Tournament Preview: Judi Garman Classic

No. 10 Oklahoma (22-5) at the Judi Garman Classic
Game Info	vs. Notre Dame \| Wednesday, March 16 \| CT vs. DePaul \| Thursday, March 17 \| 11 a.m. CT vs. #7 Arizona \| Thursday, March 17 \| 5:30 p.m. CT vs. Penn State \| Friday, March 18 \| 11 a.m. CT vs. Pacific \| Friday, March 18 \| 1 p.m. CT vs. #4 Washington \| Saturday, March 19 \| 11 a.m. CT
Location	Anderson Family Field \| Fullerton, Calif.
Online	Live Stats \| Game Notes (PDF) \| Twitter

A LOOK AT THIS WEEKEND
The ninth-ranked University of Oklahoma softball team closes out non-conference tournament action this weekend at the Judi Garman Classic, hosted by Cal State Fullerton. The Sooners open Wednesday against Notre Dame at 6 p.m. CT. OU faces DePaul at 11 a.m. Friday and has a re-match with No. 7 Arizona at 5:30 p.m. CT. OU plays Penn State and Pacific in back-to-back contests beginning Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. OU closes out the event against No. 4 Washington Saturday morning at 11 a.m. CT. Live stats of all games are available at SoonerSports.com.

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA AS A TEAM
• Oklahoma's current 11-game win streak is its longest since winning 15 straight last year from April 21-May 27.
• OU won the Oklahoma Spring Festival this past weekend with wins over Indiana, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Missouri State (twice).
• OU has out-scored opponents 77-7 in that stretch and has a 0.61 earned run average.
• OU has played one of the nation's toughest schedules to date. After this weekend, OU will have played seven opponents in the top 15.
• Nine of OU's 22 opponents have been ranked at the time of the contest.

Sooner to Watch
	Haley Nix \| Sr. \| RF • Has started every game in right field • Had a walk-off grand slam against Missouri State in the championship game of the Oklahoma Spring Festival • Hitting .364 with 21 runs scored and 11 extra-base hits • Has driven in 27 runs and drawn 10 walks

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA INDIVIDUALLY
• Sophomore Keilani Ricketts has thrown complete game shutouts in each of her last six starts.
• Ricketts has 21 career shutouts, eighth on the career all-time list.
• Her 497 strikeouts are fifth on the career list and 100 from tying for fourth-place. Ricketts averages 12.01 K's per game.
• Ricketts leads the Big 12 in shutouts, strikeouts (151), innings pitched (88.0), appearances (18) and games started (13).
• Ricketts has not allowed a run (earned or unearned) in the last 42.2 innings pitched.
• She has tallied double-digit strikeout totals in 10 games this year, including four straight.
• OU's 3-5 hitters of Jessica Shults, Brittany Williams and Haley Nix have provided the OU offense a spark this year.
• Shults is second on the team in batting average (.420) and leads OU with 15 home runs, 47 runs batted in and a 1.062 slugging percentage.
• Her' 15 HR match her single season total from a year ago. The OU single season record is 20 (Lisa Carey, 2000 and Lynette Velazquez, 1999).
• Williams leads the Sooners and Big 12 with 27 walks drawn this season.
• Nix has two grand slams on the year, including a walk-off against Missouri State in the championship game of the Oklahoma Spring Festival.
• Head coach Patty Gasso is 796-254-2 (.756) in 17 season at Oklahoma. She is four wins shy of OU win No. 800.
• With her 800th Division I win, Gasso would become the 20th active coach to reach the mark and 30th all-time.
• Gasso is 958-314-2 (.752) in 21 seasons as a head coach. She needs 42 wins for career win No. 1,000.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES HISTORY
• OU holds a slim 4-3 margin over Notre Dame. DePaul leads the series with OU 6-5. OU last met both teams at the 2009 Judi Garman Classic.
• The Sooners run-ruled Arizona earlier this year, 11-1, but the Wildcats still lead the overall series26-12.
• Oklahoma and Penn State have previously met twice with OU winning both. Those meetings were in 1993 and 2000.
• OU is 6-2 against the Pacific Tigers. The two teams last met at the 2010 Cathedral City Classic.
• Washington leads the series with OU 9-7. OU played the Huskies four times last year, including in NCAA Super Regional action.
• Complete series history information begins on page 134 of the 2011 Oklahoma softball virtual guide.

A LOOK AT NEXT WEEK
• Oklahoma travels to Tulsa Wednesday evening before opening conference play next weekend against Nebraska.
• Both games of the Nebraska series area locally on Cox Channel 3 in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Tournament Preview: Judi Garman Classic

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