Sooners Set For Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic

Riding a four-game win streak, No. 4/5 Oklahoma (6-2) travels to Palm Springs, Calif., for the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, which regularly features the top teams in the sport. 2017 marks the 12th straight season OU has appeared at the tournament, participating each year since 2006. In that time, OU has gone 38-17 (.691) at the tournament.

The Sooners will face a pair of ranked teams in No. 15/13 Tennessee and No. 6/4 UCLA. Oklahoma is 0-2 against ranked teams this year. The other three games come against members of the ACC. OU has won four in a row against ACC teams, eight of its past nine and 14 of its past 17 dating to 2009.

All of Oklahoma's games this weekend will be played on Wrigley Field at the Big League Dreams Sports Park.

Every game can be heard on KEBC 1560 in Norman or online via a link above. In addition, all games will be streamed via webcast on FloSoftball.com, though a paid subscription is needed to watch.

Facing Louisville

Oklahoma is 5-3 all-time against Louisville, including a 2-1 mark at neutral sites. OU has won four of the past five meetings. The teams last met in March of 2013, splitting a pair of games in Norman. The Sooners have scored at least seven runs in each of their five wins in the series, while in all three losses OU has been held to just one run.

Facing Tennessee

Oklahoma has a short but storied history against Tennessee, leading the series 5-4 all-time and winning five of the past six matchups by a combined score of 34-10.

Prior to last year’s game in Knoxville the previous five meetings all took place in the postseason with OU winning four of those games. Oklahoma swept Tennessee to win the 2013 National Championship, while the teams met the following year in the Super Regionals with Oklahoma prevailing 2-1.

Last season, Oklahoma went to Knoxville for the first time ever and posted a 9-0 win over the Lady Vols. Paige Parker got the shutout as she struck out seven with just one walk and didnt’ let a runner reach second base until the sixth. Nicole Pendley hit a three-run homer, while Sydney Romero and Lea Wodach each drove in two runs.

Facing North Carolina State

Oklahoma is 1-2 all-time against North Carolina State with all three games coming at neutral sites. The Wolfpack won the first two meetings between the schools in 2007 and 2009, but OU won the last matchup in 2013.

OU pitcher Paige Lowary has faced NC State in each of the last two years while pitching at Missouri. In 2015, she started and gave up one run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Last year, she got the start again and struck out four with no walks while giving up one run on one hit in 2.0 innings.

Facing UCLA

Oklahoma trails the all-time series with UCLA, 9-3, including a 6-2 deficit at neutral sites. This season marks the fourth straight meeting between the two schools in Palm Springs with the Bruins sporting a 2-1 record in those games.

Last season, Oklahoma pounded out a season-high 18 hits, including four by Nicole Pendley, three by Kelsey Arnold and two each by Shay Knighten and Sydney Romero in an 11-7 victory. The 18 hits were the second most ever allowed by UCLA, which led 4-0 after the first. OU answered with a six-run second and never gave back the lead.

Oklahoma volunteer assistant coach Andrea Gasso played at UCLA from 2009-12 and was a two-time All-American.

Bruins senior infielder Delaney Spaulding is the younger sister of former Sooner Amber Spaulding (‘04-07), who still ranks second in OU history with 16 career sacrifice hits.

OU sophomore Sydney Romero and UCLA junior Selina Ta’amilo played together at Vista Murrieta HS, while OU freshman Mariah Lopez and UCLA junior Madeline Jelenicki both went to Saugus HS and OU freshman Vanessa Taukeiaho and Spaulding each attended Etiwanda HS.

Facing Notre Dame

Oklahoma is 5-4 all-time against Notre Dame with all nine games coming at neutral sites. Seven of the nine games have been decided by two runs or less and none have been decided by more than four runs. The Fighting Irish have won two of the last three meetings, but the last time the teams met in 2013, OU prevailed 7-5 in nine innings.

Premier Programs, Top Coaches

Some of the top teams in college softball history will meet this weekend as OU faces Tennessee and UCLA. Oklahoma (3) and UCLA (11) join Arizona has the only teams to win more than two national titles, while Tennessee has made seven trips to the Women’s College World Series since 2005 with two appearances in the title game.

Between Patty Gasso, UCLA’s Kelly Inouye-Perez and Tennessee’s co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly, three of the top 12 active leaders in winning percentage will meet this weekend. Among D-1 coaches with at least five years, Gasso (23rd year) ranks seventh at .776, while Inouye-Perez (11th year) is ninth at .756, Ralph Weekly (30th year) is 10th at .753 and Karen Weekly (21st year) is 12th at .749. All-time (at least 10 years), Gasso is ninth in win percentage, while Inouye-Perez is 11th, Ralph Weekly is 13th and Karen is 14th.

Among active coaches, Ralph Weekly ranks fourth with 1,256 career wins, while Gasso is ninth with 1,091. All-time, Weekly is seventh and Gasso is 14th.

Quick Hits

Nicole Pendley leads OU in average (.433), hits (13), home runs (13), RBI (10) and slugging (.733) ... Sydney Romero has a team-high four doubles ... Caleigh Clifton leads the team in walks (7), hit by pitch (4) and on-base percentage (.613) and she’s the only Sooner to reach base in every game this year ... Clifton and Pendley are both hitting .500 at neutral sites this year ... neither Shay Knighten (24 AB) nor Fale Aviu (26 AB) have struck out this year ... Paige Parker has a 22:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the circle

Tough Schedule Awaits Sooners in 2017

Sixteen opponents that reached the 2016 NCAA Softball Tournament, including WCWS participants Auburn and UCLA, highlight Oklahoma’s 2017 schedule.

Seven opponents are currently ranked in at least one poll, including four in the top 10: No. 2/2 (NFCA/USA) Auburn, No. 6/4 UCLA, No. 8/7 Washington, No. 9/9 Arizona, No. 15/13 Tennessee, No. 24/25 Baylor and No. 23/RV BYU. Arkansas, Louisville, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss and Texas are all receiving votes in at least one of the polls.

Oklahoma’s two losses this year were against No. 2 Auburn and No. 13 Washington, and each loss was by one run.

OU Continues Remarkable Run in National Polls

After going 4-0 last week, OU stayed at No. 4 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll and rose one spots to No. 4 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.

Oklahoma is the only program to be ranked every week of the NFCA poll, 324 straight polls.