OU Renews Red River Rivalry with Texas

No. 5/5 Oklahoma (33-5, 6-0 Big 12) at RV/RV Texas (27-9, 3-0 Big 12)
Friday (DH)	4 p.m. and 6 p.m. CT
Saturday	1:00 p.m. CT
Location	Austin, Texas \| Red & Charline McCombs Field
TV	Longhorn Network
Radio	1560 AM
Live Stats	Links Available at Game Time
Game Info	Tickets \| Game Notes \| Media Guide \| Twitter

*SCHEDULE UPDATE*

Due to weather concerns, Oklahoma and Texas will now play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 4 p.m. The first game of Friday's doubleheader will air live on Longhorn Network, but the second game will be tape-delayed until midnight. The series finale is then planned for 1 p.m. on Saturday, but should rain prevent the game from being played, the series finale will be Sunday at noon.

After a one-game hiatus, No. 5/5 Oklahoma returns to Big 12 play this weekend with a three-game series at Texas. First place is on the line as the Sooners and the Longhorns are the only unbeaten teams remaining in the conference. All three games will be shown on the Longhorn Network and can be heard on 1560 AM in Norman and Oklahoma City.

FIRST PLACE ON THE LINE AGAIN BETWEEN OU-TEXAS
This weekend marks the fourth straight season that OU and Texas have faced each other ranked first and second in the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma has won each of the last three series and has gone on to win the Big 12 title the last three years.

Year	1st Place	2nd Place	Series	Final Standings
2015	OU (6-0)	UT (3-0)	N/A	N/A
2014	OU (9-1)	UT (6-1)	OU, 2-1	OU 1st, UT 3rd
2013	UT (8-0)	OU (6-0)	OU, 2-1	OU 1st, UT 2nd
2012	OU (14-4)	UT (14-6)	OU, 2-1	OU 1st, UT 3rd

SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma and Texas have met 52 times entering the weekend, with the Sooners owning a 28-24 advantage in the series. In Austin, however, Texas has won nine of the 17 meetings.

OU has won four of the past five games against UT, including two of three last year in Norman. In the series opener, a pair of home runs in the fifth inning aided Kelsey Stevens'
outstanding effort in the circle as Oklahoma took the first game, 4-1. Stevens struck out seven and retired 12 straight at one point, while Georgia Casey broke a 1-1 tie in the fifth with a two-run homer.

Texas evened up the series with a 9-0, six-inning win in game two. It was the first time OU had been run-ruled since March of 2009 and snapped a streak of 85 straight run-rule wins for OU.

The Sooners were able to capture the series, though, in game three with a run-rule win of their own. In an 8-0, five-inning win, Kady Self hit a two-run double and Whitney Ellis and Paris Townsend hit back-to-back home runs, while Stevens struck out seven in a three-hit shutout.

CHAMBERLAIN MARCHING TOWARD HR RECORD
With 88 career home runs, senior Lauren Chamberlain is just two home runs away from tying the all-time home run record of 90 and three away from breaking it. She is currently second all-time.

HR	Player, School	Years
90	Stacey Nuveman, UCLA	'97, '99, '01-02
88	Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma	'12-Pres.

CASEY STRONG IN RETURN FROM THUMB INJURY
Senior infielder Georgia Casey has been hot at the plate since her return to the lineup following a tear in her ulnar collateral ligament in her left thumb during a tag play at second base in the season opener.

After going 0-3 in her return against Iowa State on April 3, Casey is 5-8 (.625) with three runs scored, two home runs, 11 runs batted in, one walk and no strikeouts in three games. She is slugging 1.375 and has a .667 on-base percentage.

Casey had surgery on Feb. 12, one week after the injury occurred. She missed 15 games before returning on Feb. 28 as a pinch-runner in game two of a doubleheader against IPFW. In total, she missed 33 games in the starting lineup.

SHELBY PENDLEY ENJOYS REMARKABLE HOT STREAK
By her standards, Shelby Pendley started the 2015 season slowly. But in the past 18 games she has enjoyed a streak few can match.

Stat	First 16 Games	Last 18 Games
AVG/OBP/SLG	.289/.459/.556	.509/.609/1.455
Hits-AB	13-45	28-55
Runs	13	31
2B/3B/HR	3/0/3	4/0/16
RBI	15	34
Total Bases	25	80
Walks/Strikeouts	13/6	13/4

Pendley missed four games March 7-8, but made an immediate impact upon her return. Over her first six games upon return, the NFCA National Player of the Week reached safely in 20 of 24 trips to the plate for a .833 on-base percentage by going 15-19 (.789) with five walks. Of her 15 hits, eight were homers and three were doubles for a 2.211 slugging percentage.

March 14 vs. Iowa: 3-4, 3 runs, 2B, HR, RBI, BB
March 14 vs. ECU: 3-3, 3 runs, 3 HR (tied school record), 5 RBI
March 15 vs. ECU: 3-5, 3 runs, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
March 15 vs. Iowa: 1-1, run, HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB
March 16 vs. Iowa: 2-2, run, HR, 2 RBI,
March 17 at Wichita St.: 3-4, 2 runs, 2B, 2 RBI

Pendley set a school record by homering in five straight games. In fact, only eight other players in NCAA Division I history have had a home run streak reach five games.

CHAMBERLAIN, PENDLEY UP FOR USA SOFTBALL P.O.Y.
Seniors Lauren Chamberlain and Shelby Pendley have been named two of 26 finalists for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. Oklahoma was one of seven schools to have multiple players on the list, joining Arizona, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oregon and UCLA.

Just prior to the start of postseason play, on May 6 the list will be narrowed to the Top 10 Finalists. The Top 3 Finalists will be announced May 20, while the winner of the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 26 prior to the start of the WCWS in Oklahoma City.

The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women's collegiate softball and recognizes the outstanding athletic achievement by female players across the country.

PENDLEY ONE OF 10 FINALISTS FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Shelby Pendley has been chosen as one of 10 finalists for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

The finalists were chosen by national media from the list of 30 candidates announced in March. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fan votes will be combined with those of the media and Division I head coaches to determine the winners. The Senior CLASS Award recipient for softball will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Women's College World Series, which runs May 28 through June 3 in Oklahoma City. Fans can begin voting now through May 11 on SeniorCLASSAward.com.

A CLASS OF THEIR OWN
The 2015 campaign marks the final seasons for Oklahoma seniors Georgia Casey, Lauren Chamberlain, Callie Parsons, Shelby Pendley and Jessica Vest. Since stepping on campus three years ago (Pendley transferred to OU in 2013), no team has a better win percentage than the OU seniors and only Florida, which has played nine more games, has more wins.

Best Winning Percentage Since 2012 (through 4/8/15)

Team	Win Pct.	Wins	Losses	Ties
Oklahoma	.859	195	32	0
Florida	.839	198	38	0
Louisiana-Lafayette	.831	179	36	1
Oregon	.808	183	43	1
Alabama	.808	189	45	0

Most Wins Since 2012 (Through 4/8/15)

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win Pct.
Florida	198	38	0	.839
Oklahoma	195	32	0	.859
Alabama	189	45	0	.808
Oregon	183	43	1	.808
Louisiana-Lafayette	179	36	1	.831
Florida State	179	54	0	.768
Tennessee	179	47	0	.792

CHAMBERLAIN, PENDLEY DUBBED 'RUTH AND GEHRIG'
In a Feb. 2 article on ESPNW.com, writer Graham Hays referred to OU's Lauren Chamberlain and Shelby Pendley as the Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig of college softball.

“In Chamberlain and Pendley, Oklahoma has the closest combination college softball might see to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig,” Hays wrote. “One is the face and voice of a sport, the other the quiet embodiment of excellence. Good luck stopping them.”

Chamberlain and Pendley rank first and second nationally among active players in career home runs (through 4/8).

Player	Team	Fr.	So.	Jr.	Sr.	Total
Lauren Chamberlain	Oklahoma	30	30	12	16	88
Shelby Pendley	Oklahoma	19	22	19	19	79
Megan Baltzell	Longwood	9	30	10	17	66
Shellie Robinson	USC Upstate	17	12	18	17	64
Lauren Haeger	Arizona	14	18	20	12	64

Chamberlain and Pendley have also combined for more career HR than any other teammates in the nation (through 4/8).

Player (Total)	Player (Total)	Team	Total
Lauren Chamberlain (88)	Shelby Pendley (77)	Oklahoma	165
Chelsea Goodacre (63)	Kellie Fox (38)	Arizona	101
Kory Hayden (58)	Morgan Noad (43)	Coastal Carolina	101
Amber Freeman (51)	Haley Steele (42)	Arizona State	93
Alex Hugo (55)	Anna Swafford (38)	Georgia	93

Chamberlain and Pendley also rank 1-2 among active players in career total bases (Chamberlain, 534; Pendley, 532) and career RBI (Pendley, 253; Chamberlain, 238).

THEN VS. NOW
Comparing offensive stats, through 38 games, between the 2015 team and the 2013 squad that won the national title and led the nation in both scoring and slugging percentage.

Stat	2015	2013
Record	33-5	36-2
At Bats	970	954
Batting Average	.385	.330
Slugging Pct.	.718	.586
OBP	.493	.462
Runs Scored	363	280
Hits	373	315
Doubles	61	58
Triples	11	0
Home Runs	80	62
Walks	198	222
Strikeouts	114	172

IN THE POLLS
After six weeks at No. 6, Oklahoma climbed one spot to No. 5 in the NFCA and also remained No. 5 in the USA Softball poll. OU has been ranked sixth or better in each of the polls for the last 11 weeks. The Sooners also climbed in the RPI to No. 18.

Oklahoma is the only program to be ranked every week of the NFCA poll. The Sooners entered the rankings at No. 18 in the first poll on January 24, 1995. They have not dropped out since -- 299 straight polls. Likewise, the Sooners have been ranked every week of the USA Softball poll, dating back to the 2003 season when they opened at No. 11.

SWEEP OF IOWA STATE PUTS OU AT 6-0 IN BIG 12 PLAY
Oklahoma swept Iowa State to improve to 6-0 in the Big 12. OU has won 24 straight games in the series dating back to 2006, which is the third-longest active winning streak for the Sooners against another team. In fact, Oklahoma hasn't allowed Iowa State to score more than two runs in any of the last 18 contests.

After a 4-2 win in the opener, the Sooners used a pair of four-run innings to win 8-2 to clinch the series win. In the series finale, Shelby Pendley homered twice and OU scored 10 runs in the fourth inning en route to a 16-1, five-inning win.

CHAMBERLAIN, PENDLEY GO 1-2 IN NPF DRAFT
Lauren Chamberlain and Shelby Pendley made history on April 1 as they became the first teammates in the history of the National Pro Fastpitch draft to be taken with the first two picks.
Oklahoma has now had 20 players drafted to the NPF league.

The USSSA Pride selected Chamberlain with the No. 1 overall pick, making her the first player in Oklahoma history to be taken first in the draft. Previously, DJ Mathis was the highest Sooner chosen when the Akron Racers took her second overall in 2009. The Pride wasn't done yet, though, with Oklahoma as they chose Pendley with the second pick.

OU Renews Red River Rivalry with Texas

Players Mentioned

Georgia Casey

Lauren Chamberlain

Callie Parsons

Shelby Pendley

Kady Self

Kelsey Stevens

Paris Townsend

Jessica Vest

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University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Renews Red River Rivalry with Texas

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Players Mentioned

Georgia Casey

Lauren Chamberlain

Callie Parsons

Shelby Pendley

Kady Self

Kelsey Stevens

Paris Townsend

Jessica Vest

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