University of Massachusets Athletics
No. 1 Oklahoma Tops Colgate 5-2 In Seven Innings
May 18, 2007 | Softball
May 18, 2007
Amherst, Mass.- The No. 1 seeded Oklahoma Sooners relied on a strong offensive performance to come back from a 2-0 first inning deficit and beat the No. 4 ranked Colgate Raiders 5-3 in game one of the NCAA Amherst Regional at the UMass Softball Complex.
The Raiders started off strong in the first as lead-off batter Kortney Hannah reached on an error by OU pitcher Lauren Eckermann. Two batters later they were up 2-0 as Ashley Rowe homered on the first pitch that she saw.
The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the third inning as both pitchers shut down the opposition. Traci Dickenson, the No. 9 hitter for Oklahoma, homered to center field to put the Sooners within one. Colgate pitcher Kelsey Nordstrom then walked Norelle Dickson, hit Amber Flores by a pitch, and walked Samantha Ricketts to load the bases. One batter later she walked in a run on a close 3-2 pitch to tie the game at two runs a piece.
In the fourth and fifth innings Colgate had runners on bases but was unable to push them across the plate. In the bottom of the fifth however, with a runner at first and second, OU's Ricketts hit a homerun over the right field fence to clear the bases and put the Sooners on top 5-2.
The Raiders tried to rally in the top of the seventh as the lead-off hitter Erin Gomez got on singling to left field, but that is where she would stay as Eckermann got the next three batters out. She finished the game with a strike out and moved the Sooners into the winners bracket of the NCAA Amherst Regional.
No. 4 Colgate will play at 2 p.m. Saturday against No. 3 Long Island in the second game of the day. Oklahoma will start the day off at Noon against No. 2 UMass. For complete tournament coverage, log onto UMassAthletics.com or NCAAChampionships.com.