Tennessee Classic Up Next for OU Softball

Tennessee Classic
April 23-24 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Sherri Parker Lee Stadium

UT | RU | LU

KEBC 1560

Notes

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Weekend Schedule
Day	Home Team	Visiting Team	Time (CT)
Saturday	Tennessee	Oklahoma	1 p.m.
	Radford	Oklahoma	3:30 p.m.
	Lipscomb	Radford	6 p.m.
Sunday	Oklahoma	Lipscomb	11 a.m.
	Tennessee	Lipscomb	1:30 p.m.

On the Air
TV	Saturday vs. Tennessee \| ESPN
Radio	1560 AM \| Chris Plank

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Winners of 10 straight, No. 9/9 Oklahoma continues its eight-game trip away from Norman by traveling to Knoxville, Tenn., for the Tennessee Classic this weekend.

OU was originally scheduled to finish the tournament Sunday against ULM, but the Warhawks have pulled out of the event. In their place, Radford has been added to the schedule.

Traditionally a team that goes west for non-conference tournaments, this is the farthest east geographically Oklahoma has played a game since the 2010 Regionals in College Park, Md.

Saturday's game at Tennessee can be seen on ESPN with Pam Ward and Cheri Kempf on the call. No video is available for the other games. Fans can listen to all three games on KEBC 1560 in Norman or online via link on SoonerSports.com.

Facing Tennessee

Oklahoma has a short but storied history against Tennessee. The series is split 4-4 all-time between the teams with each team going 2-2 in Norman and at neutral sites. Remarkably, this is the first time ever the Sooners will play in Knoxville.

The last five contests between the schools have all come in the postseason with OU winning four of those five games, outscoring the Lady Vols 25-10 along the way.

Most notably for Oklahoma, it swept Tennessee in a best-of-three series for the 2013 National Championship. Game one was won on a walk-off, two-run homer by Lauren Chamberlain after the Sooners rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the 11th inning when they were down to their final strike. In game two, Michelle Gascoigne struck out 12 in a three-hit shutout while Keilani Ricketts drove in all the runs in 4-0 victory as Oklahoma claimed its second national championship.

The teams met again the very next year in the 2014 Super Regionals with Oklahoma winning the three-game series 2-1.

In game one, Kelsey Stevens struck out 11 while Chamberlain was 3-4 with two RBI in an 8-1 win. Tennessee fought back to win game two with a 4-0 victory, forcing a decisive game three. Oklahoma claimed the series in game three with an 8-2 victory behind five home runs.

The Sooners and Lady Vols have played seven common opponents so far in Creighton, BYU, Fresno State, Oklahoma State, DePaul and Arkansas. The Sooners were a perfect 7-0 against those teams, while Tennessee went 7-1 with the lone loss coming to Fresno State.

Facing Radford

Oklahoma and Radford will meet for the first time ever Saturday. OU is 2-1 all-time against teams from the Big South Conference, going 1-1 against Winthrop in 1990 and 1993 and posting an 18-3, five-inning victory over Liberty in 2014.

Facing Lipscomb

Oklahoma is 2-0 all-time against Lipscomb with both games taking place in Norman during the 2005 season. OU won 11-1 on Feb. 18 and then defeated the Lady Bisons 8-0 on Feb. 20.

Lipscomb has one Oklahoman on its roster in sophomore Riley Brown, who is from Bethany and attended Bethany HS.

OU Continues Remarkable Run in National Polls

After going 4-0 last week, OU moved three spots to No. 9 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll, and matched its highest ranking of the year. OU stayed at 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, 316 straight polls.

OU has moved up four places in the latest RPI poll from No. 7 to No. 3. It's the team's highest RPI ranking since being No. 1 in all eight polls during the 2013 season.

Quick Hits

OU's 10-game winning streak is its longest this season and its longest since a 12-game streak from March 22 to April 11, 2015 ... every one of Oklahoma's main offensive starters has a batting average of at least .322 ... OU is outscoring teams 89-15 over the first two innings this year ... Sooner pitchers have given up just five home runs in the last 20 games ... the Sooners' No. 9 hitters have a team-high .422 average this year ... OU is hitting .337 or better as a team in every inning this year except for the fourth (.297)

Kelsey Arnold's batting average has been above .333 all season and above .400 since Feb. 20 ... she also leads the team with a .418 average in non-conference games ... Fale Aviu leads the team with a .476 average in road games ... since becoming the team's first baseman on April 1, Shay Knighten is hitting .444 (16-36) ...Caleigh Clifton has reached base in 16 straight games, the longest active streak on the team ... twelve of her 28 hits this year have gone for extra bases (eight doubles, three triples, one homer) ... in 22.0 innings this year, Paige Parker has not given up a first inning run ... Erin Miller is on a 10-game hit streak, matching the longest of her career set last season from Feb. 6-19 ... she has also recorded a hit, walk and run scored in each of the last five games ... her .467 average in neutral site games is tied with Arnold for best on the team

Through 4/17, among all active pitchers with at least 200 career IP Paige Parker is ninth in career ERA (1.73) and is also 15th in shutouts (17) and 43rd in wins (48) ... Erin Miller is 22nd among active NCAA players with 11 career triples ... Kelsey Stevens is eighth among active pitchers in career victories (69), 10th in games started (106), 12th in shutouts (19), 15th in K/7 (7.64; min. 400 IP) and appearances (136), 19th in strikeouts (598) and 40th in innings pitched (547.7) ... among all active players with at least 100 at-bats, Shay Knighten is 24th in slugging (.738) and 27th in batting average (.411)

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 11-5 (played Baylor and Texas three times and Minnesota twice).

Oklahoma's seven losses this year have come to teams that are a combined 178-62-1 (.741). In fact, OU has played the second toughest schedule in the country (.643) so far based on opponents' cumulative win percentage (games as of 4/17).

Looking ahead to the remainder of OU's schedule, Sooner opponents have a .522 cumulative winning percentage, which ranks 117th 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.

Youth Movement Coming Through for OU

Of the 18 student-athletes on OU's roster, 12 are underclassmen (8 freshmen, 4 sophomores). They make up the bulk of the productivity at the plate and in the circle.

Offensively, they account for:
Runs: 205-289 (70.9 %) | Hits: 287-416 (69.0%) | 2B: 47-71 (66.2%)
3B: 7-10 (70.0%) | HR: 32-48 (66.7%) | RBI: 174-265 (65.7%)
BB: 94-133 (70.7%) | SB: 44-57 (77.2%)

While in the circle, they account for:
Wins: 28-35 (80.0%) | Starts: 27-42 (64.3%) | CG: 17-19 (89.5%)
IP: 209.2-275.0 (76.2 %) | Strikeouts: 213-285 (74.7%)