Softball team takes on No. 12 ranked Sooners

By Felicia Alba / Staff Writer –

The UNT softball team (7-7) has its biggest task of the season at 5 p.m. today against the No. 12 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Okla.

This will be the 18th time the Mean Green and the Sooners meet up, with OU winning each contest.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” head coach T.J. Hubbard said. “Oklahoma is a tough contender. We are just going to go up there and focus on what we have to do.”

Hubbard said he believes this game will be good practice for the team to execute skills that will be beneficial to conference play.

“[We] have mainly been working on the little things that will help us go all seven innings, fixing the errors and working on the fundamentals,” junior outfielder Renae Bromley said.

UNT also needs to keep up the superb hitting and scoring to contend with Oklahoma while performing well on the defensive end.

“We have to hit. It’s the only thing we can do,” Hubbard said of his game plan. “The defense has been doing really well. It’s come up in the last couple of games.”

The team is ready to play and take on powerhouse Oklahoma and take away whatever they can from the match up.

“I think the best thing is to find a way to get on base and stay focused from the first pitch to the last pitch,” Bromley said.

Starting on the pitcher’s mound for the Mean Green tonight can be any of the three pitchers, Hubbard said.

“It’s whoever can be competitive, it may be all three sharing the mound,” he said.

Freshman pitcher Brittany Simmons picked up her first win of the season Friday when she pitched a shut out in the first game of a double header.

Junior pitcher Jennifer Smith has also been having success on the mound, picking up the second win of the double header to give her three on the year. Senior pitcher Ashley Lail has two wins and two losses.

The main component, however, will as always be the bats for the Mean Green, which has been outhitting its opponents in almost every game.

“We have to keep our bats up,” sophomore outfielder Megan Rupp said. “As a leadoff batter, I feel I have to set off the tone — keep it positive and get the team pumped up.”

The Mean Green’s game against the Sooners is its last before conference play begins against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.