Tulsa
Oklahoma
Lawrence No-Nos No.5 Oklahoma
3/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 7, 2007
Tulsa, Okla. - The University of Tulsa got a huge shot of momentum in the arm Wednesday night as the Golden Hurricane softball team defeated No. 5 Oklahoma, 2-0 at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex on the TU campus. Freshman pitcher Jackie Lawrence struck out five Sooners and allowed only three base runners while not allowing any hits for her sixth victory of the season.
The Hurricane struck first with a hit in the bottom of the first by Stephanie Chomicki, however the Hurricane could not advance the runner. The same thing happened in the second inning as freshman Vanessa Vice led off the TU half with a single, but could not advance.
Fellow freshman Ashlee Lubniewski led off the third inning with a blast to left center field to break open a scoreless game. With the score still 1-0, Lubniewski again stepped to the plate, this time with two outs. She again sounded the siren with a cloud-touching homer to center field, giving TU a 2-0 lead.
Lawrence continued to keep the Sooners at bay from the circle, as the rookie recorded 14 straight outs to start the game. With two strikes and two outs, Lawrence hit Susan Ogden in the ankle with a pitch to break up the perfect game. After a four-pitch walk to Lindsay Vandever, things appeared to get worse for Lawrence when Savannah Long leaned into a pitch and was awarded first base. However, with the bases loaded, Lawrence forced a routine ground ball to senior Angela Osbon for the final out of the inning. Those were the only three base runners the Sooners would have on the evening.
The win was the highest ranked team Tulsa has defeated in the history of the program. Four times the Sooners have come into a contest against TU ranked fifth nationally, with the Hurricane winning all four times. In 2003, OU was ranked 5th when Tulsa won 5-4 on Senior Night in Norman. In 2005, the Sooners were ranked #5 in one poll and #6 in another both times they lost to Tulsa. This week OU ranked 5th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and 6th in the NFCA/USA Today Poll.
The Sooners also entered the contest averaging 8.8 runs and 9.1 hits per game on the year. OU had already reached the 200 plateau in hits and runs by posting over 10 runs 10 times and 10 hits nine times this year.
TU improves to 12-10 on the year, while Oklahoma falls to 23-1 overall. The Hurricane continues its home stand this weekend by opening Conference USA play by hosting UAB at the Hardesty Complex. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., then conclude the series with a single game on Sunday at 12 p.m. OU returns to Norman to host the OU Worth Invitational.
