No. 9 OU Beats Cal Poly, 3-2

Feb. 17, 2008

LAS VEGAS - The No. 9 Oklahoma softball team recorded a perfect record in the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic this weekend as the Sooners edged Cal Poly, 3-2, in the final game of the tournament on Sunday morning.

The Sooners went 5-0 over the weekend with wins over BYU, Cal State Northridge, South Carolina, Illinois and Cal Poly. Oklahoma now owns a 9-2 record on the season.

D.J. Mathis picked up the victory and improved to 6-0 after relieving starter Lauren Eckermann with one out in the first inning. Eckermann was replaced by Mathis after surrendering two runs on five hits in the first inning.

Mathis came in and shut down the Mustangs as she entered the game with the bases loaded but sat down the first two batters she faced to end the first frame. Mathis didn't allow a run in her 6.2 innings of work while only surrendering one hit and striking out six. The junior owns a 0.89 ERA in seven appearances this season and owns 45 strikeouts in 39.1 innings of work.

Samantha Ricketts highlighted the Oklahoma offense with her RBI single in the fifth that gave the Sooners their first lead of the game and became the game-winning hit.

Both offenses recorded six hits each with five of Cal Poly's coming in the first inning. In addition to Ricketts, Wendy Trott picked up the team's only other RBI while Chana'e Jones, Amber Flores, Traci Dickenson, Lindsey Vandever and Jessica Legendre each added a hit each.

The Mustangs got off to a quick start as Sarah Iwata led off the first with a double off the left centerfield wall and one out later, Melissa Pura pounded a two-run homer over the centerfield wall as Cal Poly took the 2-0 lead. Cal Poly continued to rally as the next three batters followed with consecutive singles to load the bases with one out.

Eckermann was replaced by Mathis after the Mustangs loaded the bases. The lefty was solid as she struck the next batter out and retired the following batter as Cal Poly led 2-0 heading into the bottom of the first.

Flores sparked the offense in the bottom of the second as she notched a two-out single to center, but advanced all the way to third on the play after an error by the Cal Poly centerfielder. Susan Ogden struck out on the next play, but a dropped third strike by the pitcher allowed Ogden to reach first and Flores to score on the same play. The Sooners cut Cal Poly's lead to 2-1 heading into the top of the second.

Oklahoma evened it up in the fourth as Dickenson led off with a triple to right field and Trott's fielder's choice scored Dickenson on a play at the plate while Trott remained safe at first. Following a Vandever strikeout, Legendre singled to left field to place runners at first and second with one out. However, the next two batters grounded out to the second baseman and OU wasn't able to take advantage as the score was tied 2-2 after four frames.

The Mustangs threatened in the fifth as Iwata led off with a walk and was moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt. The next player was hit by a pitch as Cal Poly had runners at first and second with one out. However, Mathis stayed calm and struck out the next two batters to escape the inning.

Flores reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the fifth and stole second on the following play. Following an Ogden strikeout, Ricketts roped an RBI single to right field to score Flores and give OU the 3-2 lead. Iver McDonald pinch ran for Ricketts, but was thrown out trying to steal second. Dickenson popped up to the second baseman to end the frame, but the Sooners owned the 3-2 lead heading into the sixth.

Cal Poly's Jenna Maiden led off the sixth with a single to left. Next, Krysten Cary laid down a bunt on the next play, but Mathis got the lead runner at second for the first out of the inning. The next batter roped a line drive to shortstop Long, but the senior jumped up in the air to get the out and threw the ball to first for the double play to end the top of the sixth.

Mathis retired the first batter in the top of the seventh, but the next two batters walked to give Cal Poly life. However, Mathis struck out the final two batters to end the game and lead the Sooners to victory.

The Sooners will return to action next week as they head to the Palm Springs Classic where they will play Stanford, Pacific, Oregon, San Diego State and Georgia.

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