Tag: Alex Storako

Oklahoma Sooners close regular season with 5-1 win over Oklahoma State

Alex Storako notched career strikeout No. 1,000 and the Oklahoma Sooners beat Oklahoma State 5-1 to close the regular season on a 41-game winning streak.

Oklahoma finished off a dominant regular season after a Bedlam series sweep against Oklahoma State. They won the final game of the series 5-1 in a strong showing to close out their last trip to Stillwater for the foreseeable future.

It’s Oklahoma’s 41st win in a row and the Sooners closed out the Big 12 regular season undefeated at 18-0. It was the final hurdle on the schedule until the postseason begins in the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.

The Sooners got the scoring started in the third inning with senior shortstop Grace Lyons driving in Cydney Sanders and Jayda Coleman with a two out double.

Oklahoma had a chance to bust the game wide-open in the fourth, but failed to capitalize with the bases loaded and one out in the inning. After leaving runners on base in the fourth, the Sooners would push a couple more runs across the plate in the fifth to extend their lead on Alynah Torres’ two-run single to make it 4-0.

Lyons picked up her third RBI of the game in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-0 game in the late innings.

The Cowgirls avoided a shutout with Micaela Wark’s RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.

The biggest story of the game for Oklahoma was pitcher Alex Storako who finished with a 16-0 record this season and recorded strikeout number 1,000. It was a dominant performance for the WPF’s first overall pick, throwing a complete game, allowing six hits one run while striking out four Cowgirls.

Oklahoma State’s pitching was more of a mixed bag, with Lexi Kilfoyl getting the start and throwing six innings. She allowed seven hits, five runs, but also had five strikeouts. Kyra Aycock came in for the seventh and picked up where she left off on Saturday night, holding the Sooners scoreless in the seventh inning.

The win for the Sooners cements them as the top overall seed in the Big 12 championships. As the one-seed, Oklahoma gets a bye into the semifinals and will face the winner of Baylor vs. Iowa State in the opening round on Thursday.

Iowa State finished the season strong, going 10-4 in their last 14 games, including a series win over Baylor in Ames last weekend. The Bears rebounded to the upset in Ames with an upset of their own, sweeping the Texas Longhorns in Waco and outscoring the Big 12’s No. 2 seed 16-4.

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No. 1 Oklahoma Softball at No. 7/6 Oklahoma State: How to watch, weekend preview, key players

The Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowgirls get set for a top 10 Bedlam matchup.

For the final week of the regular season, all eyes turn to Stillwater, Oklahoma for 2023’s edition of Bedlam Softball.

The Oklahoma Sooners come in 46-1 and 15-0 in Big 12 play, riding a nation’s best 38-game winning streak. Oklahoma State is 45-10 and 10-5 in conference play. They’ve lost seven of their last nine games, including upset losses to Texas Tech, Iowa State, Wichita State, UNT, and were swept by the Texas Longhorns in Austin.

Though the Cowgirls are reeling a bit, they’re a force on the diamond and have gone 19-3 at home this season.

As the Sooners and Cowgirls get set for Bedlam Softball in Stillwater, here’s a look at how you can tune in, players to watch, a series outlook, and our prediction.

Sooners beat Kansas 8-2, clinch 11th straight Big 12 Championship

The Oklahoma Sooners got big-time performances from Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings to beat the Kansas Jayhawks and clinch their 11th consecutive Big 12 title.

The Sooners fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first to the Jayhawks. That deficit didn’t last long as Oklahoma beat Kansas 8-2 to move to 15-0 in Big 12 play, clinching their 11th consecutive Big 12 championship.

Kansas jumped out to an early lead after an uncharacteristic throwing error by shortstop Grace Lyons. That led to an unearned run by the Jayhawks later in the inning, but the Sooners would waste little time responding in the bottom half of the first.

Jayda Coleman led off with a hit by pitch and then stole second. Tiare Jennings followed that up with a single of her own to put runners on first and third with nobody out. Grace Lyons walked to load the bases, and with two outs in the inning, Haley Lee drew a walk to bring Coleman in to tie the game. Alyssa Brito came through with an infield single to plate Jennings and put the Sooners on top 2-1.

In the bottom of the second, the Sooners broke it open on a three-run blast from Tiare Jennings, her 12th home run of the season. The drive put her to 49 RBIs on the year.

The Jayhawks got one back in the top of the third, but the Sooners put two more on the board in the bottom half of the inning on a Coleman single and Cydney Sanders hit by pitch with the bases loaded. That made it 7-2 Oklahoma, and Storako settled in before giving way to Jordy Bahl to close out the game.

Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings led the way for the Sooners in the win. Each reached base four times for the Sooners. Coleman went 2-for-3 with a walk and a hit by pitch, had two runs scored, and a pair of RBIs. Jennings went 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored.

Alyssa Brito was the only other Sooner with multiple hits in the game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Alex Storako went 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits, recording six strikeouts. She improved to 15-0 on the season. Jordy Bahl’s 1.2 innings pitched continued her incredible run over the last month. Since allowing one run in the top of the first in a complete game win over Texas on March 31, Bahl has gone 36.2 innings pitched without allowing a run. She hasn’t allowed a run over her last eight appearances, including five starts.

The Oklahoma Sooners now prepare for an in-state nonconference matchup with Tulsa before facing Oklahoma State for what could be their last trip to Stillwater in some time.  With the Oklahoma Sooners scheduled to go to the SEC after the 2023-2024 academic year, and no guarantee that the Bedlam rivals will face each other in the future, it may be a while before the in-state foes take the field together again in the regular season.

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5 takeaways from Oklahoma Softball’s sweep of the Baylor Bears

The Oklahoma Sooners went into Waco and came away with a shutout sweep of the Baylor Bears. Here are 5 takeaways from the weekend.

With the Oklahoma’s sweep of the Baylor Bears, the Sooners are now 42-1 on the season and are riding a 34-game winning streak. They moved to 12-0 in Big 12 play and now hold a 3.5-game lead on Texas for first place in the conference.

The Oklahoma Sooners put together another strong reminder as to why they’re the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, remaining undefeated in top 25 matchups — Baylor was unranked when they beat Oklahoma in February.

The Sooners got a great all-around effort with fantastic pitching from the circle, timely hitting at the plate, and phenomenal defense in the field. In the stands, Sooner Nation showed out. They had a strong presence in Waco, helping to fill up Dave Getterman stadium for Oklahoma’s return trip to the site of their only loss this season.

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Here are our five takeaways from the Sooners’ weekend in Waco.

Oklahoma Sooners complete sweep of Baylor with two wins on Saturday

The Oklahoma Sooners completed the sweep of the Baylor Bears with a pair of shutout wins on Saturday led by Alex Storako and Nicole May.

There won’t be much talk of the Baylor Bears win over the Oklahoma Sooners from back in February now. After a three-game sweep, where the Bears didn’t record a single run.

After a shutout victory on Friday, the Oklahoma Sooners held the Bears scoreless in their Saturday double-header, picking up 4-0 and 2-0 wins on the backs of strong starts by [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] and [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag].

Game one featured a pitcher’s duel between Storako and Kaci West, who came in to relieve Rylee Crandall after she walked the first three batters to load the bases in the first inning. West kept Oklahoma off the board and battled Storako inning-for-inning until a four-run sixth by the Sooners.

In the sixth, [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] led off with a walk and then advanced to second on a passed ball. [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], hitting from the clean-up spot lined a triple to left field, scoring Jennings to take a 1-0 lead. Sophia Nugent walked. Pinch running for Nugent, Avery Hodge stole second to put runners on second and third with one out for Cydney Sanders.

Sanders worked a hitters count and took the 3-1 pitch deep to left field for her fourth home run of the season, a three-run blast to put Oklahoma up 4-0. It was Sanders’ second home run in as many days.

The Arizona State transfer is officially hot and it’s coming at the perfect time of the season as the Sooners prepare for the stretch run.

Storako moved to 14-0 on the season and lowered her ERA to 0.73 on the season.

In game two, it was more of the same as the Sooners shutout the Bears 2-0 to complete the sweep and stay perfect on the season.

The Sooners wasted little time getting on the board in this one. [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] hit her 11th home run of the season to put Oklahoma up 1-0 in the top of the first, and Alyssa Brito followed that up in the second with her 10th home run of the season. After two, the Sooners led 2-0, and that’s all the support Nicole May would need.

May scattered two hits and three walks across seven innings for her sixth shutout of the season and moved to 13-0, lowering her ERA to 0.45 on the season.

After much was made of Baylor’s February win, the Sooners reminded the Bears, the Big 12, and the softball world why they’re the back-to-back national champions.

They’re the most well-balanced team in the nation, leading the nation in scoring and in ERA coming into the weekend. And they provided some timely defense to erase any Baylor threats throughout the weekend.

Now at 42-1 and riding a 34-game winning streak, the No. 1 team in the nation has Sunday and Monday off before a two-game road trip to face Wichita State and Tulsa on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Shockers hold a recent win over Oklahoma State and boast one of the best players in the nation in Sydney McKinney. McKinney leads the nation in batting average at .545.

Oklahoma returns to Big 12 play at Marita Hynes Field in Norman next weekend when they host the Kansas Jayhawks.

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No. 1 Oklahoma Softball at No. 16/19 Baylor: How to watch, weekend preview, key players, schedule,

The No. 1Oklahoma Sooners return to Waco to face the Baylor Bears in Big 12 action and here’s how you can tune in and our series preview.

The Oklahoma Sooners return to the scene of their only loss on the 2023 season to face the No. 16/19 Baylor Bears for a three-game series in Big 12 play.

Riding a 31-game winning streak since the loss two months ago, the Sooners have been absolutely rolling. They’ve picked up 11 top 25 wins in that stretch, including wins over top 10 opponents UCLA, LSU, Florida State, and a three-game sweep against the Texas Longhorns.

The Baylor Bears are 28-9 since beating Oklahoma and have some strong wins, including a pair of victories over No. 4/5 Tennessee a couple of weeks ago. They’ve also lost games to Long Beach State, Texas A&M, Boston University, South Dakota State, Kansas, and Texas Tech and were swept by Oklahoma State.

They’ve been an odd team to watch this season. They’ve beaten some of the best teams in the country, but have dropped games to teams they probably shouldn’t have.

Which Baylor Bears team shows up?

Here’s a look at the two teams and the broadcast schedule as they prepare for their three-game clash in Waco.

Led by Alex Storako at No. 1 overall, trio of Sooners selected in WPF Draft

Led by Alex Storako at No. 1 overall to the Oklahoma City Spark, three Sooners were selected in the 2023 WPF Draft.

For the second year in a row, the Oklahoma Sooners heard their name called first in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch draft as pitcher Alex Storako follows Jocelyn Alo as the first overall pick.

Storako was selected first overall by the Oklahoma City Spark. She’s having a phenomenal season for the Oklahoma Sooners after transferring from Michigan last summer.

She’s 13-0 with a 0.80 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 70 innings pitched for the Sooners. In 2022 with the Wolverines, Storako had 300 strikeouts in 200 innings pitched and went 25-8 with a 1.71 ERA.

Joining Storako with the Spark is Haley Lee, who was selected with the first pick of the fourth round. Lee’s having a fantastic season in the utility role for the Sooners, batting .426 with a team-leading 13 home runs. She’s second on the Sooenrs in RBIs with 38 in 2023.

Storako and Lee could join former Sooners Jocelyn Alo and Lynnzie Elam with the Spark in their expansion season in 2023.

Grace Lyons, arguably the best defensive player in the game, was selected by another expansion team, the Texas Smoke with the second pick of the sixth round. Lyons is hitting .366 with five home runs and 20 RBIs in 2023. She also has a .455 on-base percentage this season and has stolen five bases for Oklahoma.

The WPF will begin its 2023 season in the middle of June, with the Oklahoma City Spark hosting the SIS Vipers for a series starting on June 15.

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5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s 2-0 weekend at Miami (Oh.) Tournament

The Sooners’ bats came to life in their 2-0 weekend at the Miami (Oh.) Tournament. Here are 5 takeaways from the wins.

The Oklahoma Sooners took a road trip to Ohio for the first time in program history to take part in the Miami (Oh.) Tournament. Their first game against Oakland was canceled due to inclement weather, but the Sooners took advantage of their opportunity to play a doubleheader on Saturday and went 2-0 against Miami (Oh.) and Louisville.

Oklahoma’s now 39-1 on the season, matching their 40-game record from a season ago.

The Oklahoma Sooners had the week off of Big 12 play, but will go to Waco to face a Baylor Bears team that’s handed the Sooners their only loss of the season. They’ll look to repay the favor, but before we get to Baylor, here are five takeaways from the Sooners weekend in Ohio.

Oklahoma Sooners beat Texas Tech 7-0, complete sweep

The Oklahoma Sooners completed the three-game sweep with a 7-0 win over Texas Tech.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders came into Norman with an innovative game plan. Rotate pitchers to keep the Sooners’ lineup off-balance. It worked well enough in game one of the series, limiting Oklahoma to three hits. But that’s as close as they came to knocking off the No. 1 team in the country. The Sooners completed the three-game series sweep on Saturday with a 7-0 win in Norman.

[autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] pitched 5.1 shutout innings for her 11th win of the season. [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] followed up Jayda Coleman’s two-homer game from Friday night with a pair of home runs herself. Lee is now tied with Coleman for the team lead in home runs at 11.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] led off the game with a hit, but was put out at second on Tiare Jennings’ fielder’s choice. Then Lee put the Sooners on the board with a two-run shot.

OU followed their two-run first with a pair of runs in the second when Grace Lyons hit her fifth home run of the season to put the Sooners up 4-0. Haley Lee kept the home run parade going in the third with a lead-off home run to make it 5-0 after three innings.

Texas Tech had no answers for the Sooners’ pitching staff. They head back to Lubbock with a trio of shutout losses at the hands of [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag], [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag], [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], and [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag], who had relief appearances in Friday and Saturday’s wins.

The Sooners shut out an offense that ranked 14th in the nation in runs per game and sixth in home runs per game. As good as Oklahoma’s been, this might be their most balanced team yet. Coming into the weekend, they were No. 1 in runs scored per game and No. 2 in team ERA. Keeping Texas Tech off the board all weekend, the Sooners lowered their team ERA to 0.91 on the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners are now 36-1 and have now won 28 straight games. They’re 9-0 in Big 12 play. The Sooners go on the road for a nonconference tilt against LSU before traveling to Miami, Ohio for the Miami (OH) Tournament next weekend.

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Alex Storako stellar in Oklahoma Sooners 3-0 win over Texas Tech

Oklahoma got a standout performance from Alex Storako in the Sooners’ 3-0 win over Texas Tech.

The Oklahoma Sooners kept their run going with a 3-0 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Thursday night.

Alex Storako was fantastic, allowing just three hits and a walk in her complete game shutout of Texas Tech. Storako collected four strikeouts along the way.

“I think command, ability to change speeds on ’em a bit,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said about Storako’s performance. “They take hacks. They’re very aggressive. Almost every one I’m writing, ‘first-pitch swing,’ ‘first-pitch swing,’ they just get up, they just rip it and they’re aiming for the fence.”

Storako did a great job keeping the Red Raiders off-balance, and when Texas Tech did make good contact, the Sooners’ defense was there to support her.

Grace Lyons and Avery Hodge had moments worthy of Baseball Tonight’s Web Gems.

“I thought defense was kind of securing the game along with pitching,” coach Patty Gasso said after the win. “And a lot of times, if you have two of the three parts of your game working well, you’re going to find ways to win, and that’s really the story tonight.”

Haley Lee got the scoring going for the Sooners with a solo shot in the bottom of the first, and Alyssa Brito’s two-RBI double gave the Sooners the insurance runs they needed.

It was Lee’s ninth home run of the season, tying her with Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings for the team lead.

In contrast to Storako’s ability to go the distance, the Red Raiders rolled out six different pitchers for the start of each inning. It was a unique strategy, that for the most part, worked to keep Oklahoma off-balance.

Texas Tech held Oklahoma to just three hits, their fewest in 2023.

“I thought their plan and their pitchers coming in the way they did offset us a little bit,” Gasso said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what they bring tomorrow because I’m looking forward to seeing how our team’s gonna respond.”

Storako moved to 12-0 on the season and lowered her ERA to 0.75 in 2023.

The Sooners get back at it for game two against the Red Raiders at Marita Hynes Field on Friday evening at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

A look at some of the best photos from the Sooners 3-0 win.