Team USA Teammates Face off in Norman

April 20, 2012

By Andrew Gilman | SoonerSports.com

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma's Keilani Ricketts won't be doing any Twitter trash talk to her friend Chelsea Thomas this weekend.

The two, former teammates at the 2011 World Cup of Softball and the 2011 Pan-Am Games, will be facing each other in Norman as Ricketts leads OU and Thomas pitches for Missouri.

And while Ricketts loves to Tweet, she said she'd save the talk - "All my friends are on it and it's fun to get into," Ricketts said. "But I'm not that kind of person to talk trash and Chelsea isn't big into it."

Looks like it will be more action than talk as No. 5 OU will play host to No. 10-ranked Missouri.

Not only is it a matchup between two of the top three teams in the Big 12, it's a big-time matchup between two of the best pitchers in the country.

The first game is set for 7 p.m. Friday. The two will then meet at 2 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

OU vs. Missouri | Friday, April 20- Sunday, April 22 | Preview | Tickets | Live Coverage

The 36-6 Sooners are led by Ricketts who is 21-5 this season with a 0.98 ERA and 259 strikeouts in 164 and two-thirds innings pitched.

Missouri counters with Thomas who is 17-5 with a 0.97 ERA and 183 strikeouts in 130 innings pitched. Missouri is 33-8.

And both were dominant as teammates, too.

Ricketts went 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA at the World Cup while Thomas was 0-1. At the Pan-Am Games, Ricketts went 4-0 with a 0.43 ERA and Thomas was 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA.

"This is the matchup we've been looking forward to," Ricketts said. "She did very well against us last year but we're going into this year really confident. We're excited about it."

Last year, Missouri beat OU twice in the regular season and then ended the Sooners season in Oklahoma City at the Women's College World Series.

Oklahoma is 11-3 in the Big 12 and in first place. Missouri is 10-5 and in third place behind Texas (9-4) in the league.

This year, while there won't be any talk, there will be some familiarity.

"It's more fun," said OU catcher Jessica Shults of facing Thomas. Shults was also teammates with the Missouri pitcher and Ricketts at the World Cup. "She's a great person, and now we're on rival teams, it's fun playing against your friends. I'm looking forward to it."

Shults is batting a team-best .400 with 12 home runs and will be one of a few Sooners counted on to solve Thomas. Freshman Lauren Chamberlain has 19 home runs and 54 RBIs - both the best on the team.

And don't think Thomas doesn't know about that.

"It was funny," Ricketts said of her time with Thomas. "We were all close friends on the team and we talked, but we didn't want to share everything."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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