No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 19/22 Baylor one of D1Softball’s must-watch series of the week

This week’s top 25 matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 19/22 Baylor Bears among D1Softball’s top matchups of the week.

The Oklahoma Sooners are on a tear to open Big 12 play.

Through two series, they’re 6-0 and are outscoring their opponents 69-6. Oklahoma’s recorded 33 extra base hits in conference play, 12 more than the Texas Longhorns. The Sooners offense also leads the way in walks.

Now Oklahoma prepares for the first of two consecutive top 25 showdowns in Big 12 play when they host the Baylor Bears this weekend. Friday’s game will be held at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, the site of the Women’s College World Series before moving back to Love’s Field for the final two games of the series.

Baylor is coming off of an upset sweep at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks. The Bears scored two runs in the opener, and that’s all they could muster the rest of the weekend.

With the Sooners leading the Big 12 in ERA, this may not be a great time to face Oklahoma and their deep pitching staff.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Oklahoma vs. Baylor comes in at No. 3 in D1Softball’s “What to watch” this week.

The Bears were the only team to beat the Sooners in 2023, winning a non-conference matchup before being swept in their conference series later in the year. Now, the teams meet again. OU has surged to open Big 12 play, dismantling Iowa State and Texas Tech, while Baylor has struggled, most recently being swept at the hands of Kansas last weekend. Kelly Maxwell has been excellent in the circle for the Sooners, while Baylor has had some injury issues that have limited their roster depth as a whole. The Bears are the first Big 12 opponent on the OU schedule with, at minimum, a proven history of *being capable* of beating the three-time-defending champions – but can they do it with this year’s team? Only time will tell. – Justin McCleod, D1Softball

After last year’s loss to Baylor in nonconference play, the Oklahoma Sooners responded by shutting out the Bears in a three-game sweep during conference play.

While the name on the jersey may read the same, these teams are different. Instead of [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] taking their turns in the rotation, the Sooners will send [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] to the circle with [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] to face their Big 12 foes.

Last year’s series with Baylor might have been the turning point for [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag]. Heading into that weekend in Waco, Sanders was hitting just .234 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. Against the Bears, she raised her average to .271 after going 4-for-6 with two home runs, four RBIs, and five walks. That sparked a second half of the season where Sanders recorded seven home runs and 15 RBIs, including the postseason, and finished with a .284 average. This year, Sanders is hitting .365 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs.

Baylor may have one of the few wins over the Sooners over the last couple of seasons, but this is a different Oklahoma team than the one they faced last year.

More: How to watch No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 19/22 Baylor

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‘We’ve got six very viable pitchers’: Sooners have a loaded pitching staff once again

The Sooners pitching staff might be as deep as it’s been in recent memory.

Softball season is finally here, and the Oklahoma Sooners are looking to make history once again. The back-to-back-to-back national champions are looking to win their fourth championship in a row. A feat that has never been accomplished in the sport of softball.

The Sooners return a number of players from last year’s national championship team, including [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], and [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] who have been a part of all three.

The Sooners’ pitching staff may have the biggest question marks. Simply because they lost [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] from last year’s team. But they added an All-American in [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag], [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag], and [autotag]Paytn Monticelli[/autotag] to go along with May and sophomores Kierston Deal and S.J. Guerin.

Patty Gasso spoke about how deep she feels her pitching staff is this season. “We’ve got six very viable pitchers,” Gasso said. “All of them could help us in some way shape or form. It may be very likely you see Nicole May get things started because she’s like the matriarch of this pitching staff. She’s earned it and deserved it. But you are going to see a lot of looks this weekend as well. We’ve got to get this figured out as to who is going to be a game-changer for us in the first three weeks.”

The Sooners start their season with two top-10 teams in their first three games. If they can get past both of those, they’ll have plenty of time to play with their pitching rotation to be prepared for conference play.

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‘Hear me out’: Alex Storako suggests Cotton Bowl for OU-Texas softball

Alex Storako has an idea for OU-Texas Softball that makes a lot of sense.

Nebraska volleyball filled Memorial Stadium. Kinnick Stadium was packed for Iowa women’s basketball.

With the success of Oklahoma softball and the growth of the sport, many have wondered about putting Oklahoma softball inside Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium. Give it the same treatment as Nebraska volleyball and Iowa women’s basketball.

Logistics and dimensions of the playing surface may not allow for the Sooners to host the preeminent softball program inside the football stadium. However, Alex Storako, a pitcher on the 2023 national championship team, had a fantastic suggestion.

Put it in the Cotton Bowl for OU-Texas in the spring.

The Cotton Bowl plays host to the greatest football rivalry in the sport every October, so why not host the best rivalry in softball each spring?

The Cotton Bowl is no stranger to hosting events outside of football. It  held six matches in the 1994 World Cup and the NHL’s 2020 Winter Classic between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild.

Sure, a softball field would require a unique approach to fitting it within the field dimensions of the Cotton Bowl. But the Boston Red Sox’s Fenway Park provides a template for fitting a field within some strange confines.

In 2023, the Red River Rivals set a record for the highest attendance in a regular-season game when they played the first of their three-game series at USA Softball Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Meeting halfway in the heart of Dallas would provide an incredible atmosphere for two of college softball’s best programs.

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Oklahoma’s Jennifer Rocha named NFCA Assistant Coach of the Year

After a phenomenal season for Oklahoma’s pitching staff, Assistant Head Coach Jennifer Rocha was named the NFCA Assistant of the Year.

After a phenomenal season in the circle for the Sooners, Oklahoma assistant head coach and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha was named the Easton/NFCA Assitant of the Year for 2023.

It’s Rocha’s second award in her career and first since joining the Sooners, according to SoonerSports.com. It’s the second time an OU assistant taken home the honor, but the first since Melyssa Lombardi won the award in 2017.

Oklahoma’s pitching staff achieved great success in 2023, helping the Sooners secure their third straight national title and seventh overall. Oklahoma led the nation with a 0.96 ERA, more than a half a point better than Central Arkansas at 1.50.

[autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag], [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag], [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], and [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] held their opponents to a .162 batting average and set a school record with 35 shutouts in 62 games. They allowed four or more runs in a game just four times this season and allowed just 53 earned runs on the season. The group of stellar pitchers recorded 460 strikeouts on the season to become a key x-factor for the Sooners.

It was a phenomenal season for Oklahoma’s pitching staff. Led by Jennifer Rocha they put together an incredible performance to help Oklahoma capture the 2023 national title.

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Oklahoma softball adds Wisconsin transfer Paytn Monticelli out of the portal

The Oklahoma Sooners make their first splash in the transfer pool, adding Wisconsin pitcher Peytn Monticelli.

Coming off their third straight national championship, the Oklahoma Sooners are retooling in the wake of several losses to graduation and the transfer portal.

Their first splash in the portal is Wisconsin pitcher Paytn Monticelli. As a true freshman in 2023, Monticelli appeared in 21 games for the Badgers and went 7-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 80 innings pitched. She recorded 82 strikeouts and allowed an opponent batting average of .235.

Monticelli was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year and USA Wisconsin Softball Player of the Year in Wisconsin for the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had good pitching fortune out of the transfer portal the last two years with Hope Trautwein and Alex Storako. Both pitchers were instrumental to the Sooners’ national title runs. Though Monticelli isn’t as experienced as the two previous Sooners additions, the outings she had in 2023 will serve as the springboard to her Oklahoma career.

Monticelli’s best outing of the season came on May 6 against Iowa. She threw five shutout innings against the Hawkeyes. She also threw three shutout innings against Oregon on Feb. 10.

She joins a group of pitchers, including Nicole May, Kierston Deal and S.J. Guering, for the 2024 season.

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9 Oklahoma Sooners included in D1Softball’s top 100 players from 2023

After a historic year, nine Oklahoma Sooners were featured in the top 50 of D1Softball’s top 100 players of the 2023 season.

The Oklahoma Sooners had a historic year. They had a record-breaking win streak that reached 53 games by the end of their national championship three-peat. The three national titles in a row mark only the second time it’s been done in the history of the sport under the NCAA.

You have to go back to the early days when UCLA won three in a row in the 1980s. At a time when the talent is at an all-time high and it’s spread throughout the nation, Patty Gasso’s Sooners beat the best of the best on their way to their third straight national championship and a 53-game win streak to close the season.

It was a total team effort, but there were several individuals that played significant roles along the way to help Oklahoma secure its seventh national title in school history.

Reflecting on the offseason, D1Softball ranked the top 100 players from the 2023 season, and nine Oklahoma Sooners were included in the top 50. Let’s take a look.

Oklahoma’s Alex Stroako named Softball America’s Transfer of the Year

After a tremendous year with the Oklahoma Sooners, Alex Storako named Softball America’s Transfer of the Year.

The Oklahoma Sooners made a splash in the transfer portal last summer with the addition of Alex Storako from the Michigan Wolverines. Storako had been an iron woman for Michigan, throwing 200 innings and recording 300 strikeouts in the 2022 season.

For her efforts with the Oklahoma Sooners, Storako was named Softball America’s Transfer of the Year.

In her one year in Norman, Storako was a critical part of the Sooners’ pitching staff, picking up big wins over UCLA early in the season and getting the start against Florida State in the three-peat clincher.

Storako went 18-0 with the Sooners. In 103.2 innings this season, she recorded 108 strikeouts and had an ERA of 1.15.

After a tremendous Storako was the first overall pick by the OKC Spark in the 2023 WPF draft.

Here’s a look at some of the best pictures from Alex Storako’s time with the Oklahoma Sooners.

5 takeaways from Oklahoma Sooners record-breaking national championship season

2023 was an incredible season for Oklahoma Sooners Softball. Here are five takeaways from the record-breaking, championship run.

It’s been a few days since the Oklahoma Sooners clinched their seventh straight national championship. Still, it feels surreal the kind of season the Sooners had.

They finished 61-1. They have a 53-game winning streak. They possess the No. 1 offense, ERA and fielding percentage in college softball despite not having a National Player of the Year finalist. They had a 14-0 beat down of then No. 1 UCLA. The countless clutch, come-from-behind moments. A perfect postseason. A three-peat.

It was an incredible season that created a number of memories for the team and its fan base. It was a run that helped further elevate the game of softball to national consciousness. Here are five takeaways from the 2023 season for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma should target Indiana All-American Taryn Kern in the transfer portal

If the Oklahoma Sooners are looking to add another bat to their lineup, Indiana transfer Taryn Kern may be the answer.

The Oklahoma Sooners have done a fantastic job retooling their roster with their high school recruiting prowess and through the transfer portal. Oklahoma’s star power is homegrown, but there’s no denying the impact the portal had on this year’s team.

[autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag], [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag], [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] and [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] played significant roles in Oklahoma’s 61-1 national championship season. With Storako and Lee out of eligibility and Grace Lyons departing, there’s room for the Sooners to dip into the portal for an infusion of talent.

One player they should take a look at is Indiana’s [autotag]Taryn Kern[/autotag]. Kern led the Hoosiers with a .404 batting average, 23 home runs, 68 RBIs and 68 runs scored. Each of those marks broke Indiana softball single-season records. She was second in the nation in home runs and fifth in runs batted in.

In the NCAA tournament, Kern hit ,300 with one home run, two RBIs, and three runs scored in four games in the Knoxville Regional.

As a freshman, Kern was a D1Softball All-American and NFCA second-team All-American and an NFCA freshman of the year finalist in 2023. Kern was Big Ten Freshman of the Week six times and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2023.

She played second base for Indiana, which would either require Kern or [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] to move to shortstop.

The Oklahoma Sooners have a great deal of talent coming back for the 2024 season, and they will be the favorite to win the national title yet again. But if they wanted to bolster their ranks further, taking a run at Kern would provide another great bat to the lineup.

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Team effort highlights Oklahoma’s national championship win

Oklahoma’s depth has been a key factor to its success in 2023 and it was on full display in their national title win over Florida State.

In Oklahoma’s magical run in 2023, the Sooners reset the standard for excellence in college softball. Their 61-1 record made them the winningest team in history after extending the game’s best all-time winning streak to 53 games.

On the final night of the season, in the game that clinched the Sooners’ third consecutive national title, Oklahoma’s deep roster powered the Sooners.

Alex Storako gave Oklahoma four strong innings before giving way to the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Jordy Bahl. Storako allowed three hits and one run in the start. Though the home run put the Sooners behind in the game, she limited the damage when in danger with the help of some excellent defense behind her.

The Michigan transfer had been a huge key to Oklahoma’s success early in the season when Bahl was going through a bit of a sophomore slump. And on the grandest stage, Storako had a fantastic performance to keep Oklahoma in the game long enough for the bats to take off.

In the Sooners’ next at-bat, back-to-back home runs from Cydney Sanders and Grace Lyons put Oklahoma up, 2-1, in the game. That was the ninth home run of the season for both players. Sanders and Lyons each had more than 20 home runs in 2022, but this year the long ball was more difficult to come by. When it mattered most, the two power hitters powered Oklahoma to a lead and, ultimately a national title.

And that’s what has been special about this team. Despite Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings going hitless, the Sooners’ lineup is full of players that can hurt the opposition with one swing of the bat.

Their depth was the difference all season long. As Oklahoma dealt with injuries in the early part of the season or with early season struggles, the depth helped keep them afloat. And as the season wore on, it came through in critical moments, as it did on Thursday night.

In the wake of making their trip to the championship series, the Sooners celebrated with chants of “we too deep.” In their sweep of Florida State for the national title, they put that depth on display.

Best photos from the Sooners’ national title win