Bedlam Softball Resumes Tuesday

April 21, 2008

Ford Bedlam Series
Game 1	Tuesday, April 22 - 7 p.m.
Game 2	Wednesday, April 23 - 7 p.m.
Location	Tuesday \| Stillwater Wednesday \| OU Softball Complex
Television	Cox Channel 7 in OKC (both games)
Radio	KOKC 1520 (both games)
Webcast	Live Video on All-Access (Wednesday)
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com / GameTracker
Promotions	Pack the Park Wednesday
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF) \| OU Media Guide

LEADING OFF
The Sooners (37-11, 10-2) and Cowgirls (24-20, 7-5) will resume Bedlam action this week with both games of the Ford Bedlam Series. No. 8 OU will travel to Stillwater on Tuesday to complete the postponed game in Stillwater. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. in Cowgirl Stadium. The start time was moved from its original time of 6:30 to accommodate television. The game will resume where it left off as the Sooners own the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second. The two teams will meet in Norman on Wednesday for part two of the Ford Bedlam Series. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at the OU Softball Complex.

TV COVERAGE
Both Bedlam games will be carried live on Cox Channel 7 in Oklahoma City and Cox Channel 3 in Tulsa. In addition, Wednesday's game will be shown in Woodward (KOMI), Ponca City (KOMI), Lawton (KSWX), Enid (KXOK) and will also be picked up by Metro Sports in Kansas City. Brian Brinkley will provide the play-by-play duties and former Sooner Norrelle Dickson will provide the color analysis on Wednesday while Chad McKee of KWTV Channel 9 and former OSU coach Sandy Fischer will call the game on Tuesday night.

RADIO
Both Bedlam games will be carried on two radio stations. The OU radio broadcast will be aired on KOKC (1520 AM) while the OSU broadcast with Bill VanNess can be found on KGFY (105.5 FM) in Stillwater.

LIVE STATS
Live stats are available for all games this season on SoonerSports.com.

TICKETS
Tickets for Wednesday's Bedlam game are sold out. Restricted admission tickets will be sold the day of the game as available based upon the crowd. Restricted admission tickets allow entry into the ballpark but do not guarantee the ticket holder a seat location. If available, restricted admission tickets will be sold following the opening of the gates at 5:30 p.m. once the crowd has been monitored. All restricted admission tickets will be $5.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT PROMOTIONS
Wednesday night will feature "Pack the Park" night at the OU Softball Complex. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a free OU rally towel.

POSTPONED GAME
Tuesday night the Sooners and Cowgirls will resume a game that began on April 2, but was postponed because of rain. The Sooners own the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second. The Cowgirls have one out in the bottom of the second and Heather Kim is up to bat with a 2-2 count for Oklahoma State. Offensively, the Sooners currently own three hits in the contest while Samantha Ricketts owns the game's only RBIs as she recorded a two-RBI single in the first. D.J. Mathis is in the circle for the Sooners while Anna Whiddon has already pitched two complete innings for the Cowgirls. Mathis hasn't allowed a run or a hit in 1.1 innings of work and has walked one and struck out one.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
Since both teams met on April 2, the Cowgirls have gone 5-3 in Big 12 play with a huge win over No. 4 Texas A&M. The Cowgirls handed the Aggies their only Big 12 loss of the season last week and also ended TAMU pitcher Megan Gibson's perfect record in the circle this season. In addition, OSU has split series with Texas, Iowa State and swept Nebraska.

Currently, the Cowgirls are in a tie for third place with Missouri as each owns a 7-5 record. Texas A&M is leading the pack with a 14-1 record while Oklahoma is right on its heels with a 10-2 record in league play.

The Cowgirls are strong offensively as they rank third in Big 12 play with a .283 batting average in conference games. However, the Sooners are leading the league in pitching as the OU staff owns a combined 1.43 ERA in conference games. Leadoff batter Mariah Gearhart has been solid in Big 12 play with a .395 average while three-hole hitter boasts 11 RBI in 12 Big 12 games this season. In the circle, the staff is averaging a 3.40 ERA in Big 12 action. Anna Whiddon has made eight appearances in OSU's 12 Big 12 games this season. Whiddon owns a 2.49 ERA and 4-3 record in big 12 action while holding opponents to a .262 average.

SERIES RECORDS
In the all-time series between both schools, Oklahoma State leads with a 63-58 advantage, but the Sooners have owned the rivalry since the beginning of Big 12 play. OU has swept the series from OSU in 10 of the 12 seasons of conference play, and has done no worse than split during those 12 years. Additionally, Oklahoma has claimed 11 straight wins in the rivalry and 25 of the last 26. The Sooners last loss in Stillwater dates back to April 24, 2003 as OU dropped a 4-0 contest to the Cowgirls.

LAST MEETING
The final meeting of 2007 took place in Stillwater as the Sooners edged Oklahoma State, 2-1, to capture the Bedlam Bell. Amber Flores went 2-for-4 in the contest while former Sooner Jamie Fox's solo homer in the bottom of the fifth proved to be the game winner as the Cowgirls rallied in the bottom of the seventh and added one run. Lauren Eckermann earned the win as she threw the shutout and only allowed six hits while striking out seven.

UP NEXT: RIVALRY WEEK
The Bedlam series will continue this Wednesday as the Sooner host Oklahoma State in Norman with the contest set to begin at 7 p.m. The game will be televised by Cox Communications (Cox Ch. 7 in OKC and Cox Ch. 3 in Tulsa).

Oklahoma will end the week with a two-game series against Texas at the OU Softball Complex. The Sooners and Longhorns will open the series on Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday.

UPDATING THE SOONERS
The Sooners still remain near the top of the Big 12 standings with a 10-2 record in conference play after sweeping Iowa State last weekend in Ames. However, Oklahoma still trails league-leader Texas A&M, which boasts a 14-1 conference record and swept the Sooners earlier this season in College Station.

Oklahoma has three Big 12 series remaining with two-game series against Oklahoma State, Texas and Baylor left. Oklahoma State is currently in a tie for third place in the Big 12 while Texas is right behind the Cowgirls in the fifth-place standing. The Sooners will have to face Baylor in Waco in the regular season finale while the Bears are currently in seventh in the Big 12 with a 4-9 conference record.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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