Sooners Take Down Texas, 5-2

April 30, 2011

Oklahoma 5, Texas 2
Box Score: PDF | HTML

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Oklahoma	1	0	2	0	1	1	0	5	8	0
Texas	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	1

Pitching	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Ricketts (22-11)	7.0	4	2	2	3	10
L - Luna (26-2)	7.0	8	5	4	3	8

Batting Leaders	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	EB
OU - Jones	4	2	3	0	0	1
UT - Hoagland	3	1	1	2	1	0

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Keilani Ricketts added clutch offense to her record pitching performance to help the Sooners end the third-ranked Longhorns' nine-game winning streak Saturday at McCombs Field.

Ricketts roped the deciding two-RBI single into center field in the top of the third, just one frame after setting her team's single-season strikeout record as No. 15 Oklahoma defeated Texas 5-2.

"It's a tough thing for a pitcher, I think, to really put their heart on the mound and then come to the plate," OU head coach Patty Gasso said. "I know that meant a lot to her because she's been up in some pretty big situations and not come through the way she's wanted to. I felt like she was really seeing the ball well tonight and took some pretty good swings."

Ricketts (22-11, 1.43 ERA) needed five strikeouts to pass Jill Most's program record of 356 set in 1996. She finished with 10 for her 22nd double-digit strikeout game of the season, outdueling UT's ace Blaire Luna (26-2, 1.03 ERA) as the Longhorns took just their second home loss.

Mired in a nine-game stretch facing ranked opponents, OU seemed to be on cruise control despite facing adversity before the team arrived to the ballpark. Starting second baseman Brianna Turang did not play, still suffering from side effects of a pre-game injury on Wednesday, and catcher Jessica Shults was unsure of her status until moments before the first pitch.

Shults started the game as designated player, but finished behind the plate after Brittany Williams left the game with a knee injury suffered from a foul tipped ball in the bottom of the third inning.

"(Shults) was just going to be in the DP spot and she was struggling just to stay there," Gasso said. "When we lost our catcher, she had her gear on already. She gutted it out. Sometimes when you're just not feeling well and no one thinks you can do it, you challenge yourself."

Shults plated Chana'e Jones in the first frame to give OU the early advantage and reached base safely in every appearance with an additional three walks.

"It's been tough for us to score runs, especially off some of the good pitching we've faced. We went back to practice and did a few things different, kind of lightened things up, talked about just being decisive at the plate and keeping it simple."

Katie Norris, making her third start at first base among a number of lineup switches for the Sooners, hit a solo home run in the sixth to put a 5-0 score on the board, the largest deficit Texas had faced this season.

"From our side, it was kind of a dramatic turn of events. I would definitely say it was a team effort and something we were seeing in the first couple weeks of the season. It seemed like they exhaled and said, 'let's go for it.'

"I just think that shows great character and gives us of feeling of things to come."

Oklahoma and Texas finish the series Sunday at 12 p.m. Central.