Sooners Open WCWS Against Arizona State

June 1, 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY – The ninth-seeded University of Oklahoma softball team opens play at the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's College World Series on Thursday evening against top-seeded Arizona State at 6 p.m. CT at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The game airs nationally on ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. Thursday's game can also be heard locally on KREF 1400 AM in Norman. Live stats are available at SoonerSports.com.

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA AS A TEAM
• OU is 13-12 against ranked opponents this year.
• It's the most OU has faced since playing 25 in the 2003 season (16-9).
• Oklahoma has hit 71 home runs this year; seven of those are grand slams.
• The Sooners were 22-15 against the field of 64 during the regular season.
• Oklahoma is 57-33 (.633) all-time in the NCAA Championship.
• OU has won 10 NCAA Regional titles (2000-05, 2007-08, 2010-11) and is 4-8 in Super Regional play.
• Oklahoma is 9-4 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium over the past three years (includes Big 12 Championship).
• The Sooners are 41-22 all-time against the Southeastern Conference and 59-73 all-time against the Pac-10.
• Five players on OU's roster are from the state of Oklahoma.

A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA IN THE WCWS
• This is Oklahoma's sixth appearance at the Women's College World Series (2000-04, 2011).
• Oklahoma is 7-8 all-time at the Women's College World Series.
• The Sooners won the 2000 National Championship (66-8).
• Of the seven teams in the field, OU is 1-0 against Alabama and 1-3 against California in WCWS games.
• OU won four games in 2000 to win the national title.
• The Sooners have gone 1-2 in the event every year since, except for 2002 (0-2).
• Oklahoma has outscored opponents 36-34 in 15 WCWS games.
• Half the field at the WCWS comes from the Big 12 Conference, the most ever for the league.
• This is the first time both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have played in the same WCWS.
• The University of Oklahoma's Norman campus is 17 miles south of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
• Oklahoma's WCWS records begin on page 126 of the 2011 virtual guide online at SoonerSports.com.

GASSO REACHES 800 WINS MILESTONE
Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso won her 800th Division I game on March 19 against then-No. 4 Washington. Gasso is 817-267-2 (.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 979-326-2 (.749) in 21 seasons as a head coach. She needs 21 wins for career win No. 1,000.

SHULTS MISSES REGIONAL, SUPER REGIONAL
Oklahoma sophomore Jessica Shults has missed the 2011 postseason thus far with an illness and is listed as day-to-day. 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).

SOONERS SWEEP WILDCATS TO RETURN TO WCWS
Oklahoma got a brilliant performance from Keilani Ricketts and the top of the order drove in all five runs as the Sooners downed Arizona, 5-2, for a second straight day. With the win Oklahoma advances to its sixth Women's College World Series and first since 2004. Ricketts got it done with the bat, driving in OU's first two runs via a home run. She also drew a walk later in the game. In the circle, she threw her second complete game in as many days, holding Arizona to two earned runs on seven hits.

TWO-OUT RALLIES AID IN SHUT OUT OF ARIZONA
Oklahoma scored four of its six runs with two outs as the Sooners shut out the Arizona Wildcats 6-0 on May 27 at Hillenbrand Stadium. Oklahoma starter Keilani Ricketts went the distance for the 30th time this year and threw her 23rd career shutout in the win. Ricketts allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out 13.

OKLAHOMA WINS 10TH NCAA REGIONAL TITLE
Oklahoma won its 10th NCAA Regional title to advance to the Super Regionals by defeating Iona and Tulsa twice. The Sooners previously won regional championships from 2000-05, 2007-08 and 2010.

FOUR SOONERS EARN NFCA ALL-REGION HONORS
Four Oklahoma softball student-athletes werenamed to the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I All-Central Region team. Sophomores Keilani Ricketts and Jessica Shults and freshmen Destinee Martinez and Brittany Williams all earned first team honors. It is the second consecutive first team honor for Ricketts and Shults who each earned All-America status last year.

RICKETTS SETS SINGLE GAME STRIKEOUT RECORD
Already the owner of the Oklahoma single season strikeout record, Keilani Ricketts brought down another Oklahoma milestone May 20 with 19 strikeouts against Iona. It's the most strikeouts in a game by a Sooner pitcher, surpassing the previous record of 18 set by Brea Moore against Utah on April 2, 1995.

RICKETTS MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS
Keilani Ricketts (789) has moved past Kami Keiter (733) on the Oklahoma career strikeouts list. The sophomore needs just 16 strikeouts to tie Jill Most for the career record (805). Ricketts is tied for fifth in winning percentage (.726), seventh in complete games (60); eighth in innings pitched (532.0), games started (78), victories (61) and shutouts (23); and ninth in appearances (96).

SOONERS SETTING BIG 12 SINGLE SEASON RECORDS
Four Sooners have broken into the top 10 on the Big 12 single season records list. Jessica Shults' 19 home runs are eighth, Brittany Williams' 47 walks drawn are tied for sixth, Destinee Martinez's 222 at-bats are tied for third, and Keilani Ricketts' 443 strikeouts are also sixth. Ricketts' 181 strikeouts in conference play are the fourth most in a single season, trailing only Cat Osterman.

RICKETTS SETS OKLAHOMA SINGLE SEASON STRIKEOUT RECORD
Keilani Ricketts became the Oklahoma single season leader in strikeouts on April 30, breaking a 15-year old record. Jill Most (356) set the previous single season record in 1996.

PITCHING STAFF SETS SINGLE SEASON RECORD
The Oklahoma pitching staff has combined for 577 strikeouts this year, surpassing the previous single season record of 486 set in 1997. OU set a single season record with 8.40 strikeouts per seven innings last year and average 10.23 this year.

RICKETTS SITTING THEM DOWN IN DOUBLES
In 40 starts in the circle, Keilani Ricketts has double-digit strikeouts in 25 games.

WILLLIAMS CLOSING IN ON SINGLE SEASON WALKS RECORD
Freshman Brittany Williams leads the Sooners and Big 12 with 47 walks drawn this season. She also leads the team with a .490 on-base percentage. The only other Sooner to have more walks in a single season was Flores (49, 2009).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Open WCWS Against Arizona State

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