May 13, 2004

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - On the strength of a three-run third-inning, the No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners defeated No. 19 Baylor 5-2 in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament at Hall of Fame Stadium. With the loss, Baylor falls to 44-14 on the season and will face Texas in an elimination game at 6:00 p.m.

Baylor grabbed an early lead against the Sooners before Oklahoma scored four unanswered runs to take control of the game.

In the bottom of the first, the Lady Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Carrie Leerberg scored from second base on a throwing error by Oklahoma catcher Kristin Vesely.

Baylor was unable to hold the lead, however, as the Sooners responded with three runs in the top of the third inning. Following a leadoff triple by April Valdez, Norrelle Dickson singled to left-center field to tie the score at 1-1. A pair of sacrifice flies gave the Sooners the lead for good, as Jessica Leslie and Jamie Fox each knocked in runs with fly outs to right field.

Oklahoma extended the lead to three runs with a run in the fourth. With two outs, Dickson singled through the middle to score Jade Prather to give the Sooners a 4-1 lead. Baylor got a run back in the bottom of the inning when Stephanie Pomes flied out to right field to score Kylie Conroy to make the score 4-2.

After a scoreless fifth, Oklahoma added an unearned run in the sixth, as Sooners pitcher Kami Keiter held the Lady Bears in check through the final three innings to earn the win. In the complete game victory, Keiter held Baylor to four hits and one earned run while striking out four.

Baylor starting pitcher Cristin Vitek saw her record drop to 28-7 on the year, allowing four runs on five hits in three-plus innings of work.

The Lady Bears will now face the Longhorns for the third time this season with the winner earning the right to face the loser of the Missouri-Texas A&M contest in the next round. Baylor is 2-0 against Texas this year, including a 7-2 win over the Longhorns in the regular-season finale.