Records Fall, OU Blasts UCA 23-1

March 26, 2008

Oklahoma 23, Central Arkansas 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Central Arkansas	0	0	1	0	0	x	x	1	3	2
Oklahoma	4	1	4	14	x	x	x	23	24	1

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Eckermann (9-3)	3	2	1	1	1	5
L - Harris (1-14)	1.2	13	10	10	0	0

Batting Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	TB
OU - Ogden	5	2	3	6	0	6
OU - Trott	4	3	4	3	0	7

Sooner Softball Central

2008 OU Softball Media Guide

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma softball records fell Wednesday night as the No. 12 Sooners recorded single game records in hits (24) and runs (23) in OU's 23-1 run-rule win over Central Arkansas Wednesday night at the OU Softball Complex.

The Sooners pushed their record to 28-8 while Central Arkansas fell to 2-26 on the season.

OU's 24 hits in a single game eclipsed the previous Sooner record of 20 against Illinois Chicago on March 4, 2005. The Sooners also set the record for most runs with 23, topping the previous mark of 21 set by the 2007 squad against Temple, also on March 4.

"We started a different lineup tonight as we have some girls that are really battling for a starting spot," head coach Patty Gasso said. "I was extremely pleased with their performance tonight, especially our freshmen who really want to make an impact on this team. The thing I was most excited about was all the two-out RBI we had. Nobody wanted to be that final out of the inning and that is a great thing to see as a coach."

Offensively, the Sooners were clutch as 17 of their 20 RBI came with two outs. Leading the way was senior Susan Ogden, who pounded a grand slam and finished with six RBI while freshman Haley Anderson, making only her eighth start, finished with five RBI and a home run. Fellow freshman Wendy Trott was also perfect on the night with a 4-for-4 outing with three RBI and a home run.

Senior pitcher Lauren Eckermann improved to 9-3 on the season after throwing the first three innings of the five-inning contest. Eckermann gave up one run on two hits while striking out five. Senior Jadyn Smith relieved Eckermann in the final two innings and didn't allow a run while only giving up one hit and striking out two.

Oklahoma wasted no time as it got on the board first by plating four runs on a two-out rally in the bottom of the first. With two outs, OU loaded the bases after back-to-back hits by Traci Dickenson and Ogden and Lindsey Vandever was hit by a pitch. Anderson came through as she pounded a three-RBI double to give OU the early 3-0 lead. Next, Trott ripped an RBI single to right field that scored Anderson as OU led 4-0 after the first frame.

Amber Flores continued the momentum in the bottom of the second as she pounded a one-out solo home run that cleared the second fence in left center field. It marked the sophomore's team-leading 11th home run of the season. Following the home run, UCA starter Lyndsey Harris was replaced by Claire Collom.

The first batter Collom faced was Ogden, who reached on bunt single. Dickenson followed that with a walk. Next, both Sooners advanced into scoring position after a wild pitch by Collom. However, Vandever grounded out to the third baseman to end the frame.

The Sugar Bears got on the board in the top of the third as Hannah Ambrose connected with one out and pounded a solo home run over left center field to close the gap, 5-1.

Oklahoma loaded the bases with two outs again in the third. Trott reached on a single while Chana'e Jones reached on an error by the left fielder. Flores loaded the bases with her single to left as Savannah Long stepped to the plate. The senior captain came through as she ripped an RBI single to left that scored Trott and pushed the OU lead to 6-1. Dickenson followed that with her second double of the game, which scored three and pushed the Sooner advantage to 9-1. Ogden flew out to left field to end the frame.

Heading into the top of the fourth, OU starter Eckermann was replaced by Smith in the circle. The Sugar Bears rallied in the fourth as Janae Owens led off with a single, but was out at second on Kayla Hitchcock's fielder's choice. Next, Courtney Brock put down a bunt, but a throwing error by Vandever placed runners at the corners. Following a stolen base by Brock, the Sugar Bears had two runners in scoring position. However, Smith struck out the next batter and the next one grounded out to end the frame as the Sooners escaped without giving up a run.

Oklahoma added more runs in the bottom of the fourth as Anderson recorded a one-out single to left field. Trott followed that with her sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot over right field, to give OU the 11-1 lead. An out later, Jones notched a single to right field and was driven in by Flores' RBI triple to right field. Following walks by Iver McDonald and Dani Dobbs to load the bases, Ogden pounded a grand slam to right field to extend the advantage to 16-1. The Sooners weren't done as Krystle Huey walked and Anderson followed that with a two-run homer over the left field line to push the lead to 18-1.

Following Anderson's home run, UCA's Kora Behrens was replaced in the circle. Sugar Bear starter Harris returned to the circle, but gave up back-to-back hits to Trott and Legendre that would ignite another rally. Next, Jones notched a single to center, but the center fielder made a fielding error as the ball went all the way to the wall and three runs scored on the play to empty the bases. However, the Sooners weren't done as Flores, McDonald and Dobbs all recorded back-to-back singles to load the bases again. Ogden stepped to the plate and delivered a two-RBI single to left field to push the lead to 23-1 before Huey grounded out to the pitcher to end the game in a run rule.

Central Arkansas pitcher Harris took the loss as she gave up 10 runs on 13 hits in 1.2 innings. Harris fell to 1-14 on the season.

The Sooners will return to Big 12 play this weekend as they head to Lincoln, Neb., for their first Big 12 road series of the season. Oklahoma and Nebraska will open the two-game series on Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest. The series will conclude on Sunday with a 12 p.m. matchup.

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