First Place at Stake as OU Hosts Baylor

No. 5/5 Oklahoma (36-5, 9-0 Big 12) vs. No. 17/14 Baylor (30-9, 5-1 Big 12)
Thursday	8 p.m. CT on ESPN2
Friday	6:30 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Southwest
Saturday	12 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Network
Location	Norman \| Marita Hynes Field
Radio	1560 AM
Live Stats	Links Available at Game Time
Game Info	Tickets \| Game Notes \| Media Guide \| Twitter

Winners of 12 straight, No. 5/5 Oklahoma welcomes No. 17/14 Baylor to Norman for a three-game series. First place in the Big 12 is at stake as the 9-0 Sooners hold a 2.5 game lead over the 5-1 Lady Bears.

Two of the games will be nationally televised as Thursday's contest will be on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins and Michele Smith on the call, while Saturday's game on FSN features Dave Barnett and Tracy Warren. All three games can be heard on 1560 AM in Norman/OKC.

SERIES HISTORY
Oklahoma has a 48-11 all-time advantage over Baylor, including a 19-5 record in Norman. The Sooners have won five of the past six meetings overall and the last three games at Marita Hynes Field.

OU's 48 wins against Baylor are its fifth most against another program in its history.

Opponent	Wins	Losses	Pct.
Oklahoma State	79	70	.530
Iowa State	71	28	.717
Kansas	56	42	.571
Missouri	51	41	.554
Baylor	48	11	.814

Among opponents it's faced at least 30 times in history, OU's winning percentage of .814 against BU is the third highest.

Opponent	Pct.	Win-Loss	Streak
Texas Tech	.868	46-7	Won 10
Wichita State	.863	44-7	Won 31
Baylor	.814	48-11	Lost 1
Tulsa	.792	38-10	Won 4
Iowa State	.717	71-28	Won 24

OU took two of three games in Waco last season to grab control in the Big 12 race. Leslie Miller had a two-run homer in a 3-2 win in game one. In front of a Getterman Stadium record crowd of 1,835 fans and an ESPN television audience, Kelsey Stevens fired a one-hitter in a 2-0 win in game two of the series. Oklahoma's 14-game winning streak then ended when Baylor won the series finale, 8-6. Whitney Ellis had three RBI, including a two-run triple, in the loss.

PROMOTIONS
Thursday: First 400 fans receive a water bottle

Friday: One student will win a pair of Beats by Dre; postgame fireworks

Saturday: First 250 fans receive a Shelby Pendley poster; students can enter to win urBeats by Dre, a $50 Visa gift card and an autographed men's basketball

Check out all the promotions we have planned this week! Students, watch us #BeatBaylor & enter to win some Beats! pic.twitter.com/3LD6ITVsBy
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) April 15, 2015

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.

BEST BIG 12 STARTS
Now 9-0 in the Big 12, Oklahoma has tied the best start to league play in program history. No OU team has ever started 10-0.

Year	Start	Finish	Place	Postseason
2000	9-0	17-1	1st	NCAA Champions
2002	9-0	14-2	2nd	NCAA Super Regional
2015	9-0	N/A	N/A	N/A

SOONERS SWEEP LONGHORNS IN AUSTIN
For just the second time in history, OU swept a series of Texas in Austin (2000). In game one, Paige Parker struck out nine and the Sooners pounded out 17 hits as Oklahoma took game one of a doubleheader, 8-0. Lauren Chamberlain's 89th career home run then sparked OU to a 3-1 win and doubleheader sweep of Texas. Her homer came in the fifth with OU trailing 1-0, and the Sooners ended up scoring twice in the inning. In the series finale, Kady Self homered twice and Parker threw a seven-inning shutout in relief in a 4-0 win.

PARKER, PENDLEY WIN NATIONAL, BIG 12 HONORS
Coming off a dominant outing of Texas in Austin, freshman Paige Parker has been named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week, the NFCA National Pitcher of the Week and the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. In addition, senior Shelby Pendley was chosen as the Big 12 Player of the Week.

Parker carried No. 5/5 Oklahoma (36-5, 9-0 Big 12) to a three-game sweep at Texas last weekend, dominating the Longhorns in the circle. Parker went 2-0 with a save and struck out 21 batters without giving up a run. She allowed just four walks and six hits in 16.1 innings of work to improve her season record to 18-3 on the year.

Parker joins former Sooner Keilani Ricketts (2010) as the only freshmen in program history to be named a National Player of the Week. In addition, with five Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors this season, Parker now trails only Texas' Cat Osterman (7) for the most awards in one season for a freshman.

For the second straight week, Pendley hit four home runs as she continued her ascent up the all-time home run list. She also led the Sooners, winners of 12 straight, in average, runs, hits and doubles. It's the second Big 12 Player of the Week award for Pendley this season and the sixth of her career, which ties her with former Sooner Amber Flores for the third-most in Big 12 history.

SHELBY PENDLEY ENJOYS REMARKABLE HOT STREAK
By her standards, Shelby Pendley started the 2015 season slowly. But in the past 21 games she has enjoyed a streak few can match.

Stat	First 16 Games	Last 21 Games
AVG/OBP/SLG	.289/.459/.556	.538/.634/1.446
Hits-AB	13-45	35-65
Runs	13	35
2B/3B/HR	3/0/3	5/0/18
RBI	15	38
Total Bases	25	94
Walks/Strikeouts	13/6	15/5

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.

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 4/13/15)

Team	Win Pct.	Wins	Losses	Ties
Oklahoma	.861	198	32	0
Florida	.841	201	38	0
Louisiana-Lafayette	.833	181	36	1
Oregon	.811	186	43	1
Alabama	.808	189	45	0

Most Wins Since 2012 (Through 4/13/15)

Team	Wins	Losses	Ties	Win Pct.
Florida	201	38	0	.841
Oklahoma	198	32	0	.861
Alabama	189	45	0	.808
Oregon	186	43	1	.811
Louisiana-Lafayette	181	36	1	.833

IN THE POLLS
Oklahoma was No. 5 in the NFCA and USA Softball polls for the second straight week. OU has been ranked sixth or better in each of the polls for the last 12 weeks. The Sooners also climbed in the RPI to No. 17.

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 -- 300 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.

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 4/12).

Player	Team	Fr.	So.	Jr.	Sr.	Total
Lauren Chamberlain	Oklahoma	30	30	12	17	89
Shelby Pendley	Oklahoma	19	22	19	21	81
Megan Baltzell	Longwood	9	30	10	19	68
Shellie Robinson	USC Upstate	17	12	18	19	66
Lauren Haeger	Arizona	14	18	20	13	65

Chamberlain and Pendley have also combined for more career HR than any other teammates in the nation (through 4/12).

Player (Total)	Player (Total)	Team	Total
Lauren Chamberlain (89)	Shelby Pendley (81)	Oklahoma	170
Kory Hayden (59)	Morgan Noad (46)	Coastal Carolina	105
Chelsea Goodacre (64)	Kellie Fox (40)	Arizona	104
Amber Freeman (52)	Haley Steele (45)	Arizona State	97
Alex Hugo (55)	Anna Swafford (39)	Georgia	94
Stephany LaRosa (54)	Ally Carda (40)	UCLA	94

Chamberlain and Pendley also rank 1-2 among active players in career total bases (Pendley, 546; Chamberlain, 545) and career RBI (Pendley, 257; Chamberlain, 240).

THEN VS. NOW
Comparing offensive stats, through 41 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	36-5	38-3
At Bats	1059	1039
Batting Average	.380	.328
Slugging Pct.	.705	.578
OBP	.489	.459
Runs Scored	378	301
Hits	402	341
Doubles	66	62
Triples	12	0
Home Runs	85	66
Walks	215	239
Strikeouts	136	195

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.

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.

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 6-19 (.316) with three runs scored, a double, two home runs, 13 runs batted in, two walks and three strikeouts in six games. She is slugging .684 and has a .409 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.

First Place at Stake as OU Hosts Baylor

Players Mentioned

Georgia Casey

Lauren Chamberlain

Leslie Miller

Paige Parker

Callie Parsons

Shelby Pendley

Kady Self

Kelsey Stevens

Jessica Vest

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics

First Place at Stake as OU Hosts Baylor

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Players Mentioned

Georgia Casey

Lauren Chamberlain

Leslie Miller

Paige Parker

Callie Parsons

Shelby Pendley

Kady Self

Kelsey Stevens

Jessica Vest

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