Sooners Go to 8-0 as Offense Keeps Rolling

Saturday, February 14

Tempe, Ariz.

4:45 PM

University of Oklahoma

Illinois State

Sooners Go to 8-0 as Offense Keeps Rolling

February 14, 2015 | Softball

By: Athletics Communications

Illinois State

Oklahoma

Box Score

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
ILS	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	6	0
OU	2	1	0	4	0	0	x	7	15	1

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Pendley (4-0)	5.0	5	2	2	2	5
L - Vissering (0-3)	3.2	12	7	7	1	0
S - N/A	--	--	--	--	--	--

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
OU - S. Pendley	3	1	2	2	1	1
ILS - Standgard	3	0	1	1	0	0

Player of the Game
Shelby Pendley // Sr. // IF/P Pendley got her team-best fourth win of the year in the circle and also helped ignite the OU offense in the win over Illinois State. After the Redbirds scored twice to cut the OU lead to 3-2 in the fourth, Pendley hit a two-run line-drive home run to center field in the bottom of the fourth to spark a four-run inning. She was 2-3 on the day with a run scored and a walk. In the circle, she struck out five and allowed just two runs in five innings.

Player of the Game

Shelby Pendley // Sr. // IF/P
Pendley got her team-best fourth win of the year in the circle and also helped ignite the OU offense in the win over Illinois State. After the Redbirds scored twice to cut the OU lead to 3-2 in the fourth, Pendley hit a two-run line-drive home run to center field in the bottom of the fourth to spark a four-run inning. She was 2-3 on the day with a run scored and a walk. In the circle, she struck out five and allowed just two runs in five innings.

Game Notes
Oklahoma now leads the all-time series against Illinois State, 14-1 ... OU has won nine straight games against ISU, which is tied for the seventh-longest active win streak for Oklahoma against another opponent ... In the six innings in which OU has been able to bat after its opponent scored this year, Oklahoma has answered with runs of its own on five occasions ... senior Shelby Pendley and junior Erin Miller hit back-to-back home runs, it was the first time the Sooners did that Brittany Williams and Georgia Casey against Tennessee in last year's Super Regionals ... with her homer, Miller is on a career-best six-game hitting streak ... junior Kady Self tied a career high with three hits ... with a single, Lauren Chamberlain took sole possession of second place in OU and Big 12 history with 465 career total bases ... junior Whitney Ellis started at third base, it was the first time in her 72 career starts that she wasn't behind the plate at catcher ... for the first time in her career, Ellis had more than one double in a game (2) ... freshman Lea Wodach started at catcher, the first start of her career

Game Notes

Oklahoma now leads the all-time series against Illinois State, 14-1 ... OU has won nine straight games against ISU, which is tied for the seventh-longest active win streak for Oklahoma against another opponent ... In the six innings in which OU has been able to bat after its opponent scored this year, Oklahoma has answered with runs of its own on five occasions ... senior Shelby Pendley and junior Erin Miller hit back-to-back home runs, it was the first time the Sooners did that Brittany Williams and Georgia Casey against Tennessee in last year's Super Regionals ... with her homer, Miller is on a career-best six-game hitting streak ... junior Kady Self tied a career high with three hits ... with a single, Lauren Chamberlain took sole possession of second place in OU and Big 12 history with 465 career total bases ... junior Whitney Ellis started at third base, it was the first time in her 72 career starts that she wasn't behind the plate at catcher ... for the first time in her career, Ellis had more than one double in a game (2) ... freshman Lea Wodach started at catcher, the first start of her career

TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 4/3 Oklahoma pounded out 15 hits and kept up its high-scoring offense as it defeated Illinois State, 7-2, Saturday night at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

The Sooners have scored 81 runs in eight games for an average of 10.1 runs per contest. In fact, the team has scored at least seven runs in all eight games this season. The eight-game streak of scoring at least seven runs is a feat that had never previously been accomplished in program history.

The Sooners improved to 8-0 on the season with the win, while the Redbirds fell to 3-6. It's the seventh time in program history that OU has started with an 8-0 mark, all of which have come under head coach Patty Gasso.

Oklahoma got the scoring started with a pair of runs in the first inning.

Senior Lauren Chamberlain drew a one-out walk and moved up to second when fellow senior Shelby Pendley pulled a single through the right side. After a force out put runners on the corners, junior Kady Self rocketed a chopper off Illinois State starting pitcher McKensie Vissering. The ball ricocheted into left field and allowed Chamberlain to score.

Junior Whitney Ellis, who was making her first career start at third base after her previous 71 career starts came at catcher, followed and drove a pitch off the wall in left field for a run-scoring double.

The Sooners added another run in the second inning.

Freshman Lea Wodach, making her first career start at catcher, doubled off the wall with one out. Freshman Nicole Pendley turned on the first pitch she saw and singled to right field to put runners on the corners. That brought Chamberlain to the plate and she went back up the middle for an RBI single to make it 3-0.

Illinois State trimmed the Sooners' lead to just a single run at 3-2 after scoring twice in the fourth inning behind a pair of RBI singles, but Oklahoma quickly countered in the bottom of the frame.

With one out, Nicole Pendley singled through the right side. Two batters later, her sister, Shelby, drove her in with a two-run, line drive home run to straightaway center field. It was Shelby Pendley's second homer of the season, her 43^rd as a Sooner and the 62^nd of her career.

Junior Erin Miller came to the plate next and drove a 3-1 pitch over the wall in right-center for her first home run of the season and the fourth of her career. It extended her hitting streak to a career-high six games.

It was the first time Oklahoma had recorded back-to-back home runs since last year's Super Regionals against Tennessee when Brittany Williams and Georgia Casey did it on May 25.

Self hit a single after Miller's homer and that chased Illinois State starter McKensie Vissering. The pitching change didn't change OU's fortunes, however, as Ellis walked and pinch-hitter Tori Nirschl blooped a single into right field to push the lead to 7-2.

Responding to scoring innings by their opponents has been a calling-card for Oklahoma early in the 2015 season. In the six innings in which OU has been able to bat after its opponent scored, Oklahoma has answered with runs of its own on five occasions.

Shelby Pendley got her team-best fourth win of the season. She struck out five and gave up five hits and two runs with two walks in five innings. She held the Redbirds hitless for the first two and two-thirds innings, and after giving up two runs in the fourth, bounced back with a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth.

Junior Kelsey Stevens came on in relief and closed out the game over the final two innings. She allowed only one hit and struck out two batters without giving up a run or a walk.