Softball At Home This Weekend

Feb. 26, 2009

2009 OU/Sooner Legends Tournament
Dates	Saturday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March
Location	Norman, Okla. \| OU Softball Complex (1,000)
Saturday	Creighton vs. Saint Louis \| 11 a.m. Oklahoma vs. Creighton \| 1:15 p.m. Oklahoma vs. Saint Louis \| 3:30 p.m.
Sunday	Saint Louis vs. Creighton \| 10 a.m. Oklahoma vs. Saint Louis \| 12:15 p.m. Oklahoma vs. Creighton \| 2:30 p.m.
Tickets	Available for as low as $7
Promotions	Schedule magnets and posters and autographs Sunday
Webcast	Available for Sunday's OU games
Game Info	Live Stats \| Oklahoma Game Notes

SOONER REWIND: OKLAHOMA BEATS TULSA ON THE ROAD
The Oklahoma softball team defeated the University of Tulsa, 7-3, Wednesday evening at the Hardesty Complex in Tulsa. The Sooners got a fifth-inning grand slam from senior Samantha Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.) to regain a lead they never relinquished. Freshman Kirsten Allen (Union, Ky.) went the distance for the Sooners, improving to 3-0 on the year. Allen gave up three runs, two of them earned. She walked two on the evening.

SOONERS/BILLIKENS SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Oklahoma leads 2-0
In Saint Louis: Never Met
In Norman: Never Met
At Neutral Sites: Oklahoma leads 2-0
Oklahoma's Series Streak: Won 2
First Meeting: March 24, 1983 (W 15-0 in Bartlesville, Okla.)
Last Meeting: April 9, 1995 (W 9-0 in Springfield, Mo.)

SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS
Senior Katie Johns Saint Louis with a .444 average, six walks and a .630 on-base percentage, while junior Nicki Jost is hitting .333 with team highs of 10 hits, six runs, six extra base hits, two home runs, seven RBIs and a .700 slugging percentage. On the mound, sophomore Erin Kelly (2-2) leads the way with a 4.88 ERA, seven appearances and one save, while junior Stacy Gillette (1-3) has started a team-high five
contests. Rookie Kelcie Matesa (0-3) paces the squad with two complete games and 23.2 innings pitched. As a team, Saint Louis is hitting .230 and scores 3.5 runs per game. The pitching staff has an 9.69 ERA and allows opponents a .388 batting average.

SOONERS/BLUEJAYS SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Oklahoma leads 15-11
In Omaha: Creighton leads 1-0
In Norman: Oklahoma leads 11-4
At Neutral Sites: Creighton leads 6-4
Oklahoma's Series Streak: Won 14
First Meeting: March 12, 1980 (L 0-4 in Las Cruces, N.M.)
Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2005 (W 14-2 [5] in Norman, Okla.)

SCOUTING CREIGHTON
Four Creighton players are hitting better than .300 with junior Renae
Sinkler leading the way with a .370 average, a team-high tying 10 hits, 10 RBIs and seven walks. Freshman left-hander Kylie Hovinga (1-1) has a team-best 1.78 ERA and the Bluejays' lone shutout. Junior Tara Oltman (4-3) is the ace of the staff with team highs of seven appearances, five starts, four complete games, 37.1 innings pitched and 35 strikeouts. As a team, the Bluejays are hitting .285 and score 5.0 runs per contest. The pitching staff has a 2.37 ERA and allows opponents a .229 batting average.

RICKETTS BRINGING IN THE RUNS
Senior Samantha Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.) currently leads Oklahoma and the Big 12 with 20 RBI on the season. Ricketts has tallied 13 RBI since Feb. 20, the most of any Sooner. During that span, she is 8-for-21 with all three of her home runs.

JONES AMONG THE TEAM'S BEST IN LAST SIX
Sophomore Chana'e Jones is hitting .308 in the Sooners' last six games and posting an on-base percentage of .400. She has four hits, two walks, a run scored and has a double during that time.

RICKETTS BECOMES CAREER RBI LEADER
With a solo home run against Cal Poly, senior Samantha Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.) became the Oklahoma all-time leader in runs batted in. She now has 203 in her career.

VANDEVER GOES YARD - AGAIN
Junior Lindsey Vandever (Davenport, Okla.) leads the team with three home runs on the year. More impressively, Vandever has brought in 11 RBI on those home runs - two grand slams (vs. Arizona State and vs. UAB) and a three-run shot (vs. Alabama). She has eight RBI in the last six games.

SALLIS IMPROVING EVERY GAME
Since starting four of five games at the Cathedral City Classic, freshman Evan Sallis (Muskogee, Okla.) is proving her spot in the OU lineup. Sallis led the team during the tournament with a .429 batting average. She went 6-for-14 with two RBI and scored five runs. Currently, Sallis is third on the team, hitting .353 with six hits and seven runs scored.

WALK THE LINE
After setting the OU single season record for walks drawn last season (45), junior Amber Flores (Calexico, Calif.) is well on her way to breaking that record this season. In five games at the Cathedral City Classic, Flores drew eight walks and in 15 games this season, she is averaging almost one walk per game.

FRESHMAN GETS CALL AGAINST TOP-RANKED ALABAMA
Freshman Allee Allen (Buena Park, Calif.) got the nod for Oklahoma against top-ranked Alabama at the Cathedral City Classic. It was Allen's first start against a top 25 program. Despite dropping the game 4-3, Allen (4-1) went six and one-third innings. Alabama scored the winning run with one out in the bottom of the seventh.

GASSO NEARING MILESTONE WINS MARK
Already Oklahoma's all-time winningest softball coach, Patty Gasso is four wins shy of her 700th career win at the school (696-227-2). Gasso also needs just two victories for her 860th career win (858-286-2).

MATHIS, RICKETTS TAKEN IN NPF DRAFT
Pitcher D.J. Mathis (East Alton, Ill.) and infielder Samantha Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.) were selected by the Akron Racers in the 2009 National Pro Fastpitch Senior Draft. Mathis went second overall, while Ricketts was the second pick in the third round, going 12th overall. Oklahoma was one of four schools with two players taken. Oklahoma has now had 13 players drafted to the NPF league since its inaugural draft prior to the 2004 season. The 2009 draftees join Sooner alums Savannah Long, Susan Ogden, Lauren Eckermann, Norrelle Dickson, Heather Scaglione, Kami Keiter, Christina Enea, Erin Evans, Christy Ring, Leah Gulla and Kristin Vesely who were all drafted by the league.

OU Fast Fact

Head Coach Patty Gasso is four wins shy of her 700th win at Oklahoma.

FLORES EARNS BIG 12, NATIONAL AWARDS
For her MVP performance at the Hawai'i Paradise Classic, junior shortstop Amber Flores (Calexico, Calif) was named Big 12 Player of the Week, Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Player of the Week and Co-Player of the Week by USA Softball on Tuesday, Feb. 10. It is the first time an OU softball athlete has earned both national honors in the same week. Flores hit .643 over a five-game span. Flores was 9-for-14 with nine runs scored and drove in 15 runs. Of her nine hits, two were doubles and three were home runs. Flores posted a slugging percentage of 1.429 and an on-base percentage of .737. She totaled 20 bases on the weekend, along with three walks and two hit-by-pitches. In OU's 18-0 win over UAB, Flores tied the OU school record with eight RBI in a single game. In the first inning, she drove in two runs on a double and later in the inning, cleared the bases with her three-run shot. She added a second three-run home run later in the contest.

OPENING STATEMENT
Freshman DP Katie Norris (Stillwater, Okla.) really set the tone for her 2009 season at the Hawai'i Paradise Classic. Norris hit .462 with six hits and three runs scored. Norris drove in four runs and hit a double and a home run on the weekend.

DOBBS GETS FIRST CAREER HOME RUN
Dani Dobbs' (Moore, Okla.) three-run blast against UAB was the sophomore's first career home run. Dobbs was named to the Hawai'i Paradise Classic all-tournament team after hitting .571 and posting a 1.143 slugging percentage.

FLORES, RICKETTS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
A pair of University of Oklahoma softball athletes have been named Preseason All-Americans by ESPN. Junior Amber Flores (Calexico, Calif.) earned first team honors, while senior Samantha Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.) was named to the second team. Writer Graham Hays says of Flores, “Whether at second base, outfield or designated player, Flores makes herself a lineup cornerstone with one of the best bats in the game. Both patient enough in her own approach and feared enough by opponents to draw a program single-season record 45 walks last season, she still did enough with the pitches she saw to hit .381 with 15 home runs. Only a junior, it's scary to think how good Flores could be.”

MATHIS, RICKETTS NAMED TO POY WATCH LIST
Oklahoma seniors D.J. Mathis (East Alton, Ill.) and Samantha Ricketts have been named to the 2009 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. Both are All-Americans and Ricketts was a top three finalist in 2007.

RICKETTS NAMED TEAM CAPTAIN
Senior Samantha Ricketts was elected team captain for the 2009 season. The team selected the captain based on characteristics such as work ethic, positive attitude and consistency both on and off the field.

OKLAHOMA, ARIZONA RANKED IN EVERY NFCA POLL
The Sooners have been ranked in the NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 194 weeks. Oklahoma and Arizona are the only programs who have been ranked every week the poll has been released.

SOONERS UNANIMOUS SELECTION TO WIN BIG 12 TITLE
The Sooners received nine of 10 first-place votes and tallied 81 points to receive top billing in the 2009 Big 12 coaches' preseason poll. The selection the first time the Sooners were chosen a unanimous selection to win the league title since 2000, when OU won its first National Championship.

Big 12 Conference Preseason Poll
Rank	Team(first-place votes)	Points
1	OKLAHOMA (9)	81
2	Missouri	68
3	Texas A&M (1)	60
4	Texas	58
5	Nebraska	46
6	Baylor	44
7	Oklahoma State	40
8	Kansas	25
9	Texas Tech	15
10	Iowa State	13

SOONERS RETURN 10 LETTERWINNERS
Oklahoma returns 10 letterwinners from last season's 47-14, NCAA Super Regional team. The Sooners have six position players returning and pitcher D.J. Mathis. Three All-Americans in Mathis, Samantha Ricketts and Amber Flores return along with four All-Midwest Region selections in Mathis, Ricketts, Flores and Lindsey Vandever.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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