March 29, 2003
Box Score
NORMAN, Okla. - Kami Keiter pitched a two-hit shutout here Saturday as fourth-ranked Oklahoma edged Baylor 2-0 in Big 12 Conference softball action. The Lady Bears, who are in the midst of an eight-game stretch against nationally ranked opponents, falls to 24-15 overall and 0-4 in Big 12 play. Oklahoma improves to 29-5 and 5-2.
Oklahoma scored a run in the first inning thanks to three defensive miscues by the Lady Bears. Leadoff hitter Erin Evans lifted a fly ball into shallow right-center, but Baylor right fielder Sarah Caudle lost it in the sun and Evans ended up on second with a double. After a Kristin Vesley fly out, Danelle Arnold threw behind Evans at second; however, Evans alertly took third on the play. Two pitches later, Evans scored on an Arnold passed ball.
The Sooners added another run in the bottom of the third. Nine-hole hitter Jessica Leslie, who entered the game hitting .103, was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. A sacrifice fly moved Leslie to second, and two batters later Kelli Braitsch doubled off the wall in right-center to make the score 2-0.
Meanwhile, OU starter Kami Keiter was dominant in the circle. The sophomore south paw did not allow a base runner until the fifth when Kelly Levesque reached on an error. Baylor was hitless until a Carrie Leerberg pinch-hit infield single with two outs in the sixth. The Lady Bears' only other hit was a Levesque single deep to the hole at short with one out in the seventh.
Keiter (19-2) picked up her conference-leading ninth shutout of the season. She allowed just two hits with one walk, but she failed to record a strikeout for the first time this season.
Katie Decker (5-3), making her first-career Big 12 start, took the loss despite having her best outing of the season. She allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits and one walk with a season-high tying five strikeouts.
Baylor and Oklahoma conclude their two-game series here Sunday at noon.
Notes: Oklahoma now leads the all-time series 23-2, and the Sooners have won 20 straight against the Lady Bears. ... Baylor starts 0-4 in Big 12 play for the first time since starting 0-7 in league play during the 1998 campaign. ... Prior to this season, Baylor had never played more than four consecutive ranked opponents; Saturday's game was the fourth of eight straight against ranked teams.
