Softball Regional Games On as Scheduled

NORMAN, Okla. - The ninth-seeded University of Oklahoma softball team opens play in the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Softball Championship Friday evening against the Iona Gaels at 7:30 p.m. CT. The day's first game features Tulsa and Missouri State at 5 p.m. CT. A free webcast of all games and live stats are available at SoonerSports.com. The game can also be heard locally on KREF 1400 AM.

The Sooners are 18-15 against the field of 64 and have faced Tulsa (1-1) and Missouri State (2-0) twice each this season. Oklahoma is 52-32 (.619) all-time in the NCAA Championship. OU has won nine NCAA Regional titles (2000-05, 2007-08, 2010) and is 43-16 (.729) in the opening round of the Championship.

Friday marks the first-ever meeting between Oklahoma and Iona. OU leads the all-time series with Tulsa 33-9 and holds a 17-3 advantage in games played in Norman. Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso is 26-9 against the Golden Hurricane. The Sooners lead the all-time series with Missouri State 14-12 and lead 10-3 in games played in Norman. Gasso is 10-4 against the Bears.

In six home regionals at Marita Hynes Field, Oklahoma is 19-2 and has outscored opponents 138-31. The Sooners are hitting .348 with 212 hits and 20 home runs. OU's pitching staff has only allowed 31 earned runs in 147.2 innings to produce a 1.47 earned run average. OU's pitchers are holding opponents to a .204 batting average and have struck out 124. The Sooners' defense has only committed six errors and has not allowed an unearned run in the 21 games.

Norman Regional Central | Schedule | Tickets | Live Coverage

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA AS A TEAM
• OU is 11-12 against ranked opponents this year. The Sooners haven't faced this many ranked opponents since facing 25 in the 2003 season (16-9).
• Oklahoma has hit 67 home runs this year; seven of those are grand slams.
• The Sooners are 18-15 against the field of 64 and have faced Tulsa (1-1) and Missouri State (2-0) twice each this season.
• Oklahoma is 52-32 (.619) all-time in the NCAA Championship. OU has made five appearances at the Women's College World Series (2000-04).
• OU has won nine NCAA Regional titles (2000-05, 2007-08, 2010) and is 43-16 (.729) in the opening round of the Championship.
• The Sooners won the 2000 National Championship (66-8).

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA INDIVIDUALLY
• Sophomore Keilani Ricketts (389) became the Oklahoma single season strikeout leader on April 30. The previous record was 356 by Jill Most in 1996.
• Ricketts' 735 career strikeouts is second all-time at OU and 70 from first place. She averages 11.51 K's per game.
• In her 35 starts in the circle, she has registered double-digit strikeouts 23 times.
• Ricketts leads the Big 12 in strikeouts (389), innings pitched (236.2), appearances (43) and games started (35).
• Ricketts has 22 career shutouts, eighth on the career all-time list. She struck out a career-high 17 batters against DePaul on March 17.
• Ricketts was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association National Player of the Week and Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week for games played May 2-8.
• Ricketts went 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA, gave two singles and 22 strikeouts. At the plate, she went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, four runs, four walks and a home run.
• She limited opponents to a .049 batting average, while herself turning in a .600 clip to go along with a .778 on-base and a 1.200 slugging percentage.
• Ricketts is the seventh Sooners to earn National Player of the Week honors from the NFCA. It is her fifth career Big 12 honor and second this season.
• Senior Dani Dobbs set a single game best in the second game against Kansas on April 6. Dobbs went 5-for-5 at the plate.
• She's the first Sooner to have five or more hits in a game since Amber Flores had five against Iowa State in 2009. It's also an OU single game record.
• Freshman Destinee Martinez leads OU and the Big 12 with 72 hits. She leads OU with a .365 batting average.
• Senior Chana'e Jones continues to have a breakthrough season. Jones has set single season highs in the majority of offensive categories.
• Jones is 8-for-15 (.533) with seven runs scored and a .800 slugging percentage in the last five games.
• She's also playing a new defensive position - first base. Jones is errorless in conference games and been responsible for several highlight-reel plays.
• Sophomore Jessica Shults leads OU with 19 home runs, 58 runs batted in and a .768 slugging percentage.
• Shults' 19 home runs are a single-season best for the sophomore. The OU single season record is 20 (Lisa Carey, 2000 and Lynette Velazquez, 1999).
• Shults has two grand slams this year. Nix has the other two. Ricketts, Williams and Dobbs have the others.
• Shults is hitting .727 in the last five games (8-for-11), having played mostly as the DP following a medical issue.
• Freshman Brittany Williams leads the Sooners and Big 12 with 44 walks drawn this season. She also leads the team with a .509 on-base percentage.
• The only other Sooner to have more walks in a single season was Flores (2008-10).
• Ricketts, Jones and Martinez were named All-Big 12 first team. Shults, Dobbs and Nix earned second team honors.
• Head coach Patty Gasso won her 800th Division I game on March 19 against then-No. 4 Washington. Gasso is 812-266-2 (.752) in 17 years at OU.
• Gasso is the 20th active coach to reach the mark and 30th all-time at the NCAA Division I level.
• Gasso is 974-325-2 (.749) in 21 seasons as a head coach. She needs 26 wins for career win No. 1,000.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES HISTORY
• This is the first-ever meeting between Oklahoma and Iona.
• OU leads the all-time series with Tulsa 33-9 and holds a 17-3 advantage in games played in Norman. Gasso is 26-9 against the Golden Hurricane.
• The Sooners lead the all-time series with Missouri State 14-12 and lead 10-3 in games played in Norman. Gasso is 10-4 against the Bears.
• Complete series information begins on page 132 of the 2011 Oklahoma softball virtual guide.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Softball Regional Games On as Scheduled

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors