2015-05-29

Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione Remains Fully Confident In Bob Stoops

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OU athletic director Joe Castiglione remains firmly in support of Bob Stoops, the winningest coach in the history of the program.

“I’m very confident in what Coach Stoops has done,” Castiglione said. “And I’m very appreciative of continued opportunity to have him serve as our head football coach.

“He doesn’t need me to underscore all the good things that he’s done. His record speaks for himself.”

Bob Stoops: Oklahoma QB Race Far From Over

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A day after redshirt freshman quarterback Justice Hansen announced his intention to transfer, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said the quarterback battle was a long way from being decided.

“I marvel how at everybody knows,” Stoops said Thursday at the Sooner Caravan event at Tulsa’s Schusterman Center. “In the end, there is so much time between now and our first game and how they perform and work through all the summer workouts and training. And then there’s 29 practices before the first game.

2015-05-28

OU Softball: Three Sooners Named All-Americans

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For the third time in the last four seasons the Oklahoma softball team has had at least three representatives on the NFCA All-American teams, released Wednesday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Seniors Lauren Chamberlain and Shelby Pendley were each named to the All-American First Team, while freshman Paige Parker was selected to the All-American Second Team. Oklahoma was one of nine teams to have at least three All-America honorees.

With her selection, Chamberlain joins former Sooner Keilani Ricketts as the only four-time All-Americans in Oklahoma history, as well as the only OU players to be named to the first team three times in a career.

Chamberlain was named to the All-American First Team in 2012, 2013 and 2015, while she was named to the third team in 2014 after back and knee injuries forced her to miss 25 games.

2015-05-27

OU Softball: Paige Parker Named National Freshman of the Year

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Oklahoma pitcher Paige Parker has been named the NFCA Freshman of the Year, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced Tuesday night at the NCAA Championship Banquet in Oklahoma City.

"It's truly an honor and I couldn't do it without my teammates, my coaches, my family and everyone supporting me," Parker said. "It's a great honor, and it's really cool."

Parker was outstanding in her first season in Norman, becoming the team’s ace and helping lead the Sooners to a sixth straight appearance in the Super Regionals. In 42 appearances in the circle, including 31 starts, Parker went 28-7 with a 1.65 earned run average. She struck out 224 batters and walked only 57 in 217.0 innings of work while holding batters to a .170 batting average. Parker had nine solo shutouts this year, combined on six others and also made three saves in relief.

2015-05-24

OU Softball: Season Ends at Super Regional

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Photo Credit: Michael Wade

The Oklahoma softball team’s season came to an end Saturday night as the 11th-ranked Sooners (49-9) dropped a 5-3 decision at No. 6 Alabama (47-13) in the third and final game of the Alabama Super Regional.

The Sooners looked to be in control thanks to a pair of home runs by senior Lauren Chamberlain, but Marisa Runyon’s grand slam in the bottom of the sixth proved the difference as the Sooners’ run of Women’s College World Series appearances ended at four with the season-ending loss.

"Whether we win or lose, we give the glory to God and follow the path," Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso said. "We gave everything we had and I'm so proud of this team. When we saw Alabama pop up on the screen (during the selection show), we knew that all we could ask is that we fight, fight, fight and these guys did that.

2015-05-21

OU, Tulane Agree to Three-Game Series Starting in 2017

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Oklahoma and Tulane have agreed on a three-game football series that will pit the two schools against each other on the gridiron for the first time.

The series will begin on Sept. 16, 2017, when the Green Wave visits Norman. The Sooners will play in Tulane's Yulman Stadium in 2021 before the Green Wave return to Norman in 2024. The dates of the series' second two games are yet to be determined.

2015-05-19

Tennis: Sooners Advance to National Championship After Defeating TCU

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Photo Courtesy: SoonerSports.com
The top-ranked Oklahoma men's tennis bested No. 5 TCU 4-3 on Monday in the semifinals round of the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Team Championships in Waco, Texas.

The Sooners (29-2, 4-1) will now play for the national title for the second consecutive year.

“Just to battle through it and find a way to win, our guys had a lot of heart,” head coach John Roddick said. “Our guys that got up in matches--we needed them to finish. We didn't have help coming from behind. Spencer [Papa] winning his match that easy was a huge boost.”

Oklahoma jumped on the Frogs early, winning a thrilling doubles point that saw all three courts go to a tiebreaker simultaneously.

Baseball: Four Sooners Voted All-Big 12 First Team

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Juniors Craig Aikin (Coppell, Texas) and Kolbey Carpenter (Waco, Texas) led the way as unanimous selections for the University of Oklahoma baseball team on the All-Big 12 First Team as voted on by the league’s coaches. The Sooners landed four players on the First Team; the second most in the league and the most for OU since 1998.

Aikin, the Oklahoma center fielder, was a two-time All-Big 12 Second Team selection prior to this season and ranks second on the team with a .349 batting average. He finished the regular season tied for first in the conference with Carpenter in hits at 82 and ranked second in runs scored with 47. Aikin leads the Sooners with 14 doubles on the year, which ranks seventh in the league. For the season, he has totaled 22 multi-hit games, including three four-hit games and an OU record six-hit effort against Arkansas-Little Rock on March 3.

Carpenter is a first time All-Big 12 selection and has earned starts at four positions this season; 36 of which have come at second base. After just 100 at-bats as a sophomore, he cemented himself in the Sooner lineup hitting sixth, lead-off and now third. Carpenter is second in the Big 12 in hitting and first on Oklahoma at .363. He is also second in the league with a .549 slugging percentage and tied for third with a team-leading eight home runs. Carpenter was selected the Big 12 Player of the Week on three occasions; the most in the league this season and just the third player to ever earn the award three times in a year. He was also honored as a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week in February.

2015-05-18

Oklahoma WR K.J. Young Dismissed From Team

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Redshirt sophomore wide receiver K.J. Young has been dismissed from the Oklahoma football team.

Young, a three-star recruit in 2013 class, was dismissed after violating undisclosed team rules, according to an athletic department spokesman. 

In 2014, Young caught 19 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown after redshirting his first season with the Sooners.

Young is the latest player to either be dismissed or transfer from OU. Last week, running Keith Ford announced he was transferring from the school.

2015-05-15

Former Sooner All-American Eddie Foster Dies

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Courtesy: SoonerSports.com
Eddie Foster, who was a captain on Oklahoma's undefeated Big Eight championship team in 1973, has passed away, said OU coach Barry Switzer in a tweet.

Foster was drafted in 12th round by the New England Patriots in 1974. He was a three-year letterman at offensive tackle while at OU.

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2015-05-14

OU Softball: Sooners Capture Top Big 12 Awards

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The 2015 Oklahoma softball team became the first in Big 12 Conference history to capture each of the four major end-of-season awards, taking home Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year honors, the league announced Wednesday.

Senior Shelby Pendley was named Big 12 Player of the Year for the second time in her career, joining former Sooner Amber Flores as the only players to win the award more than once. Flores did it in 2009 and 2010, while Pendley was also honored in 2013.

In 16 conference games, Pendley led the league with a .522 batting average and posted league highs in runs (26), home runs (9), total bases (54), on-base percentage (.641) and slugging percentage (1.174). It’s the 10th time an OU player has won Big 12 Player of the Year, done by eight individuals.

2015-05-11

OU Softball Earns No. 11 National Seed

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Winner of four straight Big 12 championships, the Oklahoma softball team (45-7, 14-2 Big 12) has earned the No. 11 overall seed in the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championship and will host an NCAA Regional in Norman beginning Friday.

The four-team, three-day event will feature Texas A&M (38-18, 12-12 SEC) facing Lehigh (39-7, 16-2 Patriot League) in a first round game at 12:30 p.m. Friday on SEC Network, before Oklahoma takes on Central Arkansas (35-19, 16-8 Southland) at 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon on ESPN3.

Friday's winners will square off in Saturday's first of three games, while Friday's two losers will face off in an elimination game later that night. The loser of Saturday's first game will take on the winner of the day's second game in an elimination game later Saturday night. The winner of Saturday's final game will take on the winner of the day's first game on Sunday with an if necessary rematch scheduled for later on Sunday. A full schedule for all three days is below.

Oklahoma, which claimed its 12th Big 12 title this season, owns a 8-0 all-time record against Central Arkansas, including a 12-6 win in Norman on March 31 earlier this year. OU is 3-0 all-time against Lehigh, most recently meeting the Mountain Hawks in the 2012 Norman Regional. This marks the third straight season OU and Texas A&M could potentially meet in the postseason. Last season, Oklahoma, which is 47-30 all-time in the series, swept both games in the Norman Regional, while two years ago it was the Sooners who took both games in the Norman Super Regional.

The winner of this weekend's regional will advance to the NCAA Super Regional round against the winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional the following weekend with an ultimate goal of reaching the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma has made the NCAA tournament in every each of head coach Patty Gasso's 21 seasons at the helm of the program and 22 straight. Last season, Oklahoma reached the Women's College World Series for the fourth straight year and ninth time overall.

All-session tickets for the 2014 NCAA Softball Norman Regional are on sale online at SoonerSports.com and over the phone beginning at 9 a.m. Monday morning at (405) 325-2424 or (800) 456-GoOU.

Prices are $40 for reserved all-session tickets, $25 for general admission adult all-session tickets and $20 for general admission youth (2-18 year old, OU student & senior citizen 55 years and older) all-session tickets. Each day of the regional is considered one session and a session ticket is good for all games in one day. Children under one year of age are admitted free. OU students will have to purchase an OU student ticket for this event as it is an NCAA sponsored tournament.

Single-session tickets, if availability remains, will not go on sale until the first day of the tournament at the Oklahoma Softball Complex box office beginning at 3:30 p.m. Single session tickets are $15 for reserved tickets, $10 for general admission adult tickets and $8 for general admission youth/OU student/senior citizen tickets.
Orders will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability.
 Game  Day  Teams (TV)  Time
 Game 1  Friday  Texas A&M vs. Lehigh (SEC Network)  12:30 p.m.
 Game 2  Friday  Oklahoma vs. Central Arkansas (ESPN3)  3:00 p.m.
 Game 3  Saturday  Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2  1:30 p.m.
 Game 4  Saturday  Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2  4:00 p.m.
 Game 5  Saturday  Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3  6:30 p.m.
 Game 6  Sunday  Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5  2:30 p.m.
 Game 7  Sunday  Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)  5:00 p.m.
///SoonerSports PR

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OU Baseball: Tuesday's Game Against SFA Cancelled

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The University of Oklahoma baseball team's game against Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday evening has been cancelled due to the playing conditions of L. Dale Mitchell Park. Heavy rains over the weekend have left the field unplayable for the time being.

The game will not be made up. The Sooners' weekend series against TCU at home will be played as scheduled.

/// SoonerSports PR

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