most first team selections and led all schools with seven total honorees. Oklahoma has placed at least five members on the All-Big 12 teams every year since the inception of the league in 1996.
FOUR SOONERS EARN BIG 12 ACADEMIC HONORS
The No. 2 Oklahoma softball team posted four Sooners on the Academic All-Big 12 teams. Leading the pack were first-team honorees Stacia Aleman, Norrelle Dickson and Jamie Fox. Rounding out the second team was Savannah Long. Aleman was recognized for her 4.0 GPA in the fall and was one of only four Big 12 softball players to record a perfect GPA.
DICKSON, FOX NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
OU seniors Norrelle Dickson and Jamie Fox were named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District VI Softball First Team released on May 10 by the College Sports Information Directors of America. They become only the second Sooner pair in OU history to earn all-district honors and first since Angie Holwell and Nicole Myers did it in 1997. OU's last Academic All-District selection was Erin Evans in 2003.
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 is one of only 12 players 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. Amber Jackson of Maryland joined the club after Dickson.
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-P)* 354 hits, 236 runs, 118 SB
Caitlin Lowe, Arizona (2004-Present)* 341 hits, 240 runs, 156 SB
Norrelle Dickson, Oklahoma (2004-P) 326 hits, 234 runs, 110 SB
Amber Jackson, Maryland (2004-P)* 349 hits, 264 runs, 113 SB
* Stats as of May 22
OFFENSE TO DEFENSE RATIO
OU has scored 428 runs in 61 games, compared to 118 for its opponents. OU averages 7.02 runs per game while holding opponents to 1.93. Additionally, 18 of OU's 61 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 NCAA stats were released on May 20. Oklahoma is second in the country in runs scored per game and third in batting average while Samantha Ricketts is leading the country in RBI and Norrelle Dickson ranks in the top 10 in batting average and runs scored.
HOME RUN CENTRAL
Head coach Patty Gasso added more power to the lineup this season and it has been evident as OU ranks 16th in the country with 1.15 home runs per game and 70 total homers. OU has recorded 23 more than its entire total last season. Samantha Ricketts is leading the way with a league-best 18 home runs. Additionally, OU has also recorded seven grand slams this season by Ricketts (four), Susan Ogden, Stacia Aleman and Traci Dickenson.
CLOSING IN ON BIG 12 RECORDS
In addition to Norrelle Dickson and Samantha Ricketts setting the Big 12 single season record in runs scored and RBI, respectively, the team as well as OU individuals are closing in on Big 12 single season records for overall games. Below is a look at the single season marks OU is chasing:
|
|
|
LUCKY NUMBER FIVE
Oklahoma is one of the nation's best teams in runs scored as it averages 7.02 runs per game, but scoring five runs or more has been the answer for the Sooners. Oklahoma is 42-0 this season when scoring five or more runs. On the flip side of that, the Sooners are 52-2 when the pitching staff holds the opponent under five runs.
CLUTCH HITTING
Two of OU's and the Big 12's top hitters, Norrelle Dickson and Samantha Ricketts, are also doing their best hitting in crucial times. Below is a look at the hitters' averages in clutch situations:
|
Sunday, May 24
Saturday, May 23
Saturday, May 23
Friday, May 22
