One would think Oklahoma wouldn’t want to see the non-conference season come to an end.
The Sooners (33-2) have rolled through early-season competition, with only a couple of speed bumps slowing them down.
As they head to Lubbock, Texas today to start Big 12 Conference play, they do so as one of the hottest teams in the country.
No. 3 OU won the championship at one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country last Sunday, the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. To do it they had to beat No. 5 Arizona … twice. In the championship game the Sooners run-ruled the Wildcats, showing just how powerful their offense has been this season.
“We’re really hitting well right now as a team,” first baseman Samantha Ricketts said. “We’ve been working hard with coach (Howard) Dobson and it’s paying off for us.”
Ricketts has led the way at the plate.
She leads all Big 12 hitters with 12 home runs and is tied with Oklahoma State’s Courtney Totte with 50 runs batted in. Nebraska has just 70 RBIs as a team through 28 games.
Ricketts is also on pace to pass Lisa Carey’s OU record for RBIs in a season. Carey drove in 77 runs in 2000, something Ricketts could reach before the end of April.
Ricketts was named the conference and Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week after hitting .471 and racking up a 1.235 slugging percentage in Fullerton.
It’s not just about Ricketts, though.
What makes OU so dangerous is how spread out its offensive success has been.
Norrelle Dickson leads conference hitters with a .454 batting average and 42 runs scored.
Freshman Amber Flores is hitting .348 with five home runs and 29 RBI and sophomore Traci Dickenson has gone yard seven times.
The Sooners are one of just three conference teams hitting over .300 for the season. At .345, they’re 21 points ahead of second-place Baylor. They’ve scored 35 more runs than Missouri, which has played three more games, and they’ve driven in 29 more runs than the Tigers.
“I’m really proud of the way we’re hitting right now,” OU coach Patty Gasso said. “But our players know that going into conference play is a whole different kind of thing. We’ve got to know how to hit whatever kind of pitcher is out there.”
If there’s a knock on the Sooner hitters, it’s consistency.
Both of OU’s losses this season were no-hitters: at Tulsa and against North Carolina State last Saturday in Fullerton.
But, maybe that’s just what the Sooners needed.
“I think maybe we were feeling invincible there when we were winning all those games in a row,” Ricketts said. “I think we needed that, maybe. I mean, you’d rather it didn’t happen, but it was a wake-up call for us. Those two losses taught us a lot. We know we have to be ready for anything, and we need to be able to execute.”
How many more wake-up calls do the Sooners need?
“Hopefully none,” Ricketts said. “Hopefully we’ve learned and now we can just go on from there.”
OU and Texas Tech open conference play with a double-header today at 5 p.m.
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Sooners enter Big 12 play hot at the plate
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