Four Sooners Named To All-American Teams

The No. 1 Oklahoma softball team tied a school record and tied for the nation's lead by placing four student-athletes on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American teams, it was announced Wednesday.

Senior Keilani Ricketts and sophomore Lauren Chamberlain were named first team All-Americans, while senior Brianna Turang and sophomore Shelby Pendley were each placed on the second team. With four players recognized, the 2013 squad joins 2007, 2001 and 2000 for the most All-Americans in school history.

With her honor, Ricketts becomes the first four-time All-American in Oklahoma history and is the only player to be placed on three first-teams in school annals.

The two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Ricketts is 31-1 on the season with 311 strikeouts in 207.1 innings pitched. She ranks second in the country with 16 shutouts, is fifth in hits allowed per game (3.78), sixth in strikeouts per seven innings (10.5) and eighth with a 1.22 earned run average.

At the plate, Ricketts boasts a .375 batting average with 13 home runs and 54 runs batted in. She is getting on base at a .510 clip thanks to a walk rate of 0.88 per game that ranks seventh in the country. In addition, she holds a .706 slugging percentage.

Chamberlain is a repeat performer on the All-American first-team. She joins Ricketts, Amber Flores and Heather Scaglione as the only two-time first-team selections in school history, though Chamberlain is the only player to do it in her first two seasons.

As the team's leadoff hitter, Chamberlain leads the nation in RBI per game (1.41), runs score per game (1.43) and slugging percentage (1.107). She is hitting .463 with 27 home runs, 79 RBI, a Big 12-record 80 runs scored and a .625 on-base percentage.

The 2013 Big 12 Player of the Year, Pendley is an All-American for the first time in her career. She is hitting .374 and ranks third in the country with 1.30 RBI per game, sixth with a .903 slugging percentage, seventh with 22 home runs and ninth with 0.23 home runs per game.

Like Pendley, Turang is also a first-time All-American. She was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and first-team All-Region this season, while also being named to the inaugural 2013 All-Big 12 Defensive Team. Turang is hitting a career-best .421 this season to rank second on the team. During conference play, Turang led the league with a .500 batting average and was second in OBP, fifth in runs and sixth in hits.

Top-seeded Oklahoma opens play at the 2013 Women's College World Series on Thursday night against No. 8 Michigan at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.