April 6, 2011

LAWRENCE, Kan. -

Senior Brittany Hile hit two home runs in the nightcap but it was not enough as No. 14/15 Oklahoma defeated Kansas softball 13-6 to complete the doubleheader sweep Wednesday night. The Sooners topped the Jayhawks 12-6 in game one.

Kansas fell to 27-12 overall, including 0-8 in Big 12 Conference games. OU improved to 31-10 overall (4-2 Big 12).

In addition to Hile’s two homers, which tied the catcher for the third-most single-season home runs at KU with 12, sophomore Maggie Hull also hit a home run in the nightcap to round out KU’s scoring efforts.

OU’s Dani Dobbs went 5-for-5 to lead the Sooners to their game two victory.

Despite a big fifth inning in game one that saw the Jayhawks plate six runs, OU’s early eight-run lead was too much for KU to overcome as their rally fell short. Kansas also suffered from a season-high five errors.

Keilani Rickets staved off the Kansas offense allowing just one hit in five and one third innings of work to go along with 10 strikeouts. She also hit a home run as she improved to 18-3 from the circle.

Kansas will return to the diamond this weekend, April 9-10, when it travels to Oklahoma State for a two-game series.

Game 1 Box Score

In the first game, Kansas rallied back from an 8-0 deficit with a six-run fifth inning. However, the Jayhawks were unable to muster enough for the comeback win, as they fell 12-6.

Kansas struggled out of the gate managing just one hit and scoring no runs through the first four frames but the Jayhawks rallied to put six runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the lead to 8-6. 

Maggie Hull’s two-run double in the fifth started the big inning for the Jayhawks. Laura Vickers then hit a three-run home run, her third long ball of the year, to cut KU’s deficit to 8-6.

Hull’s double allowed her to break into the top 10 of KU’s single-season record for doubles. Her two RBI’s also moved her into a tie for seventh place all-time for single-season runs batted in.

Despite Kansas’ comeback, the Sooners struck back with four runs of their own in the next half inning to extend their lead to 12-6.

Seven different Jayhawks recorded a hit in the contest, including Rosie Hull, who extended her hit streak to five games with a single in the bottom of the third inning. Her hit also broke up a no-hitter by Sooner pitcher Keilani Ricketts.

Ricketts had a dominating performance against the Jayhawks both from the circle and at the plate. Ricketts opened the game with three scoreless innings and struck out four batters. Then in the top of the third she belted a three-run home run to deep right center field, which put the Sooners up 4-0.

Ricketts re-entered the game in the fifth inning after KU scored its first five runs and ended the game with 10 strikeouts in five and one third total innings of work as she improved to 18-6 on the season.

Jayhawk starting pitcher Allie Clark fell to 11-6. Ashley Spencer tossed the final four and two thirds innings for KU, her longest outing of the year. She collected a career-high three strikeouts.

Game 2 Box Score

Oklahoma’s bats could not be quieted as the Sooners collected 20 hits off three Kansas pitchers in the nightcap to out-score KU 13-6, including four-run innings in the fourth and seventh frames.

Brittany Hile homered in the bottom of the second inning to put KU’s first run on the board. She then hit her 12^th home run of the season in the sixth to tie for the third-most single-season homers at KU.

Sophomore Maggie Hull also launched a home run in game two, a three-run shot in the fifth, to round out KU’s scoring efforts. Both Hile and Hull led KU with two hits a piece in the second contest.

Freshman Kristin Martinez suffered the loss in three complete innings of work as dropped to 12-5 from the circle.