OU Opens with Top-10 Showdown

No. 5 OU at UCLA/CSFU Freeway Series
Dates	Friday, Feb. 8 - Sunday, Feb. 10
Friday	at No. 10 UCLA (2:30 p.m. CST) vs. UCSB (7:30 p.m.)
Saturday	vs. Nevada (12 p.m.) at No. 21 Cal State Fullerton (5 p.m.)
Sunday	at No. 10 UCLA (11:30 a.m.)
Radio	OU vs. UCLA games
Webcast	None
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com / GameTracker
Game Info	Tournament Central

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
The No. 5 Oklahoma softball team will open the 2008 season this Friday, Feb. 8 with the UCLA/Cal State Fullerton Freeway Series, a tournament played in Los Angeles and Fullerton, Calif.

The Sooners open tourney action with a top-10 showdown as No. 5 OU will take on No. 10 UCLA at 2:30 p.m. (CST) and finish opening day with a 7:30 p.m. meeting against the UCSB Gauchos. Both games will be played in Los Angeles.

The Sooners will begin play on Saturday in Fullerton, Calif., with a 12 p.m. contest against Nevada, followed by a 5 p.m. game against No. 21 Cal State Fullerton. The Sooners will round out tournament play on Sunday as they return to Los Angeles for another meeting with No. 10 UCLA - an 11:30 a.m. contest.

SCOUTING NO. 10 UCLA
The OU and UCLA matchup will feature four players that were named to the National Player of the Year Watch List with OU's Lauren Eckermann and Samantha Ricketts and UCLA's Anjelica Selden and Krista Colburn. The Sooners will face a tough pitcher in Selden who is the school's all-time strikeout leader while Colburn is also a returning All-American that hit a team-best .382 with 32 RBI. The Bruins were picked to finish third in a tough Pac-10 Conference after recording a 37-18 record last year and making its 24th NCAA appearance.

SCOUTING UC SANTA BARBARA
UCSB returns five starters from last year's squad that produced a 30-23 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. However, this year's Gaucho squad will have a different look as former UCSB assistant Brie Galicinao has taken over the program as the head coach. Individually, UCSB returns its top two offensive producers in Christine Ramos and Tisha Duran. Ramos led the squad with a .359 average last season and set a school record with 66 hits while Duran led the team in doubles and RBI while recording a .327 average.

SCOUTING NEVADA
The Sooners and Wolf Pack will be meeting for the first time in series history. Nevada returns eight starters from the 2007 squad that notched a 28-31 record and finished 9-9 in WAC play last season. Right-handed pitcher Jordan McPherson was picked as the preseason WAC Pitcher of the Year while the Wolf Pack returns its top offensive producers from last season in senior Tyler Schafer and junior Brittany Puzey. Schafer, a lefty, led the team with a .341 batting average last season while Puzey, another lefty, provided the power in 2007 as she led the team with 13 home runs and 52 RBI. The Sooners and Wolf Pack also have a common thread as current Nevada assistant Melanie Meuchel was a grad assistant for the University of Oklahoma in 2005.

SCOUTING NO. 21 CAL STATE FULLERTON
The Titans are coming off an exceptional 2007 season where they finished 38-23 and advanced to an NCAA Super Regional. The 21st-ranked Titans were picked in the preseason to finish second in the Big West Conference and have eight starters returning from last year's squad. Highlighting the list of returnees is last year's leading hitter, Kiki Munoz, who owned a .339 batting average while notching five home runs and 28 RBI. However, the Titans only return one pitcher from last year's three-member squad. Right-hander Jessica Doucette owned a 2.58 ERA last season and produced an 8-5 record.

SOONERS RANKED NO. 5 IN PRESEASON POLLS
In what has become familiar territory for the Oklahoma softball team, the Oklahoma Sooners found themselves ranked in both preseason softball polls. In the USA Today/NFCA Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Poll, the Sooners debuted at No. 5 in both. The preseason poll features eight of the opponents Oklahoma will face this season, including four Big 12 foes and three top 10 opponents (Texas A&M, Baylor and UCLA). Both polls can be found in the left hand column.

OU Fast Fact

The Sooners have been ranked in the top 25 of every NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 171 weeks long. OU and Arizona are the only programs to be ranked in the NFCA Top 25 every week of its existence.

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 HONORED AS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN BY ESPN.COM
Oklahoma softball junior Samantha Ricketts picked up her second preseason award after being named to the second-team ESPN.com Preseason All-America team in a list released by the web site.Ricketts was one of four Big 12 players selected to the list as Megan Gibson (Texas A&M) and Brette Reagan (Baylor) were first-team selections and pitcher Amanda Scarborough (Texas A&M) joined Ricketts on the second team.

BIG 12 COACHES PICK OKLAHOMA SECOND
The University of Oklahoma softball team was picked to finish second by the Big 12 coaches in the annual preseason poll. The Sooners were one of three teams to receive a first-place vote and picked up 70 total votes while Texas A&M was tabbed the league favorite with 79 total points.

Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll
Rank	Team	Points
1.	Texas A&M (7)	79
2.	Oklahoma (1)	70
3.	Baylor (2)	64
4.	Missouri	61
5.	Texas	45
6.	Nebraska	43
7.	Texas Tech	29
8.	Oklahoma State	25
9.	Kansas	23
10.	Iowa State	11

OU IN SEASON OPENERS
For the third straight year, the Sooners will be playing a top-25 team in their season opener as they take on No. 10 UCLA in the Freeway Series in Los Angeles. However, this will mark the first time in head coach Patty Gasso's 14 years at Oklahoma that the Sooners will play a top-10 opponent in the season opener. Under Gasso, Oklahoma owns a 12-1 record in season openers.

UP NEXT - HOME OPENER
Following its road trip to California, the Sooners will return to the OU Softball Complex on Tuesday, Feb. 12 to host St. Gregory's in their home opener at 3:30 p.m. OU will follow that with a road trip to Las Vegas for the UNLV Louisville Desert Slugger Classic (Feb. 15-17).

WHAT RETURNS
The Sooners return seven starters from a 2007 team that produced one of the best seasons in school history and earned a Big 12 Championship. The returning group includes three All-Americans from 2007 as well as five All-Midwest Region performers and five All-Big 12 selections.

Lauren Eckermann, the Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, returns for her senior year after recording a 37-5 record and a 1.66 ERA while holding opponents to a .204 batting average.

Offensively, first baseman Samantha Ricketts enters her junior campaign after having one of the most successful seasons in the NCAA in 2007. Ricketts was one of three finalists for USA Softball National Player of the Year with a nation-leading 81 RBI and team-best 18 home runs as a sophomore last year.

Additionally, Traci Dickenson returns for her junior season after hitting 14 home runs and 51 RBI in 2007. Second-team All-American Susan Ogden is one of four seniors in 2008. The designated player hit .381 in 2007.

The entire Oklahoma pitching staff returns with Eckermann leading the pack. Senior Jadyn Smith will join juniors D.J. Mathis and Morgan Hudsonpillar on the list of returning pitchers. The 2007 pitching staff recorded a 1.84 ERA and held opponents to a .214 clip.

WHAT WAS LOST
Oklahoma lost a six-member senior class that went to four-straight NCAA Tournaments, won a Big 12 Postseason Championship in 2007 and advanced to the Women's College World Series in 2004. Individually, Oklahoma lost key members that included three-time All-American Norrelle Dickson, who owns top career marks at OU in hits, runs, stolen bases, batting average and on-base percentage. In addition to also losing Stacia Aleman, Jade Prather and Amber Spaulding, the Sooners also lost two starters in Jamie Fox and Mariee Mena. Fox finished out her four-year career ranked seventh on the OU career lists with 30 home runs.

FRESH FACES
While the Sooners return a plethora of players from last year's NCAA Tournament squad, expect to also see new faces on the field and at the plate. Six freshman joined the Sooners for the 2008 season as Haley Anderson (outfield), Dani Dobb (infield), Krystle Huey (outfield), Chana'e Jones (outfield), Katelyn Rouppet (infield) and Wendy Trott (utility) will be new Sooners in the Crimson and Cream this season.

CAREER MARKS
Four current Sooners are already listed in the top 10 on OU's career lists before the 2008 season begins. Despite only being a junior, Samantha Ricketts ranks ninth in RBI (132), eighth in home runs (27), second in on-base percentage (.480) and first in slugging percentage (.685). Fellow junior Traci Dickenson ranks eighth in slugging percentage (.552) while senior Susan Ogden is ninth in on-base percentage (.415). Senior pitcher Lauren Eckermann ranks ninth in strikeouts (259) and victories (37) after only playing one year at OU.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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