Softball Travels to Kansas

April 9, 2009

#13 Oklahoma (30-12, 7-3 Big 12) at Kansas (13-22, 3-5 Big 12)
Date	Saturday-Sunday, April 10-11, 2009 \| 4 & 1 p.m. CDT
Location	Lawrence, Kan. \| Arrocha Ballpark
Tickets	Available for as low as $5
Game Info	Live Stats \| Oklahoma Game Notes

FRIDAY'S GAME MOVED UP
Friday's game was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. CT but due to the threat of inclement weather, game time has been pushed up to 4 p.m. CT. Saturday's game is still set for 1 p.m. CT.

SOONERS/JAYHAWKS SERIES HISTORY
Overall Record: Oklahoma leads 45-39
Oklahoma's Series Streak: Won 3
Oklahoma's Series Streak in Lawrence: Lost 1
2008 Meetings: 3-21 (W, 3-2 in Norman) and 3-22 (W, 8-0 [6] in Norman)

SOONER REWIND: OU FALLS TO ARKANSAS, 11-9
Three Sooners tallied home runs but it was not enough as the Oklahoma softball team fell to Arkansas, 11-9, Wednesday evening. Sophomore Haley Anderson, junior Amber Flores and freshman Karolyne Long all went yard for the Sooners but Arkansas matched the OU output with home runs by Kayla Johnson and two by Miranda Dixon. Anderson went 2-for-3 with the three RBI. Junior Lindsey Vandever was 3-for-4, scoring two runs and driving in one. Long also had a multiple hit day, going 2-for-3 with the run scored and RBI. Freshman Evan Sallis, Flores and freshman Katie Norris added hits for OU. OU starter Kirsten Allen went just one-third of an inning. K. Allen gave up two runs on three hits in her short appearance. Freshman Allee Allen picked up the loss, falling to 14-3 on the year. A. Allen gave up nine earned runs on eight hits. The two combined for just two strikeouts and six walks.

FLORES TOP 25 FINALIST FOR NATIONAL POY
University of Oklahoma junior Amber Flores has been named a top 25 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. Flores joins the nation's best players on the list to determine college softball's top player. Flores currently leads Oklahoma and the Big 12 in a majority of statistical categories. Hailing from Calexico, Calif., Flores leads Oklahoma in batting average, hitting .425 on the year. She is 45-of-106 with 43 runs driven in and 44 scored on the year. While having 106 official at-bats, Flores has registered two sacrifice flies, been hit by a pitch 14 times and leads the team with 34 walks drawn. Her slugging percentage stands at an astounding .840. She reaches base 59.6 percent of the time.

RICKETTS A LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS TOP 10 FINALIST
University of Oklahoma senior Samantha Ricketts of San Jose, Calif., has been named a top 10 finalist for the 2009 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for softball. Fan balloting is open through May 7 and 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, scheduled for May 28-June 3. Fans can vote for Ricketts by visiting http://www.seniorclassaward/com/vote or text SB8 to 839863.

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 713-236-2; while her career record stands at 875-295-2.

RICKETTS NEARING HOME RUN CAREER MARK
Senior Samantha Ricketts is one home run shy of tying the career mark of 46 set by Ashli Barrett (1998-2001). Ricketts already owns the career runs batted in record (224).

A DAZZLING START FOR A ROOKIE
Freshman pitcher Allee Allen has been wowing audiences, dazzling opponents and uplifting her teammates with her outings this season. The rookie is 14-3 on the year; only one other Oklahoma pitcher had that great of a first year campaign (Jennifer Stewart in 1999, one year before she led OU to the National Championship and Most Outstanding Player honors). While Allen's numbers are not quite as a comparable to Stewart's, she is getting the job done on the mound. In 24 appearances, Allen leads the pitching staff with 101.2 innings thrown and a 2.82 earned run average.

OU Fast Fact

Junior Amber Flores leads the Big 12 in home runs (12).

FLORES MAKING THE MOST OF PLATE APPEARANCES
Junior Amber Flores leads Oklahoma with a .418 batting average (48-of-110). Flores has had 161 total plate appearances - meaning she has drawn 35 walks and been hit by a pitch 14 times. She's only registered 10 strikeouts on the year. Needless to say, Flores makes it a priority to get on base, and she does so 59 percent of the time. Her slugging percentage is a ridiculous .845. She is three home runs shy of tying her single season record of 15 set in 2008 and on pace to incinerate her single season walks drawn record of 45 set in 2008.

RICKETTS: 179 STRAIGHT AND COUNTING
Senior Samantha Ricketts currently holds the longest active starting streak by an Oklahoma player. Ricketts has started 179 straight games, dating back to April 26, 2006 (vs. Oklahoma State). She has started all but 14 of those games at first base. Ricketts started the final 14 games of the 2006 season as the designated player.

LONG EARNING SPOT IN LINEUP
Freshman Karolyne Long has earned her way into the Oklahoma starting lineup. The younger sister of former OU All-American Savannah Long, Karolyne has reached base safely in nine straight games and has been making the plays at shortstop for the Sooners.

AND THAT'S THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES
Of Oklahoma's 12 losses, six are by one run. In those one-run losses, the Sooners hit just. 209 (45-of-215) and only one player hit above .350. In contrast, in the 27 wins, Oklahoma hit .337 (14-of-59) and four players above the .350 mark.

GO SPEED RACER
Freshman Evan Sallis leads the Sooners with 13 stolen bases on the year. Sallis is 13-for-15, while junior Amber Flores is 8-of-9. Sophomore Krystle Huey is 7-of-8 on the year.

FLORES EARNS SECOND BIG 12 POW AWARD
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. In the second game, 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.

GAMES SELECTED FOR ESPN BROADCASTS
A pair of late season Oklahoma Big 12 softball games have been selected for broadcast by the ESPN family of networks, the company announced Thursday. The home finale against Texas A&M scheduled for April 19 has been moved from a 1 p.m. CT start to noon CT to accommodate a national broadcast on ESPN. The final game of the Bedlam Series presented by Ford, slated for April 29 in Stillwater, will air on ESPNU at 7 p.m. CT.

OU, ARIZONA RANKED IN EVERY NFCA POLL
The Sooners have been ranked in the NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 203 weeks. Oklahoma and Arizona are the only programs who have been ranked every week the poll has been released.

FLORES EARNS BIG 12, NATIONAL AWARDS
For her MVP performance at the Hawai'i Paradise Classic, junior shortstop Amber Flores 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 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 and infielder Samantha Ricketts 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 were named Preseason All-Americans by ESPN. Junior Amber Flores earned first team honors, while senior Samantha Ricketts was named to the second team.

MATHIS, RICKETTS NAMED TO POY WATCH LIST
Oklahoma seniors D.J. Mathis and Samantha Ricketts were 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 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.

SIGNING CLASS RATED NATION'S BEST
The 2010 University of Oklahoma softball singing class has been rated the nation's best by ESPN.com's Garland Cooper. Cooper rated the Sooner's class based on its depth in signing left-handed pitchers Keilani Ricketts and Michelle Gascoigne. The class also includes catcher Jessica Shults.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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