Arkansas faces No. 7 Oklahoma

NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Arkansas softball team travels to Norman, Okla., Wednesday to take on No. 7 Oklahoma in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.

Head coach Jamie Pinkerton said the Lady Razorbacks look forward to the challenge that lies ahead of them Wednesday.

“Oklahoma is playing really well right now and that’s to be expected,” he said. “We know it’s going to be a tough task at hand to go into Norman, but it’s another opportunity for us to play a quality opponent on the road in a hostile environment like Texas A&M. It will also prepare us for SEC play and is only going to make this young team a lot better.”

Arkansas comes off of a 1-4 weekend, hosting the Clarion Inn-Lady’Back Invitational. The Lady’Backs defeated Missouri-Kansas City 7-0 in its home opener, lost to Missouri twice, 3-6 and 11-12, dropped a game to Wichita State 1-3 and fell to Colorado State 1-6.

On Feb. 25 against Missouri freshman Jessica Bachkora broke the school record for most triples in a single game. Bachkora hit two triples, breaking the previous record of one. Bachkora leads the team with a .438 batting average. She has 21 hits, 11 runs, four doubles, two triples and nine RBIs, all team highs.

The Sooners opened the 2007 season with their best start ever at 16-0. They went 5-0 in Palm Springs this past weekend, including wins over top-25 teams Cal and Oregon State. OU is one of only three teams left unbeaten in the country. The Sooners sit at 16-0 while No. 1 Tennessee owns a 15-0 mark and No. 5 Alabama has a spotless 16-0 record.

Oklahoma senior Mariee Mena was selected as the USA Softball National Player of the Week after leading the Sooners with a slugging percentage of 1.133 on 17 total bases which included a double and two home runs. She also recorded eight RBI and is currently on an eight-game hitting streak. Mena leads Oklahoma with a .514 batting average and an .800 slugging percentage.

OU leads the all-time series, 10-0. In the last meeting between the Lady’Backs and the Sooners in 2006, Samantha Ricketts’ solo home run in the seventh inning gave Oklahoma its winning run as it just edged Arkansas, 5-4.

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