Tag: Alex Storako

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

Twitter reacts to Oklahoma’s win over Florida State and 3rd straight national championship

Twitter reacts to Oklahoma’s win over Florida State to complete the national championship three-peat.

The Oklahoma Sooners are the back-to-back-to-back national champions. Oklahoma clinched its third straight national title, sixth in the last decade and seventh overall with a 3-1 win over Florida State on Thursday night.

It was another in a long line of incredibly clutch performances for what is being deemed the greatest softball team in the history of the sport. With their 61-1 record, the Sooners are the winningest team in the sport’s history. They finished the season on a 53-game winning streak and became the first program to score 500 runs in three straight seasons.

Their ace, Jordy Bahl, went 4-0 in the Women’s College World Series, and didn’t allow a run in the effort. She threw two shutouts, including in Game 1, and had two relief appearances of at least three innings that led to Sooners wins. For her effort, she was named the Most Outstanding Player.

The national title win was the culmination of a season filled with pressure-packed moments and incredible comebacks during their dominant run.

These Oklahoma Sooners somehow found a way to raise the bar yet again for the college softball world. They found a way to still amaze a fan base that has been in awe for years at what Patty Gasso’s program is capable of.

And in the win that clinched their third straight national title, the Sooners received a strong performance from Alex Storako, an incredible defensive play from Jayda Coleman, back-to-back home runs from Cydney Sanders and Grace Lyons and another dominant performance from ace Jordy Bahl.

From the first pitch to the final out, Twitter was buzzing, but it reached a fever pitch when Oklahoma clinched their third straight national title.

No. 1 Oklahoma vs No. 3 Florida State: WCWS championship key players, game preview, prediction

Women’s College World Series Championship preview between No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Florida State: How to watch, key players and prediction.

After surviving the Women’s College World Series field unscathed, the Oklahoma Sooners and the Florida State Seminoles meet in the championship series starting Wednesday night.

This year’s championship is a rematch of the 2021 series that the Oklahoma Sooners won after dropping Game 1 of the three-game series. In 2021, Florida State was the No. 10 seed in the tournament and had to overcome an opening day loss in the WCWS, beating third-seeded Alabama twice to get to the finals.

This year, both the Sooners and Seminoles were the highest remaining seeds in the WCWS after UCLA was bounced in the Los Angeles Regional. Neither team suffered a loss in Oklahoma City, setting up a showdown of national powerhouses.

Led by Patty Gasso and Lonni Alameda, the two schools have rich histories. The Sooners have five more championships than Florida State, but the Seminoles have reached the championship series three times in the last six years and won it in 2018.

Here’s a look at the matchup between the No.1 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 3 Florida State Seminoles for the NCAA championship.

Oklahoma Sooners advance to super regionals with 16-3 win over Cal

The Oklahoma Sooners advance to the super regional round of the NCAA tournament after a 16-3 win over California.

Oklahoma’s offense got going right out of the gate and didn’t look back as they dominated the California Golden Bears 16-3 in five innings. The Sooners hit six home runs in the game, extending their winning streak to 46 games.

[autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] got the scoring going in the first inning when she launched a homer to make it 1-0. [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] doubled, and [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] hit a home run to put Oklahoma up 3-0. [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] singled, and [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] smashed a home run to extend the lead to 5-0. Jocelyn Erickson went back-to-back with Sanders with a solo shot to put the Sooners up 6-0 in the top of the first.

Jennings hit her second home run of the day in the top of the second to give the Sooners a 7-0 lead.

They kept the scoring going in the third inning. Rylie Boone brought in Hansen on an RBI single to make it 8-0 and put Oklahoma in run-rule territory. Coleman doubled to score Grace Lyons on an RBI, which made it 9-0. Jennings drove a double of her own to score Boone and Coleman and put the Sooners well out in front 11-0. Not to be outdone by Tiare Jennings, Alyssa Brito hammered her second home run of the day, a three-run shot to give Oklahoma a 14-0 lead after three.

Cal scored three runs on three hits in the third after loading the bases. Alex Storako wasn’t her sharp self, and Nicole May came in to limit the damage.

In the fourth inning, Grace Lyons hit a sacrifice fly that brought home Alynah Torres to make the score 15-3. Quincee Lilio then singled to right center and to score Jocelyn Erickson to extend the lead 16-3.

May was able to get the shutdown inning in the fourth inning before giving way to Kierston Deal who pitched a scoreless fifth.

Storako allowed five hits and three runs in 2.2 innings pitched. May and Deal combined to throw three innings of perfect ball, keeping the Golden Bears off the base paths once May entered the game.

Tiare Jennings went 4-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs, and three runs scored. Brito was 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and five RBIs. Haley Lee, Kinzie Hansen, and Jocelyn Erickson each had multi-hit games for the Sooners.

Oklahoma will now welcome Clemson for their three-game series in the super regional after the Tigers beat Auburn in a winner-take-all game Sunday afternoon. The Sooners’ 13 straight super regional appearances is the longest own the longest streak in the nation

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Jordy Bahl continues dominant run in regional performance against Missouri

Jordy Bahl has been on an incredible run over the last two months and that continued with her one-hit performance against Missouri.

Jordy Bahl’s been on a roll for two months. After giving up a pair of runs in two innings against Mississippi State on March 13, Bahl’s given up just four runs in her last 71.3 innings pitched.

That’s good for a 0.50 ERA over the last two months. She’s given up runs in just two appearances in that stretch; three against Oklahoma State and one against Texas. Both were complete game performances.

She was noticeably absent from the USA Softball National Player of the Year top three finalists. Much of that is due to the way she started the season. However, Bahl turned it on around the middle of the season and has been on fire since.

And she was again on Saturday, allowing one hit and a walk over five innings. She recorded seven strikeouts to completely shut down the Missouri Tigers offense. The two base runners she allowed were both in the fourth inning. With two on and one out, Bahl was able to get out of the jam with a ground out to third and a strikeout to end the inning. She retired the side in the other four innings she pitched.

The Oklahoma Sooners have boasted the best offensive in college softball for years now. But in 2023, they found balance by also rolling into the circle the best pitching staff in college softball. Nicole May and Alex Storako have been a huge part of that, but the run that Jordy Bahl has been on over the last two months has been remarkable.

As the Sooners look to win their third-straight national championship, this looks like the most balanced team they’ve had, and that’s because they have one of the best pitchers in college softball.

Though they didn’t need her to turn out the lights on the Tigers, Jordy Bahl put forth another masterful performance from the circle.

Here’s a look at some of the best images from Oklahoma’s 11-0 win over Missouri.