[autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] was phenomenal through six innings, and [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]’s three-run homer proved to be the difference in the Sooners’ 5-2 win over the Texas Longhorns.
In a highly-anticipated top-five matchup, the game lived up to the billing as Maxwell and Longhorns starter Mac Morgan battled to keep the score low.
The Sooners got things going in the third inning. However, a heads-up challenge from Texas head coach Mike White and solid defensive positioning from the Horns prevented Oklahoma from creating a bigger inning.
After her single moved Maya Bland to third, Kinzie Hansen was called out for leaving the base early on a [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] single, which wiped Oklahoma’s first run off the board and put Bland back on third. Instead of first and third and nobody out, the Sooners gave up an out with Hansen’s aggressiveness.
It ultimately didn’t matter as the Sooners cashed in, but the inning could have been bigger.
But Boone came through with one out, and Jayda Coleman’s drive to left could have gone for extra bases, but White had his team playing the line to take the double away, and [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] was forced to hold Boone at third. Coleman drove in Bland to put the Sooners on the board. On the next at-bat, [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] drove in Boone to make it 2-0.
The Sooners then got things going again in the fifth, again on a rally started by the back half of the order.
In the fifth, Hansen looked to drive a double down the line, but another timely challenge from White ruled that the ball was foul as it went past third base. Hansen then grounded into a fielder’s choice. Rylie Boone singled on a chopper to put two on with one out for the reigning Big 12 and National Player of the Week, Jayda Coleman.
Facing a 2-2 count, Coleman launched a ball to right field for a three-run home run to put Oklahoma up 5-0.
❄️ It’s STILL a 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 ❄️
A three-run shot from @jaydac00 makes it 5-0 #Sooners in the fifth!!!
📺 – ESPNU#ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/TJYSIhcZke
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) April 5, 2024
More: By the Numbers: No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 4 Texas Longhorns
Things got interesting in the bottom of the seventh when Joley Mitchell singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on a wild pitch. One of the best hitters in the nation, Reese Atwood, doubled down the left field line to score Mitchell and get the Longhorns on the board. Leighanne Goode walked and Viviana Martinez moved Adayah Wallace to third on a fielder’s choice. Ashton Maloney’s sacrifice fly scored Wallace to make it 5-2 and after a walk to Victoria Hunter, freshman Katie Stewart came up to the plate as the tying run with two outs.
The broadcast team mentioned during her at bat that in pregame batting practice, Stewart hit a ball over the fence and into the apartments beyond the stadium, breaking a window. With that kind of power, Texas was one swing away from tying the ball game. Stewart battled to a full count and Kelly Maxwell induced a groundball to [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] to close out the game and secure the win.
The Texas Longhorns offense came into this game sixth in the nation in scoring and second in batting average. Maxwell held them to two runs on three hits, three walks and recorded 10 strikeouts. At one point in time, Maxwell had struck out 7 of the 11 Longhorns batters that she’d faced.
After hitting .857 last weekend against Kansas, Coleman was the hero in this one, going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Rylie Boone was the only other Sooners hitter with multiple hits on an evening where the vaunted Sooners lineup only collected seven hits. [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] walked twice
The win moved Oklahoma to 35-1 on the season and 13-0 in Big 12 play. The Sooners are now four games up on Texas in the regular season conference title race. Oklahoma State beat Houston to stay within three games.
It was the Sooners ninth win in a row over the Longhorns and they extended their nation leading win streak to 17 games.
Oklahoma and Texas get back at it on Saturday for game two of the Red River Rivalry series in Austin. That game can be seen on ESPN with first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. CT.
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