OU Takes on North Texas Wednesday

March 24, 2009

North Texas (17-12) at #8 Oklahoma (26-8)
Dates	Wednesday, March 25, 2009 \| 5 p.m. CDT
Location	Norman, Okla. \| OU Softball Complex (1,000)
Tickets	Available for as low as $7
Promotions	50-cent hot dogs and Cokes \| Visors
Webcast	Available through Oklahoma All-Access (subscription based)
Game Info	Live Stats \| Oklahoma Game Notes

TICKETS REMAIN FOR WEDNESDAY
Tickets remain for Wednesday's and start as low as $7. To purchase tickets online visit www. SoonerSports.com or call (405) 325-2424 or toll-free (800) 456-GoOU. Tickets may also be purchased by visiting the OU Athletics Ticket Office located on the plaza level of the Asp Avenue Parking Facility, immediately west of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. For groups of 10 or more, special group rates are available beginning at $4 each. Call (405) 325-8448 for more info.

LIVE WEBCAST AVAILABLE
A live webcast of Wednesday's game is available through Oklahoma All-Access. The subscription-based service brings live game webcasts, live audio, coaches' shows and features plus access to hundreds of hours of classic video from the OU Athletics Department archives straight to your computer. Memberships are available in monthly ($9.95) and annual ($99.95) packages.

HOT DOGS, COKES JUST 50-CENTS WEDNESDAY
Wednesday night is 50-cent hot dog and Coke night, as long as supplies last. The first 250 fans through the gate also receive an OU softball visor. As always, students attending can present their Sooner Nation
card to gain points for free stuff. The Sooner Nation Rewards Program
provides incentives to students for attending home athletic events
(excluding football).

SOONERS/MEAN GREEN SERIES HISTORY
Overall Record: Oklahoma leads 15-0
In Norman: Oklahoma leads 12-0
In Denton: Oklahoma leads 3-0
At Neutral Sites: Never Met
Oklahoma's Series Streak: Won 15
Oklahoma's Series Streak in Norman: Won 12
First Meeting: April 15, 1987 (W 7-0 in Norman, Okla.)
2008 Meetings: W, 9-0 [5] (3/1) and W, 8-0 [5] (3/2) in Norman, Okla.

SOONER REWIND: SOONERS TAKE TWO FROM ISU
Junior shortstop Amber Flores (Calexico, Calif.) went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate, drove in five runs and scored two as OU defeated Iowa State, 10-7, on Flores' walk-off home run in the seventh inning in the first game of the two-game series. The Sooners pounded out 15 hits against the Cyclones and committed no errors on the afternoon. On Sunday, freshman starter Allee Allen (Buena Park, Calif.) threw a one-hit shutout and the Sooners cruised to a 10-0 blanking of ISU. The Sooners totaled three home runs against the Cyclones.

FLORES REIGNING BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
For a second time this season, Oklahoma junior shortstop Amber Flores was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week on March 23. The Calexico, Calif.-native previously earned the honor during the first week of the 2009 campaign. On Saturday against Iowa State, Flores went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate, drove in five runs and scored two as the Sooners defeated Iowa State, 10-7, on Flores' walk-off home run in the seventh inning. On Sunday against the Cyclones, Flores went 1-for-2 with a run scored and drew a walk. She hit .857 on the weekend, going 6-for-7 with a slugging percentage of 1.857. Flores also scored three runs total on the weekend. Overall on the week, Flores hit. 600 as Oklahoma went 3-0 with a pair of wins over ISU and a five-inning 8-0 blanking of Northern Iowa. In those three games, Flores produced a slugging percentage of 1.300 and an on-base percentage of .889.

RICKETTS A LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS TOP 30 FINALIST
University of Oklahoma senior Samantha Ricketts of San Jose, Calif., has been named a top 30 finalist for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for softball. A national media committee will select 10 finalists for the award at the end of March. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote beginning March 30 and concluding May 7. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award. Winners will be announced during the 2009 NCAA Division I Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, scheduled for May 28-June 3.

OU Fast Fact

Amber Flores was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on March 23.

GASSO GETS 700TH WIN AT OKLAHOMA
Already Oklahoma's all-time winningest softball coach, Patty Gasso won her 700th game as the Sooners' head coach against Northwestern (3/7). Gasso's mark at the school is 709-232-2; while her career record stands at 871-291 -2.

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.

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.

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 (San Jose, Calif.) 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.

OU, ARIZONA RANKED IN EVERY NFCA POLL
The Sooners have been ranked in the NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 200 weeks. Oklahoma and Arizona are the only programs who have been ranked every week the poll has been released.

OU UNANIMOUS SELECTION TO WIN BIG 12
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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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