Sooners Snatch Two Wins Early at Troy Cox Classic

Oklahoma’s starting the Troy Cox Classic in winning fashion, beating both Southern Utah and New Mexico State in day one of play.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:12 pm

By: News On 6

Sooners Snatch Two Wins Early at Troy Cox Classic

Originally Published: Feb 18, 2011 8:29 PM CDT

Stephany Speck
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- The Oklahoma Sooners (7-1) continue to rack up the wins early on this season, opening the Troy Cox Classic with an 8-3 victory over Southern Utah and following it with a 7-4 win over New Mexico State.

Sophomore Michelle Gascoigne, who threw a perfect game against Appalachian State, again held her own Friday, holding the Southern Utah Thunderbirds scoreless four innings. During the first four innings, the Sooners put up two runs. It wasn’t until the top of the fifth inning until the Thunderbirds got on the board with three runs, but the Sooners answered back in the bottom of the same inning with two runs of their own, bringing the score to 4-3.

Keilani Ricketts replaced Gascoigne in the circle, striking out five of the six batters she faced. An additional four runs in the bottom of the sixth sealed the Thunderbirds’ fate 8-3.

The Sooners kept the wins coming in game two, when they beat the New Mexico State Aggies, 7-4. Ricketts pitched six innings, holding the Aggies scoreless for the first five innings. Meanwhile, the Sooners got on the board in both the second and the third innings, including a homer by freshman Brittany Williams to bring the score to 2-0. An additional three runs in the top of the sixth added some padding to the Sooners 4-0 lead, which was threatened in the bottom of the inning when Ricketts had the bases loaded and walked Kylie Randall, allowing the Aggies to get on the board. New Mexico State’s Kandis Jones hit a single to hit home Tahani Kaaihue, bringing the score to 5-2. The Sooners responded with adding two homers by Williams and Ricketts each in the top of the seventh. New Mexico State wouldn’t give up though, carrying the momentum of the sixth inning into the final inning.

The Aggies put up two more runs, but it wasn’t enough to catch the Sooners, who got the 7-4 win.

Ricketts threw seven innings, giving up six hits while striking out 15 batters. New Mexico State’s Celisha Walker finished with the loss after pitching seven innings, allowing 13 hits, including three homers.

Oklahoma will face Sam Houston State Saturday at 11 a.m. and Louisiana-Monroe at 5:30 p.m.