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LEADING OFF
The No. 9 Oklahoma softball team (17-4) will remain in the state of Oklahoma this week as it opens the week on Wednesday with a return meeting against Tulsa (8-10).  The Sooners head up the turnpike to face the Golden Hurricane at 6 p.m. at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex. 

LIVE STATS AND VIDEO COVERAGE
Fans that can't attend the game Wednesday can follow the game via live stats or pay a subscription to watch it on Tulsa's All-Access.

SCOUTING TULSA
Since playing the Sooners last Wednesday, Tulsa has posted a 2-3 mark, extending its overall record to 8-10.  Last weekend, the Golden Hurricane played in the LSU Easton Purple and Gold Challenge in Baton Rouge, La.  TU dropped two games to No. 9 LSU and a contest to Penn State in the tournament, but also notched a win over Penn State and South Alabama. 

Pitcher Jackie Lawrence continues to be the ace in the circle for the Golden Hurricane as she leads the staff with a 1.31 ERA and a 4-4 record.  Lawrence did not pitch against the Sooners last week in the first meeting, but did throw a no-hitter against the Sooners in Tulsa last season. 

Offensively, Lauren Lindsay continues to be the main force for the Golden Hurricane as the leadoff batter leads the team with 16 RBI and four home runs and was one of only three Tulsa players to record a hit against Mathis in the meeting last week.  In addition to Lindsay, first baseman Sara Dyer has also been playing well as she boasts a .327 batting average with 10 RBI.  Dyer was the lone TU player to record an extra-base hit against Mathis as she pounded a double in the meeting last Wednesday.

OU/TU SERIES RECORDS
Oklahoma owns a commanding 29-5 lead against the Golden Hurricane in the all-time series.  The Sooners have won four of the last five after topping the Golden Hurricane last week in the two teams first meeting of 2008.

LAST MEETING
The Sooners hosted Tulsa in part one of the turnpike series last Wednesday  at the OU Softball Complex as Oklahoma came out on top with an 8-0 run rule win in six innings. Despite the eight runs, Oklahoma only produced four hits in the contest with Savannah Long highlighting the night with her three-run homer in the sixth.  Tulsa walked six batters in the first inning as OU took the early 3-0 lead.  D.J. Mathis recorded her fifth shutout of the season as she only allowed three hits and tied her career-high with nine strikeouts. 

UP NEXT
Oklahoma will return home for the OU Worth Tournament this weekend (March 8-9).  The Sooners will host McNeese State and Drake in the two-day tournament.  Oklahoma will open tournament action on Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. contest against McNeese State and follow that with a 4:45 p.m. meeting against Drake.  On Sunday, Oklahoma will host Drake at 1:15 p.m. and McNeese Sate  at 3:30 p.m.
 
SOONERS FALL IN ONE POLL, REMAIN NO. 9 IN ANOTHER
Despite recording a perfect 5-0 record last week, the Oklahoma softball team fell to No. 11 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and remained at No. 9 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.  Last week the Sooners were No. 9 in the ESPN.com poll and No. 10 in the USA Today  poll.

OU AND ARIZONA ONLY TWO SCHOOLS TO BE RANKED IN NFCA POLL ITS ENTIRE EXISTENCE
The Sooners have been ranked in the top 25 of every NFCA poll since its inception, which spans 175  weeks long.  OU and Arizona are the only programs to be ranked in the NFCA Top-25 every week of its existence.

RESIDENCE INN INVITATIONAL RECAP
Oklahoma dominated the competition at the OU Residence Invitational as it owned a 4-0 record at the tournament.  The Sooners downed North Texas, 9-0, on Saturday followed by a 17-0 victory over Memphis.  The Sooners continued their dominance on Sunday as they topped Memphis, 10-0, and North Texas, 8-0.  Below are a few notes from last weekend's tournament.

• Oklahoma outscored the competition, 44-0
• The Sooners hit .389 with 10 home runs in four games
• All four games resulted in OU run-rule victories
• The OU pitching staff did not allow a run all weekend
• D.J. Mathis recorded a 4-0 record in the circle
• Samantha Ricketts hit .600 with three home runs and 10 RBI over the weekend

36 CONSECUTIVE INNINGS
OU pitcher D.J. Mathis has had an impressive start to the season and she currently owns a streak of 36 consecutive innings without giving up a run (earned or unearned).  Mathis' last run to give up was a home run to start off the sixth inning against Stanford on Feb. 22. 

DICKENSON LEADING OFF
With the graduation of four-year starter and three-time All-American Norrelle Dickson, head coach Patty Gasso has been trying to find a replacement in the leadoff spot for the Sooners this season.  Gasso believes she found her last weekend as junior Traci Dickenson entered the leadoff spot for the first time this season and played the final three games of the tournament in the top spot.  Dickenson was solid as she amassed a .556 batting average with six RBI and one home run in the leadoff spot while also owning a .667 on-base percentage. 

The junior is also one of the best in the Big 12 as her batting average (.438) ranks second among Big 12 players and her on-base (.597) and slugging percentage (.854) lead the conference. 

RICKETTS MOVES UP TO NO. 7
Junior Samantha Ricketts hadn't hit a home run this season, but quickly caught up as she pounded three at the OU Residence Inn Invitational last weekend and moved up to seventh on the OU career home run list with 30 total home runs in her career. 

POWER HITTERS
After hitting 10 home runs last weekend in the OU Residence Inn Invitational, the Sooners are establishing themselves as one of the power teams of the Big 12 Conference.  Oklahoma currently leads the league in home runs (27), slugging percentage (.513) and on-base percentage (.410). 

SMITH IN RELIEF
Senior pitcher Jadyn Smith only owns a 1-1 record but has been solid in relief work for the Sooners this season.  Smith posts a team-best 0.39 ERA and is even better in relief situations as she owns a perfect 0.00 ERA when not starting.  She has thrown 13.2 innings of relief and owns 11 strikeouts during that time.  She also picked up a win against Pacific in relief effort.

LONG BALL
Senior Savannah Long is off to a hot start for her final season as she owns a .339 batting average through 21 games this season.  In addition, the shortstop has been one of the team's top power hitters as she owns a .746 slugging percentage and has six doubles and leads the team with six home runs (second in the Big 12).

MATHIS = WORKHORSE
The Sooners have had to put a lot on the shoulders of pitcher D.J. Mathis this season.  The lefty has been a workhorse for the Sooners and has pitched more than any other Big 12 pitcher, but still leads the conference in almost every category.  Below is a look at where Mathis ranks among Big 12 pitchers.