For the past few years, Kansas has been a thorn in Oklahoma’s side.
The Jayhawks have become the arch enemies, the Lex Luthor, the Joker to the Sooners’ hopes of Big 12 conference titles.
In 2005, Kansas swept OU during the regular season. The next year, the Jayhawks beat the Sooners in the Big 12 tournament championship game. Last year, a split at Kansas in the final weekend of conference play kept OU from winning the Big 12 regular-season title.
The Sooners got a little revenge the next week, when they beat the Jayhawks in the first round of the conference tournament before moving on to win the championship.
But OU players figure they’ve still got a little vengeance to dole out to Kansas when the Jayhawks visit Marita Hynes Field tonight at 7 p.m. for the start of Big 12 play.
“It’s been Kansas the last three or four years, that’s what it’s come down to,” Sooner first baseman Samantha Ricketts said with a laugh. “We’re excited to have them first this year so they can’t ruin it for us at the end. But then we’re just excited to start the Big 12.”
“They kept us from winning the Big 12 tournament my freshman year, kept us from the regular season title last year,” pitcher D.J. Mathis said. “We’re kind of out for revenge for the past few years.”
The Big 12 is a tough conference, and if the Sooners (25-8) want to compete for a regular-season title this year, they need to play better than they have lately.
Wednesday night’s 3-2 loss at home to Missouri State has left a bad taste in their mouths, and they’re anxious to prove they’re still as potent an Oklahoma team as in years past.
“Big 12 play is a fresh start,” Ricketts said. “The whole preseason, we’ve gone through everything. We’re definitely looking to be more consistent, that’s something we’ve been working toward. There’s just a lot of stuff we’ve been working on fixing. Once we see it all come together, you’ll see a consistent, good team. Right now, we’re not.”
The Jayhawks (23-6) come into the series as one of the conference’s up-and-coming teams. They’re riding a five-game winning streak and boast the current national player of the week, Val Chapple, who has six home runs, 21 RBIs and four stolen bases.
She leads a Jayhawk lineup that has a .270 team average.
“No matter, really, who we’re playing in the Big 12, they’re going to be tough up and down the lineup,” Mathis said. “Kansas is no exception.
“In the Big 12, I expect myself to be at my best.”
The Jayhawks also have one of the best pitching staffs in the conference. They own a 1.60 team earned run average and are led by ace Valerie George, who’s 11-1 with a 0.69 ERA.
And Kansas isn’t even one of the top teams in the league, according to the polls. OU still has to contend with Texas A&M;, Baylor and Missouri, not to mention Red River rival Texas.
That’s why it’s even more important for the Sooners to get off to a quick start in conference play this weekend.
“I think we have one of the best conferences in the country,” Mathis said. “Everyone wants to talk about the Pac 10, but you see a lot of good teams in the Big 12 beating the Pac 10 teams and being ranked above them. That says a lot about our conference.”
Jeff Johncox
366-3535
jjohncox@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
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