2006 NCAA Softball Regional -- Game 1 Recap
5/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Oklahoma 1, Kent State 0
Game 1 -- Friday, May 19 -- 4:30 p.m.
Alumni Field, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Event: NCAA Softball Championship Regional 9 (Game 1)
Score: Oklahoma 1, Kent State 0
Records: Oklahoma (39-19-1), Kent State (32-23)
Next OU Game: Saturday, May 20 -- vs. Michigan/Youngstown State winner, Noon
Next KSU Game: Saturday, May 20 -- vs. Michigan/Youngstown State loser, 2:30 p.m.
Mathis Hurls One-Hitter to Lead Oklahoma Past Kent State
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 18-ranked Oklahoma Sooners defeated Kent State 1-0 in game one of the NCAA Regional on Friday (May 19) in a pitching duel between OU's D.J. Mathis and KSU's Brittney Robinson. Oklahoma moves on to play the winner of Friday night's Michigan-Youngstown State matchup on Saturday (May 20) at noon in a game that will be televised live on ESPN2.
Mathis came within one out of a no-hitter, permitting the Flashes' only hit with two outs in the seventh inning. She struck out six while hitting three batters and walking another. Robinson gave up just four hits, but two occurred in the first inning when the Sooners pushed the lone run of the game across the plate. She fanned two hitters and walked one.
Oklahoma's Norrelle Dickson led off the bottom of the first inning with a slap hit through the right side of the infield. Following a strikeout, Dickson advanced to second base when a hard-hit ball was initially knocked down by the pitcher before being thrown to first to record an out. Cleanup hitter Samantha Ricketts earned the two-out RBI by crisply singling up the middle.
Kent State's best scoring opportunity of the afternoon arose in the fourth inning. With one out, OU's Mathis hit back-to-back batter to put runners on first and second. The Sooners' hurler settled down, however, and struck out both the number four and five hitters with off-speed pitches.
The Sooners also threatened to score in the second inning when Stacia Aleman tripled to right with two outs, but she was stranded when the next hitter popped out.
KSU never managed to get a runner into scoring position besides the fourth stanza. Kim Hamilton reached first to start the game when she was hit by a pitch, but she was gunned down at second trying to steal. The Flashes' leadoff hitter also reached in the third, but she was forced out at second on a bunt right back to the pitcher.
