No. 18 Fresno St. Edges OU, 1-0

March 13, 2008

Fresno St. 1, Oklahoma 0

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Oklahoma	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Fresno St.	0	0	0	0	0	1	x	1	8	1

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Melloh (14-3)	7	3	0	0	1	7
L - Smith (2-2)	2	4	1	1	1	0

Batting Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB
Fresno - Perkins	4	0	2	1	0	3
OU - Long	3	0	1	0	0	1

Sooner Softball Central

2008 OU Softball Media Guide

FRESNO, Calif. - The No. 8 Oklahoma softball team fell to No. 18 Fresno State Thursday night, 1-0, in Fresno, Calif. The Sooners fell to 21-6 on the year while the Bulldogs pushed their record to 23-5.

The game was a defensive battle as the Sooners used three different pitchers and Fresno State recorded the lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth to secure the victory. The Sooners defense stepped up multiple times as the Bulldogs recorded eight hits but also stranded 10 runners on base.

Junior pitcher D.J. Mathis earned the start for the Sooners and threw three complete innings while not allowing a run and giving up three hits and two walks. Senior Jadyn Smith relieved Mathis and pitched two complete innings but gave up four hits and was responsible for the game-winning run. Smith fell to 2-2 on the season.

Eckermann relieved Smith and threw the final inning and only gave up one hit, but it was the game-winning RBI hit by Haley Perkins.

The Sooner offense struggled against Fresno freshman pitcher Morgan Melloh as OU only recorded three hits in the entire seven-inning contest. Melloh improved to 14-3 on the season after striking out seven and not allowing one run. The lone Sooners to record hits were Savannah Long (a double), Lindsey Vandever and Samantha Ricketts.

Long got the Sooners going in the top of the first with her one-out double in the top of the first. However, Oklahoma couldn't take advantage as Amber Flores struck out and Samantha Ricketts ended the inning with a fly out to centerfield.

The Bulldogs opened the bottom of the second strong as Andrea Ortega led off with a walk and Nicole Angene followed with a right-field single. However, Mathis struck out the next batter and retired the final two as the Sooners escaped the inning.

Fresno State loaded the bases in the bottom of the third with two outs after a Bulldog single and two batters being hit by a pitch. However, Mathis stayed calm and struck out the next batter to end the inning as the score remained 0-0 heading into the top of the fourth.

The Sooners made a pitching change to start the bottom of the fourth as OU's Smith replaced Mathis. Smith gave up a hit to the first batter, but the Oklahoma defense followed that with a double play and the next batter grounded out to Smith as the Sooners headed into the top of the fifth.

The Bulldogs led off the fifth with a single by Haley Gilleland, who was moved over to second on the next play by a sacrifice bunt. Aja Scheuber followed that with a walk as Fresno had runners at first and second with one out. Ashley White followed that with a ground out to Smith for the second out while the Fresno runners moved to second and third. However, the Sooner defense was solid as Ortega hit a grounder deep in the hole to OU shortstop Long and the senior got the third out of the inning.

For the third straight inning, the Bulldogs led off with a single as Angene singled up the middle to start off the bottom of the sixth. Melloh followed that with a single up the right field line as Fresno State had runners at first and second with no outs. Following the back-to-back singles, the Sooners replaced Smith with senior Lauren Eckermann in the circle.

The first batter Eckermann faced laid down a sacrifice bunt for the first out of the frame as both runners advanced to scoring position. Next, OU catcher Lindsey Vandever picked off Angene at third for the second out of the inning. With two outs, Haley Perkins roped the game-winning double to centerfield that scored Melloh and put Fresno State on the board. The next batter grounded out to second base to end the inning, but the Sooners now trailed 1-0 heading into the top of the seventh.

Ricketts led off the seventh as OU had one last chance. The junior led off with a single to left field to spark the Sooner offense. Next, Lindsey Vandever struck out for the first out of the inning. Susan Ogden followed that with a deep fly out to right field for the second out. Freshman Wendy Trott stepped to the plate but the fielder's choice to the Fresno shortstop ended the game.

Oklahoma now heads to Sacramento, Calif., for its weekend tournament. The Sooners will open Capital Classic action on Friday with a 12 p.m. (CT) contest against Cal Poly in Sacramento followed by a 5 p.m. game against Colorado State.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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