OU Sweeps Tech with 8-3 Win

April 10, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. - The No. 7 Oklahoma softball team completed the sweep of Texas Tech on Thursday night after beating the Red Raiders, 8-3, in the second game of the doubleheader at the OU Softball Complex. Oklahoma and Tech went 10 innings in the first game of the twin bill with the Sooners coming out on top, 3-2.

The Sooners are now 35-9 and 8-0 in the Big 12 Conference. The last time the Sooners went 8-0 to the start of Big 12 play was in 2002 when OU opened league action with a 9-0 mark.

The Red Raiders fell to 13-29 and 3-6 overall.

"Tonight was a great team effort all the way across the board," head coach Patty Gasso said. "Our defense came up with some great plays tonight and they did a great job behind Jadyn, who also pitched a good complete game for us tonight."

Senior pitcher Jadyn Smith threw her first seven-inning game of the season and gave up two earned runs on only five hits while striking out five in the contest. The senior improved to 3-2 on the season.

Offensively, the Sooners tallied 10 hits against the Red Raiders with Savannah Long leading the way on a 3-for-4 performance. Susan Ogden also had a key three-run homer in the bottom of the first that gave the Sooners the lead they would never lose.

For the second straight game, Texas Tech jumped out to the early lead as Montana Patin recorded a two-out solo home run in the top of the first to give Tech the early 1-0 lead.

The Sooners answered right back in the bottom of the first as Amber Flores led off with a walk and Long followed that with a single to left. Next, Ogden pounded her ninth homer of the season, a three-run shot over the left field wall, to give OU the 3-1 advantage.

The Sooners tallied another run in the bottom of the second as Haley Anderson led off with a single. An out later, Anderson scored on Long's RBI double off the center field wall to push the OU lead to 4-1 after two frames.

Tech added a run in the fifth as Jennifer Bowers singled with one out. Following a Tech strikeout, Alex Watkins singled to left, but a fielding error by Anderson in left field scored Bowers and closed the gap at 4-2.

Once again the Sooners answered back in the bottom of the fifth as Ricketts was hit by a pitch with one out and was pinch ran for by Iver McDonald. Traci Dickenson followed that with an RBI double off the centerfield wall that scored McDonald and extended the lead to 5-2. Lindsey Vandever followed that with a single to left as OU had runners at the corners and one out. Wendy Trott's fielder's choice scored Dickenson and pushed the OU lead to 6-2 heading into the sixth.

The Red Raiders took the momentum in the six as Devin Zaragaoza led off with a single, but was out at second on fielder's choice on the next play. The Red Raiders followed that with a single and a hit by pitch to load the bases with one out as Robyn Wike recorded the sacrifice fly to score Tech's final run of the game.

The Sooner offense took off in the sixth as Anderson led off with a double and Flores followed that with an RBI single to left. Next, Savannah Long singled with a bunt, but a throwing error by the first baseman advanced Flores to third as OU had runners at the corners with no outs. Following the three straight singles, Texas Tech replaced pitcher Alex Watkins with Sarah Losleben. However, OU would score another run as the Sooners attempted a double steal as Long was safe at second and Flores advanced home for the eighth run of the game as OU led 8-3 heading into the top of the seventh.

Smith retired the first three batters of the seventh to end the game in an 8-3 OU win.

Next, the Sooners head to College Station for a key showdown at No. 5 Texas A&M (37-6, 9-0 Big 12) in College Station, Texas, this weekend. The Sooners and Aggies are the only teams in the conference with a perfect league record and will open the series on Saturday with a 2 p.m. contest and conclude the series on Sunday with a 12 p.m. matchup. Sunday's game will broadcast on KOKC 1520 AM.

"This is going to be such an exciting series this weekend as the Big 12 race will be riding on these two games," Gasso said. "We are excited about the opportunities this weekend presents us and we need to take advantage of them."

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