Norman, Okla. (4/18/12) - The Mean Green tied the game in
the third inning with two home runs, but the No 6 Oklahoma softball team
responded with six runs to take a 9-4 victory on Wednesday night at Marita
Hynes Field.
The Mean Green falls to 19-22-1 this season and 0-2 in
the season series against the Sooners. OU improves to 36-6.
North Texas hit three solo home runs in the game, but the
Sooner offense overpowered the Mean Green with nine runs off nine hits.
Keilani Ricketts (21-5) took the win in relief for the
Sooners. She relieved Michelle Gascoigne after the Mean Green tied the game in
the fourth inning and allowed just one run off one hit the rest of the way.
Brittany Simmons (9-10) took the loss for the Mean Green.
She pitched three innings and gave up four runs off four hits.
North Texas took an early 1-0 lead against OU in the
second inning with an RBI double by Ashley McCarroll. Lisa Johnson scored from
second after reaching base on a fielding error. Caitlin Grimes advanced Johnson
to second with a sacrifice bunt.
OU responded with three runs in the bottom of the second
to take a 3-1 lead. The Sooners used three hits and a Mean Green error to bring
across the three runs.
Johnson cut the lead to one with a solo home run, and
McCarroll tied the game, 3-3, with another long ball. Both home runs were hit
to left center field. It was Johnson's fourth home run of the season and
McCarroll's eighth. McCarroll posted two of NT's five hits in the game.
A sacrifice fly gave OU a 4-3 advantage in the bottom of
the fourth, and the Sooners cushioned the lead with three runs in the fifth. A
two-run home run by Ricketts in the sixth put OU ahead, 9-3.
Jordan Terry hit a pinch-hit homer in the seventh inning,
her first of the season.
North Texas returns to action on Saturday, April 21 when
it faces South Alabama in a doubleheader at 4 p.m.