Erin Evans, the second Sooner batter, singled up the middle to drive home Ring, giving Oklahoma a quick 1-0 lead.

The next two Sooner hitters--Lisa Carey and Andrea Davis--hit back-to-back doubles to extend the Oklahoma lead to 3-0.

The Crimson finally recorded the first out when Ashli Barrett drilled the ball to left field. Freshman Tiffany Whitton made a great catch fading away, as she managed to hang on to the ball as it curved towards the foul line.

The next two Oklahoma batters managed to get on base by taking advantage of defensive lapses by the Crimson. At that point, Allard decided to pull Guy for junior Chelsea Thoke.

"I was surprised that defensively we came out shaky, and offensively we swung our bats aggressively," Allard said. "Generally when team's came out shaky, they're not hitting the ball, but it was the exact opposite for us."

Thoke came out looking ready to pitch against the Sooners' Leah Gulla. She threw past her twice to drive the count to 0-2. But then disaster struck.

Thoke's next pitch was high and tight, and Gulla was unable to get out of the way. As she pulled back, the ball hit her square in the face. Play stopped for about ten minutes, as Gulla was attended to by the Sooner medical staff, and the two teams regrouped.