Oklahoma won game two of their three-game series against No.7/6 Oklahoma State 4-2 with three with four runs in the top of the seventh to improve to 48-1 on the season and 17-0 against the Big 12.
Oklahoma struggled most of the day on offense, with only three hits through the first six innings against Oklahoma State freshman pitcher Kyra Aycock. The Sooners then went to work in their final at-bat.
Oklahoma State lead 2-0 heading into the seventh after picking up an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth off of starter [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag].
[autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] doubled to lead off the inning, and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] followed that with a single to drive in pinch runner [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] from second.
Oklahoma State brought in the ace of their staff [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag], but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Rylie Boone drew a hit by pitch to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Maxwell was able to strikeout [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] to put pressure back on the Sooners, but after a wild pitch moved Torres on third and Boone on second, [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] stepped up and blasted a two-run double to left center to put Oklahoma up 3-2.
“You can never count the Sooners out,” said Jennings after the game. “So much joy, so much fun playing. You can see that. We knew we were never out of this game, no matter what the score was, no matter what the inning was. We just knew in the dugout that we were gonna keep smiling, keep cheering and keep having fun.”
Cydney Sanders put the final dent in the score with an RBI single to make it 4-2. Maxwell walked [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], and Aycock came back in for Oklahoma State. She gave up a single to [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag] but then forced Haley Lee to pop out to end the threat.
Then it was time for freshman [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] to shine.
After coming in to record the final out of the sixth inning in relief of Nicole May, Deal retired the Cowgirls in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the come-from-behind win for the Oklahoma Sooners. She retired all four batters she faced, striking out two Oklahoma State batters in the process to move to 2-0 on the season. With the effort, Deal’s ERA is now 0.95 on the season.
“This team knows as long as they have one out left in a game, they’re never out of it,” Gasso said after the win. “You could feel that momentum come. They will not be denied. They believe in each other. They are unafraid of losing, and that’s a big deal.”
Nicole May battled for 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits, two runs, a walk, and striking out four. May didn’t factor into the decision but kept the Cowgirls from creating big innings with some clutch pitching.
The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 48-1 and 17-0 in Big 12 play on the season and have now won 40 games in a row, surpassing their 39-game winning streak from a year ago. The Sooners and Cowgirls will play the final game of the series and the regular season on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm CT in Stillwater. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.
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