Oklahoma Sooners
Overall Rank: #9
Conference Rank: #1 Big 12
Oklahoma Team Page
Veteran coach Patty Gasso has developed the OU program into one of the best in the country. The Sooners have a veteran team returning led by Keilani Ricketts, one of the nation’s premier pitchers. The Sooners were undefeated in the fall (8-0, outscoring the opposition 96-4) and closed out the fall season with an impressive 2-0 win over the NPF All-Stars. This could be one of Gasso’s best teams and the Sooners are expected to battle Texas for the conference’s top honors.
2011: 43-19, 10-8
2011 Postseason: CWS
Coach: Patty Gasso
Field Players:
The Sooners lost only three players, Dani Dobbs (.318), Chana’e Jones (.349) and Haley Nix (.313) with 13 letter winners back. Returnees include catcher Jessica Shults, Brianna Turang and Destinee Martinez. Shults missed seven post season games due to illness before returning to the lineup June 4th. She batted .338, hit 19 homers, drove in 58 runs and had a .758 slugging percentage. Outfielder Turang led the team with a .353 batting average and stole 24 bases in 31 attempts, and Martinez batted .348 playing centerfield and also starred for the USA in the ISF Junior World Championship last fall.
Pitchers:
The Big 12 Conference has some of the best pitchers in college softball and southpaw junior Keilani Ricketts (6’2”) is one of them. She is a dual threat for the Sooners, hitting .286 with 13 homers and 45 RBIs in 2011. On the mound, she recorded a 29-15 record with 452 strikeouts (3rd in nation, OU single season record) in 284.3 innings. She had an ERA of 1.48 to help OU post a team ERA of 1.82, 20th in the country. Besides Ricketts, the team’s three other pitchers, Allee Allen (2-1), Kirsten Allen (3-0) and Michelle Gascoigne (9-3) all return.
Who To Watch:
Freshman Lauren Chamberlain is rated one of the nation’s top hitters and starred for the USA Junior National Team in winning the ISF Junior World title in the fall of 2011. Other freshmen to watch are OU’s first international player, pitcher Georgia Casey, who played for her native country Australia in the Junior World Championship and outfielder Pryor, Oklahoma’s Callie Parsons, who batted .420 during her high school career and stole 81 bases.
Final Projection:
This could be one of Gasso’s best teams depending on how fast the freshmen develop. This will be a fun team to watch with power, speed, solid defense and excellent pitching.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
At Bats: Destinee Martinez, OF, 230
Hits: Destinee Martinez, OF, 80
Home Runs: Jessica Shults, C, 19
RBIs: Jessica Shults, C, 58
Runs: Brittany Williams, UTL, 41
Stolen Bases: Brianna Turang, OF, 24
Wins: Keilani Ricketts, P, 29
Innings Pitched: Keilani Ricketts, P, 284.1
Strikeouts: Keilani Ricketts, P, 452
Saves: Keilani Ricketts, P, 2
Madness 2012 Softball Recruit Rankings:
#12 Lauren Chamberlain
#17 Callie Parsons
#36 Kelley Reeves
