Tag: 2024 Oklahoma Sooners Softball

‘It’s going to be bittersweet’: Oklahoma Sooners’ seniors ready for final road trip

Heading to Orlando to take on the Knights, Oklahoma’s senior class goes on the road for the final time.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ senior class is one of the best senior classes in the history of softball. Most have been a part of the three straight national champions or at least a part of some of the national titles during this stretch.

Those seniors include [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag], [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag]. This weekend they head on the road for what might be the final time in their career.

After this weekend in Orlando vs. UCF, the Sooners will close out the regular season in Norman against Oklahoma State. Then it’s onto the postseason where OU won’t have to leave Central Oklahoma.

With the final road trip coming, what is Alynah Torres thinking ahead of their series with UCF.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Torres said. “I think it’s going to be bittersweet. It’s going to be a long flight so it’s going to be really cool just sitting there and thinking about it and just having a good time. I think road trips are always fun because that’s when you get closest with your teammates.”

Torres went on to mention she’s excited for this trip in particular because it’ll be the Sooners’ first time to head to UCF as members of the Big 12. What better way to go out than for a series sweep against a conference foe before the start of postseason play in a few weeks?

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Alynah Torres hoping to have no regrets as the end of her college career nears

Alynah Torres hoping to close out her Sooners career giving it everything she’s got.

When you’ve been the most dominant program in all of college softball for the past decade, it’s hard to imagine the players on this squad having regrets.  But typically players look back and wonder if they could have done things differently.

For some, it’s enjoying each day of your final season at the collegiate level. It’s bigger than that for others, like winning a national championship. Alynah Torres spoke about how she’s approaching these last few weeks of the season, hoping to have no regrets.

“I just think every day, day in and day out, it’s just hard to play at this level, especially where we are at,” Torres said. “Sometimes you are like, I don’t have 100 (percent) right now, and my body can’t stay where it’s at, but I think that’s where I got, ‘hey, one day I’m not going to be doing this so I need to give all I’ve got, I need to go forward.’ So, I think, ‘why not just leave it all out on the table?’ I have nothing to lose.”

That’s what Torres has done so far this season as she’s put together a really good year. Now she hopes to finish the season strong, giving it all she has so in the end she can say, she has no regrets.

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Two Oklahoma Sooners named to NFCA D1 Freshman of the Year top 25 watch list

The future is bright for two Oklahoma Sooner freshmen who were named to NFCA D1 Freshman of the Year watch list.

The future is very bright for the Oklahoma Sooners. While they are still a veteran team with a historic group of seniors, two freshmen are turning heads.

[autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] and [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] aren’t just turning the heads of their teammates or local fans, they are making noise nationally. So much so that both were named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association D1 Freshman of the Year top 25 watch list for the 2024 season.

Both have a great shot at winning the award and are having stellar seasons. Pickering is batting .378 and has five home runs with 31 RBIs. Parker, on the other hand, is hitting .394 and has seven home runs with 39 RBIs. They also both have an on-base percentage over .500.

 

They’ve been playing at such a high level that they have played in every game this season. Only five Sooners have played in every game.

It’s gotten to the point where they’ve played so well that it would almost be a shock if they weren’t in the lineup. The only thing you worry about is them hitting the freshmen wall and start struggling down the stretch. That hasn’t been the case up to this point, and the Sooners hope that won’t be the case moving forward because pretty soon, those two will be the faces of Oklahoma softball.

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‘Our pitching staff is going to have to be really good’: Patty Gasso’s Sooners ready for UCF’s offense

It’ll be no easy task but the Sooners are ready to face UCF’s offense this weekend.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had the week to rest after their series sweep of Houston. Now, they are off to Orlando to play the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag] this weekend.

UCF brings in one of the best offenses in the country. They rank No. 38 in the nation in batting average, are tied for No. 62 in scoring and are No. 84 in on-base percentage. That means the Oklahoma pitching staff has to be on their “A” game. The Knights also don’t strikeout a lot, so the Sooners defense will have to be on point.

Patty Gasso spoke about the challenges of UCF’s offense. “They’ve got power, they’ve got speed, they’ve got slappers; I mean, they played Baylor this weekend, and over three games, they scored one run,” Gasso said. “Which is unlike them because they can put up big numbers. Our pitching staff is going to have to be really good. We are going to have to keep their playmakers off the base path. They’re going to bow up. There’s going to be a lot of noise. There’s going to be a lot of fans.”

The Sooners’ pitching staff has risen to just about every occasion. They’ve been arguably the strength of the team. Gasso will need them to rise once again in this weekend’s series if the Sooners want to stay on top of the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] conference standings.

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Patty Gasso wants more ‘consistency’ before postseason play

So far the Oklahoma Sooners haven’t shown the consistency that their head coach is used to seeing.

While their offense and elite defense get the headlines, their consistency is one of the most important things to the Oklahoma Sooners’ historic run. You rarely, if ever, see an off-game from the team.

This year has been a little different. There have been several games that have left fans scratching their heads and not recognizing the team on the diamond. Still, they are 42-4 and No. 2 in the nation. So, it’s not like they’ve fallen off, they’ve just not been as consistent as in years past.

Patty Gasso talked about how they need to find that before postseason play starts. “I think we just want consistency,” Gasso said. “We’re able to win games. We’re winning a lot of games. We’re still in charge of our own destiny. I think it’s (having) zero regrets as we go through this and finish it and look out for your teammates. Communicate with your teammates. Check in with your teammates. Sometimes, we get lost in what we’re doing here. The expectations are grand, and it can just get really tiring. They’ve been doing it for now their fourth year in a row. It’s hard to outdo yourself year after year.”

That’s why these last two series are so important. The Sooners can not only clinch the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] regular season title but they can also build a ton of momentum toward the postseason while also working on that consistency that Gasso wants to see.

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‘When they don’t get caught up in outcomes’: Patty Gasso on what calms her team

This senior group has been special for the Sooners but even they have their down times and need something to get them going each year.

The Oklahoma Sooners have 10 seniors on this year’s roster. Five of them have been a part of all three of their national championships.

That would be [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag], [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag]. [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] has been a part of two of them, [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] has been a part of one. The other three, [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag] and [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag] are new to the team this year.

This season may not have gone like people expected, but the Sooners are still in a strong position to contend for the national title. Despite four losses, the sky certainly isn’t falling.

Patty Gasso shared that sometimes her team gets caught up in the outside noise but there is one thing that gets her seniors going. “When they get lost in the game,” Gasso said. “When they don’t get caught up in outcomes. You’ve seen some really uncharacteristic teams where we’re just getting really mad at ourselves. You might see the slamming of the bat. Something that’s really frustrating them. We try too hard. That is not our game. It just comes super natural because they are that elite of athletes.”

You can tell at times the pressure of winning a fourth title in a row is starting to weigh on them, especially, with all of the outside noise as well. But when they are playing their game, I still think they are the best team in the country regardless of what the standings say.

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Oklahoma’s Kierston Deal named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week

After a sensational week, Oklahoma’s Kierston Deal was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.

Kierston Deal had a fantastic week in the circle for the Oklahoma Sooners. She threw a no-hitter last Tuesday in a midweek matchup vs. Tulsa. Deal followed up that performance with a seven-inning shutout of the Houston Cougars on Sunday where she recorded 10 strikeouts in the win.

After her incredible week, Deal was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week. It’s the first Big 12 weekly honor of Deal’s career and the third Pitcher of the Week selection this season.

She’s now 10-1 on the season and leads the Sooners with a 1.01 ERA through 55.1 innings and 12 starts. Deal’s become an integral part of the Sooners pitching staff, developing into a great option for the Sooners in three games series.

Deal has allowed just two runs over her last seven outings, spanning 23.1 innings.

As the Sooners get set for their final two weekends of the regular season, it’s all about preparing for the postseason. Deal is proving she’ll be a valuable piece to the Sooners staff as Oklahoma hopes to contend for their fourth straight national title.

Sooners open series with 8-0 run-rule win over the Houston Cougars

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a hot start in their series opener against the Houston Cougars, and Kelly Maxwell pitched another gem to lead Oklahoma to an 8-0 run-rule win in walk-off fashion. Taking on a Houston team that has the second-lowest …

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a hot start in their series opener against the Houston Cougars, and [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] pitched another gem to lead Oklahoma to an 8-0 run-rule win in walk-off fashion.

Taking on a Houston team that has the second-lowest batting average and the highest ERA in Big 12 play, the Sooners struck early.

Maxwell recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first, and the Sooners’ offense quickly went to work in the bottom half of the inning.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] walked to lead off the game and moved to third on a two-out single by [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag]. [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] put OU on the board first with a three-run home run. It was Torres’ eighth home run of the season and part of a 2-for-2 evening with four RBIs and two runs scored.

Oklahoma had opportunities with runners on in the second but were unable to capitalize. The Sooners put pressure on Houston again in the third with the bases loaded and nobody out. All they could muster was one run on a fielder’s choice from [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] to make it 4-0.

[autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] led off the fourth with a walk and moved to third on Hansen’s base hit. Torres picked up her fourth RBI of the game on a grounder to the pitcher, scoring Jennings from third to make it 5-0. After a fielder’s choice put Hansen on third, the Sooners’ star catcher stole home to make it 6-0 and put the Sooners in complete control.

With the way Maxwell was pitching, Houston had little hope at that point. She threw five innings, allowing two hits and three walks, and recorded five strikeouts. Maxwell didn’t allow a runner past second base in a performance that helped the Sooners ace move to 14-1 on the season. The Sooners defense picked her up with double plays in the second and third innings.

Not satisfied, the Sooners continued to pour the offense on in the sixth inning. Kinzie Hansen led off with a single and advanced to third on Avery Hodge’s single to centerfield. [autotag]Quincee Lilio[/autotag] walked to load the bases, and Sanders walked for the 34th time in 2024 to drive in a run and make it 7-0 Sooners. With two outs in the inning and the Cougars hoping to play all seven, [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] walked it off with a RBI single to secure the Sooners win.

After her 10-game hitting streak was snapped against Tulsa, Kinzie Hansen responded with a 3-for-4 night to help lead the way at the plate. Coleman, Jennings, Torres, and [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag] each had two hits on the night. Along with Hansen, Jennings and Coleman also reached base three times, each earning a walk to go along with their two-hit nights.

With the victory, Oklahoma improved to 40-4 on the season and 16-3 in Big 12 play. They remain one game ahead of the Texas Longhorns and two games ahead of Oklahoma State in the Big 12 regular season title race.

The Sooners are back in action for game two of the series on Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT. Oklahoma will close the series with Houston on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Both games can be seen on ESPN+.

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‘We’re going to fix that’: Patty Gasso on the Sooners leaving too many runners on base

The Oklahoma Sooners are having another really good offensive season, but can improve when they get runners on base.

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team lost another game this weekend giving them four losses on the season. They still won the series over the [autotag]BYU Cougars[/autotag].

But throughout the series, the Sooners’ batters looked off balance, thanks to a really solid performance by the Cougars’ pitching staff. Still, Oklahoma did what they’ve done almost every time they’ve had a letdown: respond.

This team’s issue recently is hitting with runners on. We are not used to seeing this from Oklahoma, but it’s a concern. There have been a number of occasions when a runner runs themselves into an out or gets doubled up on a line drive. Oklahoma just hasn’t been as sound on the base paths or at the plate when they have opportunities to cash in.

Patty Gasso talked about that after Saturday’s win. “We’re getting on but we left 11 runners on base and that’s just too much for this team,” Gasso said. “But we’re getting on base so we can be encouraged by that and we’re going to fix that. I’m certain of that.”

If the Sooners are able to fix that, they probably will win their fourth straight national championship. They’ve been great in 2024 yet again and still, there’s room for improvement, especially with runners on base.

Now, Friday the pitching and defense weren’t great, but it’s been pretty good all year. It’s the hitting that has cost them more than the pitching. They need to find a way pick up if the Sooners want to win the NCAA overall No. 1 seed and win another national title.

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Oklahoma Sooners lineup won’t have another weekend like the one in Austin

Oklahoma’s vaunted offense was held in check by the Longhorns, but don’t expect anything like that to happen again.

Sometimes, the bats go cold. it doesn’t happen too often for the Oklahoma Sooners softball program, a team that has set the standard for offense.

The Texas Longhorns went through the Red River Rivalry series in Austin with a good game plan and kept the Sooners from making good contact during the three-game series.

In particular, the Longhorns were able to keep the Sooners from getting their power stroke from being a significant part of the series. The Sooners had just two home runs and five total extra-base hits, or 1.67 per game, during the three games in Austin.

The Sooners entered the series averaging nearly five extra-base hits a game. Texas didn’t let Oklahoma hit many hard balls, and when they did, those line drives got caught in the infield and led to double plays.

The Sooners didn’t catch any breaks in the final two games. Combine that with their relative power outage and it had all the makings of a historic series loss. Historic in the sense that it hadn’t happened in Big 12 play in 13 years and hadn’t happened to the Longhorns in 15.

Streaks are meant to be broken. Oklahoma’s broken a lot of them. They’ve set the standard for excellence over the last decade. The series loss to Texas is a setback, but the three-time defending national champions have shown a resilient spirit and are still in position to make a run at a historic fourth-straight national title.

But it’s one game and one series at a time for the Sooners. This is still a lineup that is the best in the nation with several national player of the year candidates capable of changing a game and a series with one swing of a bat. This is still a team capable of hitting through the order in a given inning regardless of the opponent.

There’s a reason they’ve been so successful and over the remainder of the season, the Oklahoma Sooners are going to remind us why.

More: How to watch No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Wichita State

More: Updated Big 12 Softball Standings

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