Saturday Softball Recap

Sooners Sweep Doubleheader

The No. 2/2 Oklahoma softball team (1-2) picked up its first win of the season by posting a 10-1, five-inning run-rule victory over Santa Clara (0-5) at the Easton Tournament in Fullerton, Calif., Saturday.

Junior Georgia Casey did a bit of everything as she tied a career high with three hits, drove in four runs, which was one off her career high, and picked up the win in the circle.

After Santa Clara got on the board with a solo home run in the first inning, its lone hit of the game, the Sooners busted the game wide open thanks to a nine-run third inning.

Casey led off the frame with her team-leading third home run of the year, a solo shot pulled down the left field line. It's the first time in her career that the Sydney, Australia native has homered in three consecutive games.

Senior Destinee Martinez followed Casey with a single to center field and moved up to second as junior Lauren Chamberlain was hit by a pitch. Fellow junior Shelby Pendley then cleared the bases with her second-home run of the season, a three-run blast to center field making it 4-1 in favor of OU.

Senior Brittany Williams walked and advanced to third as sophomore Erin Miller's bunt attempt was thrown away by the Santa Clara third baseman. With runners on the corners, sophomore Whitney Ellis put down a squeeze bunt to score Williams and put Oklahoma on top 5-1. On the bunt, Broncos fielders failed to cover third base and second base, enabling Miller and Ellis to both advance into scoring position.

Sophomore Leslie Miller brought both home Erin Miller and moved Ellis to third with an RBI single to left field before being replaced as a pinch runner by junior Jessica Vest. A steal of second put two into scoring position again, while senior Javen Henson followed with another squeeze bunt that allowed Ellis to score thanks to a great slide around a tag.

Henson advanced to second on the play and came home along with Vest on a two-run single from Casey, her second and third runs driven in of the inning to push the OU lead to 9-1.

Oklahoma added an additional run in the fourth when Casey doubled in Leslie Miller, who had walked and taken second on a single by Henson.

Casey's effort at the plate helped her cause in the circle and enabled her to win her first game of the season. She allowed just the one run while striking out three in 3.1 innings of work.

The final 1.2 innings belonged to Leslie Miller, who was perfect in her time in the circle. Neither OU pitcher walked a batter and the pair combined to retire the final 14 Santa Clara batters of the game.

Game 2

The Sooners posted its second run-rule win of the day on Saturday as it took down Loyola Marymount, 11-1, in five innings at the Easton Tournament in Fullerton, Calif.

After a nine-run inning helped OU beat Santa Clara earlier in the day, a seven-run fourth inning gave the Sooners a comfortable win over the Lions. Included in the inning were three bases-loaded walks.

Prior to Oklahoma's outburst, the Sooners put together a highlight play in the top of the fourth as they turned a triple play. With runners on first and second, a sharp grounder was hit to junior Shelby Pendley at third base. She stepped on third for the force, threw to senior Javen Henson at second base for the second out and Henson threw on to junior Lauren Chamberlain at first base to complete the 5-4-3 triple play.

Chamberlain and Pendley each went 2-3 with two runs scored and two RBI.

Sophomore Kelsey Stevens won her first game as a Sooner as she threw a complete game with three strikeouts and one run allowed on five hits.

TU's Creger Sets School Record with 26th Career Shutout as TU Defeats No.18 Louisville 3-0

BOCA RATON, Fla. - A three-run home run by left fielder Erica Sampson was all the offense that the University of Tulsa softball team needed as Aimee Creger set a school-record with her 26th career shutout for a 3-0 win over No. 18 Louisville in the FAU Kick-off Classic on Saturday at FAU Stadium.

Creger (1-0) scattered two hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts for her first shutout of the season. The senior entered the season tied with Jenny Magill, who recorded 25 shutouts from 1999-02. The Yukon, Okla., native has not given up a run in 14.0 innings and has scattered four hits with 14 strikeouts this season.

The game was scoreless for the first two innings, but the Golden Hurricane (3-0) scored the only runs in the game in the bottom of the third. Second baseman Shelby Blanton and shortstop Jill Barrett each reach on base with a walk before Sampson's first home run as a Golden Hurricane. Sampson added another hit to go 2-for-3 at the plate against the Cardinals (2-2).

Barrett's run scored was her 125th of her career, which ties her for fourth most in school history with Katie Torres. The Greenwood, Ark., native went 2-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.

Caralisa Connell (1-1) records the loss after pitching two-plus innings and Katie Keller and Kayla Soles led the Cardinals with one hit each.

The Golden Hurricane finishes the day against host FAU at 7 p.m. before playing Northern Illinois on Sunday at noon.

Cowgirls Drop Two In Baton Rouge

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Oklahoma State softball team dropped two games this evening here at the Tiger Classic. In the first game the Cowgirls fell to Murray State 10-6 and then dropped a battle with No. 17 LSU, 1-0.

In the first game, Murray State got off to an early 4-0 lead, aided by two OSU errors.

In the bottom of the inning, the Cowgirls got a run back when sophomore Tiffany Mikkelson singled to right center, scoring senior Ari Morrison.

Murray State picked up another run in the top of the third inning when Casey Castile scored on a single by Jessica Twaddle. The Racers then scored five more runs in the top of the seventh to make it 10-1.

The Cowgirls continued to battle back. In the bottom of the fifth, OSU picked up two runs when junior Shelby Davis scored on a single by Mikkelson. Mikkelson then scored a few batters later when sophomore Danielle Riddle grounded out to the pitcher to make the score 10-3.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, OSU scored two more runs when Morrison reached on a fielder's choice, scoring junior Gessenia DeLaCruz from third. Two batters later, Mikkelson would walk with the bases loaded, scoring Davis.

The final run for the Cowgirls came in the bottom of the seventh inning when sophomore Shianne Hughes scored on an infield single by Davis. That was all the Cowgirls would score in that inning and would fall by the final score of 10-6.

Offensively, the Cowgirls had nine hits. Davis went 3-for-5 and Mikkelson went 2-for-3. Morrison, Riddle, DeLaCruz and senior Shannon Kaufman all had one hit apiece for OSU.

In the circle, three freshmen took the ball for the Cowgirls. Whitney Whitehorn (0-1) started the game. In two innings, she allowed four runs, all unearned, on one hit. Meagan Lively took the ball next, giving up four runs on five hits in 2.2 innings. Peyton Walker finished out the game in the circle, pitching  2.1 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and collecting her first career strike out.

In game two, LSU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a solo home run by Sandra Simmons. That was all the offense that they needed, and the Tigers took the game 1-0.

Offensively, Morrison had the lone hit for the Cowgirls.

In the circle, senior Simone Freeman (2-1) threw six innings, allowing only one run on three hits. Freeman struck out seven and only walked one.

The Cowgirls (2-2) wrap up play in Baton Rouge tomorrow morning when they take on Minnesota at 11 a.m.