Sooners Top Northern Iowa, 4-1
NORMAN, Okla. – The 12th-ranked University of Oklahoma softball team defeated the University of Northern Iowa 4-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Oklahoma Spring Festival. The Sooners moved to 18-3 on the season, while the Panthers fell to 10-8. Oklahoma is now 5-2 against Northern Iowa.
Freshman pitcher Keilani Ricketts earned her 12th victory of the season and picked up her ninth complete game of the year. Ricketts struck out a season-high 13 batters and gave up only one run on four hits.
The Sooners got on the board early in the first inning when junior right fielder Haley Nix hit a leadoff home run to deep right field. The home run was the Sooners’ ninth leadoff long ball of the season and Nix’s seventh. Junior Chana’e Jones and senior Amber Flores both walked in consecutive at-bats. Freshman Jessica Shults then drove in both Jones and Flores on a two double to put OU up 3-0.
Nix led off the second inning with her second hit, reaching base on an infield single. Flores advanced to first on a hit-by-pitch. Shults then drove in her third run of the game on an single to make it 4-0.
In the top of the fifth, Northern Iowa got on the scoreboard with a home run by sophomore outfielder Alison Galvin.
The Sooners were led by their big bat Shults who finished the game going 2-for-4 with three . Flores and Nix each finished the game with two hits.
Updated 03-14-2010
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