OU Hosts Texas in Final Home Series

Texas (25-17-2, 9-6) at OU (39-11, 12-2)
Game 1	Saturday, April 26 - 2 p.m.
Game 2	Sunday, April 27 - 12 p.m.
Location	Norman, Okla. \| OU Softball Complex
Radio	KOKC 1520 AM
Webcast	Live Video on All-Access
Live Stats	SoonerSports.com / GameTracker
Promotions	Breast Cancer Awareness Day, T-Shirt, Crocs
Game Info	Game Notes (PDF) \| OU Media Guide

LEADING OFF
Oklahoma will close out its home regular season this weekend as it hosts Texas in a two-game series at the OU Softball Complex. The No. 8 Sooners (39-11, 12-2 Big 12) will host the Longhorns (25-17-2, 9-6 Big 12) in a two-game series beginning with a 2 p.m. match up on Saturday. The series will conclude on Sunday with a 12 p.m. contest. It is a key series for the Sooners as they are still in the hunt for the Big 12 regular season title. Oklahoma currently sits in second place with a 12-2 conference record behind Texas A&M (14-1 in Big 12). The Sooners have the Texas series and Baylor series remaining while the Aggies travel to Nebraska this weekend for a two-game series and close out the conference slate next Wednesday with a single game against Texas in College Station.

RADIO
Both games this weekend will be carried live on KOKC 1520 AM with Brian Brinkley (play-by-play) and former Sooner All-American Norrelle Dickson (color) calling the action.

LIVE STATS AND WEBCAST
Live stats are available for all games this season on SoonerSports.com. A live webcast of both Texas games will be available at Oklahoma All-Access.

PROMOTIONS
Saturday's game will mark Breast Cancer Awareness Day as the first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a free OU softball pink T-shirt. On Sunday, the first 250 fans through the gate will receive a free pair of OU Crocs. In addition, kids will have the opportunity to run the bases and play catch in the outfield following the game Sunday.

TICKETS
Seats remain for this weekend's games and gates will open 90 minutes prior to first pitch. Tickets are available at the gate, online or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-GoOU. The office is open from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located on the plaza level of the Asp Avenue parking garage.

SCOUTING TEXAS
The Longhorns (25-17-2) currently sit in fourth place in the Big 12 standings with a 9-6 conference record while Missouri is just a head above with a 9-5 mark. The Longhorns have won six of their last seven games with wins over Missouri, Baylor and Kansas in the last two weeks.

Veteran senior pitcher Meagan Denny has been leading the Longhorns all season as she boasts a 1.62 ERA and an 18-6 record in the circle. Denny has made 12 appearances in the circle during Big 12 play and owns an even better 1.53 ERA and 6-2 record in conference action. Denny is averaging 10.57 strikeouts per game, which is leading the conference while she is also holding opponents to a .194 batting average.

The four-member Texas staff has combined for a staff ERA of 2.26 in Big 12 action. Sharing the load with Denny is freshman Brittany Barnhill, who boasts a 2.00 ERA and 3-4 record in conference action. Torrey Schroeder (4.28 ERA, 1-0) and Erin Tresselt (5.01, 0-2) have also seen minimal action this season.

Offensively, Texas owns a .276 batting average in conference action as two-hole hitter Loryn Johnson is having an excellent conference season with a .431 batting average, which includes four home runs and 11 RBI. Designated player Tallie Thrasher has continued her power hitting in conference action where owns a .350 batting average with nine RBI and four home runs. The offense has been stellar as it has recorded 16 homers in 15 conference games.

SERIES RECORDS
The Longhorns have only had a team for 11 years and Texas leads the series record 18-17 during that time. The Horns have taken four of the last five from the Sooners. OU's last sweep of the Longhorns was in 2004 when OU hosted Texas at the OU Softball Complex.

LAST MEETING
The Sooners and Longhorns met in Austin last year and both teams left with a split. Oklahoma dominated the first contest, 7-0, as Lauren Eckermann threw the four-hit shutout while Susan Ogden added three RBI with her home run. The second game of the series marked OU's longest of the 2007 as the contest went 10 innings. The Horns rallied back from an early three-run deficit and used a 10th-inning bunt single and an OU error to knock off the then-No. 3 Sooners. Eckermann took the loss after giving up 11 hits in nine innings while the Sooners also registered 11 hits off of Meagan Denny.

UP NEXT: REGULAR SEASON FINALE
The Sooners will close out the regular season with a trip to Waco next Wednesday as the Sooners take on Baylor for a doubleheader on April 30. The first game of the twin bill is set for 5 p.m. with the second game of the twin bill set for approximately 7 p.m.

Oklahoma will open postseason action with the Big 12 Championship (May 9-11) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Dates and times will be determined following the conclusion of the Big 12 regular season.

SOONERS MOVE UP TO NO. 8 AND NO. 9
After sweeping Iowa State last weekend in Ames, the Sooners remained at No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and jumped to No. 9 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.

OU AND ARIZONA ONLY TWO SCHOOLS TO BE RANKED IN NFCA POLL ITS ENTIRE EXISTENCE
The Sooners have been ranked in the top 25 of every NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 182 weeks long. OU and Arizona are the only programs to be ranked in the NFCA Top-25 every week of its existence.

UPDATING THE SOONERS
The Sooners remained in the hunt for the Big 12 title after adding two more wins this week against Oklahoma State. The Sooners resumed a rain-delayed contest against the Cowgirls on Tuesday night in Stillwater. The Sooners came away with a 3-1 victory against the Cowgirls.

Both squads continued the series on Wednesday with a contest in Norman. The Sooners recorded their 13th straight victory over the Cowgirls with a 6-1 win to clinch the Ford Bedlam Series. OU has swept Oklahoma State in 11 of the last 13 seasons of conference play.

ONE MORE TO 40
Head coach Patty Gasso has recorded a 40-win season in all 13 seasons that she has been the head coach at Oklahoma. Gasso is one win away from accomplishing the mark for 2008 as the Sooners boast a 39-11 record. As a program, Oklahoma has recorded 14 straight 40-win seasons dating back to 1994 and has done it 17 times in program history.

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS
The Sooners have protected their home field well this season as they have only one blemish on their home record this season. OU is 18-1 at the OU Softball Complex with its only loss coming in a 3-2 loss to Missouri State.
* OU owns an eight-game win streak at home
* Including the 2007 season, the Sooners own a 45-2 regular season record at home.
* The Sooners have won 14 consecutive home Big 12 contests dating back to last season

LUCKY NUMBER FOUR
Anytime the Sooners have scored four runs this season, Oklahoma has won as OU owns a 28-0 record when scoring four or more runs this season. That is good news for the Sooners who are averaging 5.9 runs per game.

HOME RUN CENTRAL
The Sooners are leading the Big 12 with 66 home runs, which also ranks sixth in the country. Below are a few facts on OU's home runs this season.
* The school record for home runs in a single season is 85 (2000)
* Four different Sooners own double-digit home runs this season
* Nine players have recorded at least one home run this season
* OU also leads the Big 12 with 17 home runs in Big 12 games
* The Sooners notched 72 home runs during the entire 2007 season

VANDEVER BRINGING IN THE RBIs
Sophomore catcher Lindsey Vandever has turned it on in the last part of Big 12 play. Vandever got hot in OU's two losses to No. 4 Texas A&M and has continued her stellar play since. The sophomore was the lone Sooner to record an RBI against the Aggies as she notched two in the weekend series two weeks ago. In the last six games, Vandever has notched a .333 batting average with seven RBIs and a .444 on-base percentage.

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