Sooners Get First Big 12 Win With Four Home Runs

Jessica Shults hit two long balls and Dani Dobbs hit the eventual game winner in the sixth inning.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:18 pm

By: News On 6

Sooners Get First Big 12 Win With Four Home Runs

Originally Published: Mar 27, 2011 2:56 PM CDT

Corey DeMoss
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Okla. – The Oklahoma softball team scored all of its runs thanks to the long ball and beat Nebraska 6-3 Sunday to avoid losing its third consecutive game.

The Sooners (27-9, 1-1) led 2-1 going into the sixth, but had one big inning that turned out to result in the game’s winning runs. OU batted around in the inning and Jessica Shults started the scoring with a solo home run, her second of the game.

After the next two batters reached base, Dani Dobbs drove them home with a three-run homer. That was OU’s fourth home run of the game, and the only one that wasn’t a solo shot. It gave the Sooners a 6-1 lead and provided important insurance runs.

The Cornhuskers (27-4, 1-1) plated two runs in the top of the seventh on RBIs by Heidi Foland and Taylor Edwards. That cut the lead to three, but the ‘Huskers could not fully eliminate the deficit.

Keilani Ricketts earned the win for OU after throwing a complete game and giving up two earned runs on five hits. She faced a total of 32 batters, and struck out 15 of them. Ashley Hagerman was credited with the loss after giving up five runs on six hits in only three innings of work.

The OU offense had been shut down in its last two games, which the Sooners lost by a combined score of 5-1. The win marked OU’s first in conference play, and it will play its second-to-last non-conference game at 5 p.m. Tuesday against Central Arkansas.