Sooners Host Red River Rival Texas

April 15-16 | Norman | Marita Hynes Field

^RV/RVTexas

^12/9 Oklahoma

.TV | FCSC | ESPN2

NORMAN - No. 12/9 Oklahoma wraps up a four-game homestand when Texas visits Marita Hynes Field this weekend for a three-game series. The series was originally set to take place over three days, but inclement weather has changed the weekend schedule.

Play on Sunday has been cancelled, and instead the teams will play a doubleheader Friday at 3:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday's game is not affected, and it will still start at 2 p.m. as originally scheduled.

Fans with tickets to Sunday's game may use them for game one of Friday's doubleheader. If fans with Sunday tickets are unable to attend Friday's game, they may exchange them for tickets to another home game this season by contacting the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 405-325-2424 or (800) 456-GoOU.

Limited tickets are available for this weekend. Walk-up tickets may not be available Saturday, but tickets can still be purchased ahead of time via the link above.

Television coverage for the weekend has also been changed. Game one of Friday's doubleheader will be now shown online at SoonerSports.tv (paid subscription required), while game two will be carried by Fox College Sports Central. Saturday's game can be seen by a national TV audience on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins and Michele Smith on the call.

It can also be heard on KEBC 1560 in Norman or online via the above link.

Promotions

Friday is Erin Miller Day; the first 250 fans will receive a Miller poster and postgame fireworks will follow the contest.

In addition, Wooden Award winner Buddy Hield is scheduled to throw out the first pitch before game one of Friday's doubleheader.

Autograph books will be handed out to the first 500 fans on Saturday. In addition, the first 250 fans will also get an ice cream sundae as part of Sundae Saturday.

History Against Texas

Oklahoma is a 31-24 all-time against Texas, including a 13-8 mark in Norman. The Sooners have won four in a row against the Longhorns and seven of the past eight meetings.

The four-game win streak is the second-longest winning streak ever for OU over UT. The only longer stretch came in 2000-01 when the Sooners won six in a row. Over the current four-game stretch, Oklahoma has outscored Texas 23-1.

OU has not lost a regular season series to Texas since 2009, going 4-0-1 since (rain cancelled all three games in 2010). The Sooners have not lost a home series to the Longhorns since being swept in a two-game set in 2006.

Oklahoma and Texas have played two common opponents so far: Baylor and BYU. OU went 5-0 against those teams, while Texas was 2-3. The Longhorns lost both games to Baylor and won two of three against the Cougars.

Last Time They Met

Last season, Oklahoma swept Texas in Austin. It was just the second time ever that OU recorded a sweep in Austin in a series of any length and the first time doing so in a three-game set. Like this season, last year was also shortened to three games in two days because of rain.

In game one of a doubleheader, Paige Parker struck out nine and the Sooners pounded out 17 hits in an 8-0 win. Parker retired eight straight batters from the first to third innings, and during the game only one batter reached second base. Tori Nirschl tied a career high with three hits for OU.

Oklahoma completed the doubleheader sweep with a 3-1 win. Texas led 1-0 after four innings, but Lauren Chamberlain hit a game-tying homer in the fifth. Texas had the tying run on in the bottom of the inning, but Parker came on in relief to get a strikeout to keep OU ahead and eventually earned the save.

Kady Self homered twice in the series finale and Parker threw 7.0 shutout innings in relief to help the Sooners complete the sweep with a 4-0 victory. Self hit solo homers in the first and sixth innings, while Erin Miller was 2-3 with an RBI.

In the three-game sweep, Parker did not allow a single run in 16.1 innings in the circle. She struck out 21 batters and allowed just six hits while walking four. She earned two of the three wins and added a save to her stat sheet.

Quick Hits

Through 4/10, among all active pitchers with at least 200 career IP Paige Parker is ninth in career ERA (1.65) and is also 15th in shutouts (17) and 45th in wins (45) ... Erin Miller is 21st among active NCAA players with 11 career triples ... Kelsey Stevens is eighth among active pitchers in career victories (69), 11th in games started (103) and shutouts (19), 15th in K/7 (7.65; min. 400 IP), 16th in appearances (133), 19th in strikeouts (588) and 40th in innings pitched (538.3)

Kelsey Arnold's batting average has been above .333 all season and above .400 since Feb. 20 ... Lea Wodach leads the team with a .485 average in home games ... twelve of Caleigh Clifton's 25 hits this year have gone for extra bases (eight doubles, three triples, one homer)... Sydney Romero has struck out just three times in 142 plate appearances this year ... Shay Knighten has reached base in 14 straight games, the longest active streak on the team ... Brittany Finney has not given up an earned run in any of her four starts (11.2 IP) ... In 20.0 innings, Paige Parker has not given up a first inning run

Every one of Oklahoma's main offensive starters has a batting average of at least .330 ... OU is outscoring teams 85-15 over the first two innings this year ... Sooner pitchers have given up just three home runs in the last 16 games ... the Sooners' No. 9 hitters have a team-high .434 average this year ... OU is hitting .342 or better as a team in every inning this year except for the fourth (.285)

OU Continues Remarkable Run in National Polls

After going 4-0 last week, OU moved two spots from No. 14 to No. 12 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll, and three places from No. 12 to No. 9 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.

Oklahoma is the only program to be ranked every week of the NFCA poll, 315 straight polls.

In addition, OU moved up five places in the latest RPI poll from No. 12 to No. 7. It's the team's highest RPI ranking since being No. 1 in all eight polls during the 2013 season.

Tough Schedule for Sooners in 2016

Fifteen opponents that reached the 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament, including half of the field from the Women's College World Series, highlight Oklahoma's 2016 schedule.

Eight of OU's opponents are ranked in each of the two latest polls and four more are receiving votes. Oklahoma has faced 11 of those 12 opponents so far, going 8-5 (played Baylor three times and Minnesota twice).

Oklahoma's seven losses this year have come to teams that are a combined 161-57-1 (.737). In fact, OU has played the toughest schedule in the country (.644) so far based on opponents' cumulative win percentage (games as of 4/10).

Looking ahead to the remainder of OU's schedule, Sooner opponents have a .551 cumulative winning percentage, which ranks 84th in the country. Combining OU's past opponents with its future foes, OU's opponents have a .619 cumulative win percentage, which ranks eighth in the country.