No. 6 Softball Heads to Palm Springs

No. 6 OU at Palm Springs Classic
Dates	Friday, Feb. 22 - Sunday, Feb. 24
Friday	vs. No. 12 Stanford (2:30 p.m. CT) vs. Pacific (7:30 p.m.)
Saturday	vs. Oregon (12:30 p.m.) vs. No. 25 San Diego St. (5 p.m.)
Sunday	vs. No. 18 Georgia (11 a.m.)
Radio	None
Webcast	None
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com / GameTracker
Game Info	Tournament Central / Game Notes

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
The No. 6 Oklahoma softball team (9-2) will be put to the test this weekend as it heads to Palm Springs, Calif. for a challenging tournament against some of the top teams in the country.

OU will open the Palm Springs Classic with a 2:30 p.m. (CT) matchup against No. 12 and undefeated Stanford on Friday and follow that with a 7:30 p.m. meeting against Pacific. In Saturday's action, the Sooners will face Oregon (12:30 p.m.) and No. 25 San Diego State (5 p.m.). OU rounds out the tournament with an 11 a.m. contest against No. 18 Georgia on Sunday.

LIVE STATS
Live stats of all of OU's game can be viewed on SoonerSports.com.

SCOUTING NO. 12 STANFORD
Stanford enters the tournament as one of the hottest teams in the country as the Cardinal is 10-0 on the season. The Sooners will be the first ranked team the Cardinal has faced this season. Both the offense and defense are clicking for Stanford as the staff owns a 0.56 ERA with seven shutouts in 10 games while the offense owns a .330 batting average with 10 players hitting over .300. Right-hander Missy Penna is the squad's ace with an 8-0 record and 0.32 ERA. She has only allowed two runs in 44.1 innings of work while striking out 58 and holding opponents to a .086 batting average. Offensively, first baseman Melissa Koutz is leading the way with a .400 batting average and 11 RBI while power hitter Rosey Neill owns three home runs and 13 RBI on a .714 slugging percentage.

SCOUTING PACIFIC
The Tigers enter the tournament with a 3-6 overall record, but three of its losses have come against top-25 teams with two losses to Fresno State and a loss to Stanford. Offensively, Pacific owns a team batting average of .260 with two-hole hitter Lauren Weyman leading the way with a .400 clip. In addition, Kellee Wilson leads the team in power with 10 RBI and two home runs on the season. In the circle the four-member staff owns a 4.08 ERA as ace Chelsea Engle owns a 1.54 ERA and 2-2 record in four appearances this season. Heidi Helberg (4.81 ERA), Alyce Jorgensen (7.00 ERA) and Briana Santos (14.00 ERA) have also seen time in the circle this season.

SCOUTING OREGON
The Ducks arrive in Palm Springs owning a 5-5 record and will play No. 10 Baylor, Long Island and No. 2 Northwestern before facing the Sooners. Oregon has notched wins over Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Northwestern State, South Carolina and San Jose State. The Ducks five losses have come against Colorado State, No. 15 Mississippi State, No. 5 Tennessee, Kansas and Bradley. Oregon brings a lot of speed to the lineup as the Ducks are 24-of-25 on stolen bases this season with table setter Sari-Jane Jenkins swiping nine of 10 bases this year. Jenkins is also leading the team with a .452 batting average while cleanup hitter Lovena Chaput is bringing the power with eight RBI and two home runs while notching a .400 average. As far as Oregon's pitching, right-hander Alicia Cook leads the staff with six appearances as she owns a 1.60 ERA and a 2-3 record in 33.2 innings of work. Melissa Rice has also seen time in the circle for the Ducks as she owns a 4.34 ERA with a 1-2 record in 18.2 innings pitched.

SCOUTING NO. 25 SAN DIEGO STATE
The Aztecs enter the tournament with a No. 25 ranking and a 9-1 mark with its only loss to No. 15 Mississippi State. San Diego State is currently on a seven-game winning streak with the Aztec defense leading the way. The pitching staff has a combined ERA of 0.50 and has shutout six opponents this season. Lefty ace Christina Ross has seen the most action in the circle and is 5-1 with a 0.52 ERA with 40 innings pitched while striking out 32 and throwing one shutout. The offense has been solid as it owns a team average of .288 with three starters hitting over .300.

SCOUTING NO. 18 GEORGIA
The Bulldogs continue to climb up the rankings as they own a 9-2 mark and are No. 18 in the latest poll. Georgia opened the season with a split against DePaul and also notched wins against Ohio State, FIU, Providence and Illinois State last weekend. The Bulldogs enter the Classic after dropping their last game to Providence, 4-0. The pitching staff has been solid for Georgia through 11 games this season as it owns a combined ERA of 1.84 with ace Christie Hamilton owning a 1.7 ERA and a 4-1 record in 35.2 innings of work. The right-hander is holding opposing batters to a .174 batting average while fellow pitcher Kate Gaskill (0.38 ERA, 3-1) and Sarah McCloud (3.18 ERA, 2-0) are also contributing in the circle. Offensively, the team owns a .271 batting average as cleanup batter Melissa Wood is leading the way with a .364 clip with 10 RBI and a home run.

SOONERS MOVE UP TO NO. 6
After sweeping the competition last weekend at the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic, the Oklahoma softball jumped to No. 6 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and moved to No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll. Last week the Sooners were No. 9 in both polls.

OU AND ARIZONA ONLY TWO SCHOOLS TO BE RANKED IN NFCA POLL ITS ENTIRE EXISTENCE
The Sooners have been ranked in the top 25 of every NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 173 weeks long. OU and Arizona are the only programs to be ranked in the NFCA Top-25 every week of its existence.

UP NEXT - FIVE-GAME HOME STAND
The Sooners will return home to play nine of their next 10 games at the OU Softball Complex. Oklahoma will take on in-state rival Tulsa at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27 and will follow that with four games in the OU Residence Inn Invitational (March 1-2).

OU Fast Fact

Junior left-handed pitcher D.J. Mathis owns a perfect 6-0 record on the season and retired the final 18 batters she faced in her win against Illinois last weekend at the UNLV Desert Classic.

UPDATING THE SOONERS
The Sooners swept through the competition at the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic as Oklahoma went 5-0 in the tournament with wins over BYU, Cal State Northridge, South Carolina, Illinois and Cal Poly.

Oklahoma opened the tournament on Friday with an 8-5 win over BYU and followed that with a 5-1 victory over Northridge as OU pitcher Lauren Eckermann threw a two-hitter and struck out a season-high 11 batters. The Sooners edged both teams in Saturday as Oklahoma downed South Carolina, 2-1, and topped Illinois, 3-1. OU pitcher D.J. Mathis only gave up two hits in the win against Illinois as she struck out nine and retired the final 18 batters she faced. In Sunday's finale against Cal Poly, Oklahoma escaped with a 3-2 victory as Mathis relieved Eckermann in the final 6.2 innings of work and gave up zero runs and only one hit as she improved her record to 6-0.

Offensively, Traci Dickenson was on fire for the Sooners in the tournament as she hit .500 with five RBI, three doubles and triples while leading the team in slugging percentage (1.000) and on-base percentage (.688). Pitcher D.J. Mathis kept her perfect record intact as she went 3-0 with a save while owning a 1.31 ERA and striking out 24 batters in 21.1 innings pitched.

DICKENSON STEPPING UP
Last season, Traci Dickenson was one of the best nine-hole hitters in the country as she was second on the team with 14 home runs and 51 RBI. Head coach Patty Gasso knew Dickenson would be a force at the plate this season and the junior has not disappointed. Dickenson is leading the team in batting average (.476), slugging percentage (.905) and on-base percentage (.667). The second baseman brings power with four doubles, one triple, one home run and seven RBI this season but is also smart at the plate as she leads the team in walks (10).

LONG BALL
Senior Savannah Long is off to a hot start for her final season as she owns a .323 batting average through 11 games this season. In addition, the shortstop has been one of the team's top power hitters as she owns a .613 slugging percentage and has six doubles in 31 at-bats and also pounded a grand slam for her first homer of the season.

MATHIS OPENS SEASON ON FIRE
Junior lefty pitcher D.J. Mathis was OU's most heavily relied upon pitcher as a freshman in 2006, but struggled at times during the 2007 season with a nagging shoulder injury. Lauren Eckermann took over the ace pitching role last season and earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Year honors, but Mathis has returned to form in 2008. The junior earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week the opening week of play after recording a perfect 3-0 record with two shutouts in the first tournament of the season. The lefty continues to dominate in the circle for the Sooners in her seven appearances this season. Below is a comparison of Mathis's first seven appearances of the season as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

2006	2007	2008
3.15 ERA	3.89 ERA	0.89 ERA
0 Shutouts	0 Shutouts	2 Shutouts
.338 Opp. Avg.	.306 Opp. Avg.	.133 Opp. Avg.

"LITTLE MANNY"
Head coach Patty Gasso often refers to sophomore left fielder Amber Flores as "little Manny Ramirez." The 5-4 sophomore put up strong numbers as a freshman and is producing Ramirez-esque numbers at the start of the 2008 season. Through 11 games this season, Flores is leading the team with nine RBI and owns a .375 bagging average as well as a .719 slugging percentage (three homers, two doubles).

HOT TROTT
The Sooners will have to rely on a variety of their freshmen this season as five of the rookies saw action in the opening weekend of play. However, no rookie is making a bigger impact at the plate than 5-11 lefty Wendy Trott. The designated player was brought in to bring more power to the Sooner lineup this season and she has done just that. Trott owns a .276 batting average this season and is tied with Amber Flores for a team-best nine RBI. The rookie hit her first home run of her young OU career at the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic.

ECKERMANN THROWS PERFECT GAME
Senior pitcher Lauren Eckermann, last year's Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, got back in the groove against St. Gregory's on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Eckermann threw the first perfect game of her career as she allowed no hits and no walks while striking out four in the five-inning contest. Eckermann picked up her first win of the season in dramatic fashion as became only the sixth OU player since the start of Big 12 play to throw a perfect game and the first pitcher to do it since Jennifer Stewart tossed a perfect game against Texas-Arlington on Feb. 8, 2002. The perfect game also marked the fourth no-hitter of Eckermann's career at OU as she tossed three no-no's during the 2007 season.

RICKETTS, ECKERMANN NAMED TO PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Senior pitcher Lauren Eckermann and junior first baseman Samantha Ricketts have been named to the initial watch list for the seventh annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. Ricketts was named one of three finalists for the award last year.

Ricketts led the nation in RBI (81) last season and became OU's first player to be named one of three finalists for the National Player of the Year award. As a sophomore last season Ricketts earned second team All-America honors and set a Big 12 and OU record for RBI in a single season.

Eckermann returns for her senior season in 2008 after being named the Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year last season. The right-handed pitcher earned third team All-America honors last season after recording a 37-5 record and leading the Sooners to a Big 12 Postseason Championship and Super Regional.

RICKETTS A PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Junior Samantha Ricketts was named to the second-team ESPN.com Preseason All-America team in a list released by the web site prior to the start of the season. Ricketts was one of four Big 12 players selected to the list.

SOONERS SWEEP BIG 12 WEEKLY HONORS
Oklahoma swept the first slate of weekly Big 12 softball awards as Amber Flores was named the Player of the Week and D.J. Mathis received the Pitcher of the Week honor for play during the week of Feb. 5-11. It marked the first career weekly accolade for both Sooners. It also marked the sixth time in the history of the conference that Oklahoma collected both honors in the same week.

Mathis compiled a perfect 3-0 tally on the weekend as she recorded two shutouts, including one at No. 10 UCLA. The junior lefty allowed one earned run in 18 innings of work and produced a 0.39 ERA overall. Mathis struck out 21 batters and allowed just eight hits while holding opposing batters to a .129 batting average. The East Alton, Ill., native threw a complete seven-inning game and gave up just three hits and a walk in the Sooners' first-ever win at UCLA's Easton Stadium.

Flores led the Sooners to a 3-2 record over the weekend, including a 7-0 win over No. 10 UCLA. The left fielder led the team offensively with a .500 batting average and tallied seven RBI after hitting two home runs, including a grand slam, and a double at the Cal State Fullerton/UCLA Freeway Series. Flores compiled 13 total bases and owned a 1.083 slugging percentage through five games. Against the Bruins, the junior went 2-for-3 with an RBI while scoring two runs. She was one of three Sooners to record a double against All-America pitcher, Anjelica Selden.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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