Tag: Alyssa Brito

Tiare Jennings’ great defensive play helps lead to win over Texas

Oklahoma’s defense was great once again, capped by a great play by one of the captains.

We wrote this week about how big the Oklahoma defense would need to be if the Sooners hoped to knock off the Texas Longhorns this weekend.

Texas has one of the best offenses in the country and the defense locked them down in Game 1, capped by an incredible play by [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag].

Texas scored twice in the seventh inning and had two on with the tying run at the plate. Katie Stewart hit a rocket to the left side that went off [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag]’s glove. Jennings snagged it out of the air while throwing to first to get the final out.

Kelly Maxwell talked about that incredible play to end the game.

“It just shows how talented she is in those types of moments,” Maxwell said. “I mean, we’re playing free, and we’re playing for something bigger than the game of softball, so for her just to step up in that moment was huge.”

That’s the kind of player Jennings has been her whole career. That’s why moving her from second base to shortstop was not a risky move. You know, when it matters most, she’s going to step up and make a play.

Which she did once again as she continues to do time and time again.

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Kelly Maxwell hitting her stride at the right time

Kelly Maxwell has been huge for Oklahoma this year and lately she’s been taking her game to a new level.

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 35-1 on the season after a 5-2 opening series win against the Texas Longhorns. It was a dominant defensive effort led by [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag]’s 10 strikeouts.

Maxwell has been hot in her last two outings. She had nine strikeouts last week against the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag] and allowed only one run. In this game she allowed only two runs to one of the best offenses in the country while striking out 10 Longhorns.

Through six innings she’s allowed just one walk and one hit before getting into some trouble in the bottom of the seventh.

Maxwell spoke about what has been working for her lately. “I think still just working through what I’ve been working so hard with Coach Rocha, finding my routine and staying with it,” Maxwell said. “Just being in control on my tempo, on my behalf. So, just feeding balls to the defense and letting them be behind me.”

When you’ve got the top defense in the country behind you, that’s all you need to do. Let them do the work for you, just keep the ball in play for them. That’s what the pitching staff has been so good at for Oklahoma the last few seasons.

Maxwell is already a great pitcher so when you put the top defense behind her, it makes her job even easier. But there is no doubt they need her to keep it up to close out the year if they want a chance at winning four straight.

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Oklahoma Sooners hang on to beat Texas 5-2 in series opener

Kelly Maxwell was phenomenal through six innings, and Jayda Coleman provided the difference at the plate in the Oklahoma Sooners 5-2 win over Texas.

[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.

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.

More: How to watch No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 4 Texas Longhorns

More: Sooners, Blue Devils top consensus top 25 rankings for week 8

Tiare Jennings solidifying herself as one of the all-time greats

She might not get all of the love that the others before her got but there is no question Jennings is one of the all-time Sooner greats.

[autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] has coached some of the best players college softball has had to offer. Whether that’s [autotag]Lauren Chamberlain[/autotag], [autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag], [autotag]Shelby Pendley[/autotag], [autotag]Keilani Ricketts[/autotag] or [autotag]Kristin Vesely[/autotag] the list goes on and on.

One player who isn’t mentioned as much as she should be alongside the best all-time is [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag]. Jennings has hit 88 career home runs, which is currently seventh in NCAA history and climbing. She’s just eight away from passing Chamberlain for second place, which would give Oklahoma the top three home run hitters in the history of the sport.

Jennings also ranks No. 7 in career runs batted in. She would need 37 more RBIs to break that record.

Patty Gasso discussed where Jennings ranks among the great players she’s coached. “You think of Alo and Chamberlain, big-time home runs. Just everyone has seen these big, long 300-foot home runs,” Gasso said. “Tiare you want her in clutch situations because she handles it so well. She’s a great two-strike hitter. She doesn’t strike out a lot. She doesn’t get nervous. She doesn’t try to overswing. She doesn’t try to show off. She’s just very team-oriented. ‘What can I do to help this team?'”

On the season, Jennings is hitting .446 with 15 home runs and 47 RBIs.

Sooner Nation has had the opportunity to witness greatness on the diamond at Marita Hynes Field for more than two decades. This year at Love’s Field, Jennings is putting together another strong season on the way to one of the best careers of all time.  When it’s all said and done, she’ll be among the best to play the game. Can she cap off her incredible career winning a fourth national championship in four years?

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Oklahoma Sooners ready for the high-powered Texas Longhorns offense

The Sooners are ready for the challenge of facing one of the toughest offenses in the country.

The Oklahoma Sooners will have their hands full this weekend as they take on one of the best offenses in the country, the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns come in averaging 7.7 runs per game.

Texas is also come in batting .377 on the season which ranks No. 2 in the nation with a slugging percentage of .609 which ranks No. 6.

They also have power in their lineup as they have 43 home runs which ranks No. 17 and an on-base percentage of .453 which ranks No. 4. Oklahoma on the other hand averages 9.2 runs per game, has a batting average of .394, a slugging percentage of .733 and 78 home runs with an on-base percentage of .495.

The big difference for both teams is the defense. Oklahoma comes in at No. 1 in the nation with a fielding percentage of .985. Texas on the other hand ranks No. 165 in the country at .961.

Alyssa Brito talked about the challenges of facing Texas’ offense. “I would say, at third, it’s going to be really fun for me,” Brito said. “I like that they challenge third basemen with the short game and their quick. Their whole lineup has speed but what I think is fun, especially playing against these types of teams is it’s the best games. When they are competitive and giving their best, they’re only making us better.”

The Sooners defense will have their hands full this weekend. It’ll also be up to the pitching staff to be on their game as well. If they can do that, the Sooners should come out on top over the weekend.

More: No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Texas By the Numbers

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‘We’re going to be ready’: The No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners ready for the showdown against the No. 4 Texas Longhorns

The biggest series of arguably the entire softball season is here and the Sooners are ready for it.

The Oklahoma Sooners have been the model of consistency in the college softball world for years. The Texas Longhorns, have long been nipping at their heels for some time but have never been able to get over that hump to this point.

The closest they got was just a few years ago when they faced off in the WCWS Final but the Sooners dominated the two games and won the national title.

Now, Texas feels they have a team that can really compete with Oklahoma. They have some really good pitching and one of the best offenses in the country. Combine that with this weekend series being in Austin and the Texas fans have something to be excited about.

Kinzie Hansen spoke about how they prepare for what they are walking into this weekend.

“Challenging ourselves at practice,” Hansen said. “We don’t walk into any series lightly but this one especially. Being confident in our preparation for sure. We’re working on everything that you could throw at us. So, we’re going to be ready and we’re going to be, we’re going to be ready.”

This game has been circled on the calendars of many across the softball world. It’s a series the Sooners can really make a statement in. Very similar to what they did to No. 1 UCLA last year.

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Kinzie Hansen ‘feeling great’ after a nagging injury ahead of the Texas Longhorns series

The Sooners have been without one of their captains for quite a while now but she’s expected to be back against Texas this weekend.

The Oklahoma Sooners are gearing up for a big-time showdown against the No. 4 Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns had been ranked No. 2 for most of the season and actually briefly took over the No. 1 spot from the Sooners. But Texas is coming off of a weekend where they lost two of three to Oklahoma State and were shutout twice by Longhorns ace Lexi Kilfoyl.

As they head down to Austin, Texas to face the Longhorns in a three-game weekend series, the Sooners are hoping to get back one of their key players for this series.

Co-captain [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] has been battling a knee injury recently. She only started one game last weekend vs. the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag].

Hansen spoke to reporters about how she’s feeling ahead of the big rivalry game. “I’m feeling great,” Hansen said. “I’ll be ready for this weekend that’s for sure.”

A knee injury for a catcher can be painful with all of the squatting they have to do. She talked about if she had any problems in her last game. “No, not really,” Hansen said. “I’ve been working back to feel 100%, specifically for this weekend so I was really excited when coach had me suit up this past weekend.”

The Sooners are going to need all of the firepower they can get for this weekend. The Longhorns might be their toughest test to date.

There is no question that getting Hansen back is going to be big for the Sooners the rest of the way.

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Oklahoma Sooners’ offense shines in sweep of the Baylor Bears

The Sooners offense was firing on all cylinders as the Sooners swept the Baylor Bears.

This past weekend it was all about the offense for the Oklahoma Sooners as they dominated the [autotag]Baylor Bears[/autotag] en route to a sweep. The Sooners outscored the Bears 27-8 over the three games.

The big offensive outburst was in the first game on Saturday. The Sooners entered the bottom of the fifth inning only up 5-3. They went on to score seven runs in the frame, capped off by an [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] walk-off grand slam to complete the run rule.

Patty Gasso talked about what impressed her the most on Saturday.

“The offense was explosive throughout the lineup,” Gasso said. “Timely hits all throughout the lineup, all day long. I thought our defense was really good too. I thought we made some big plays. Pitching was good, there were a few hiccups, but overall it was a good solid day against a very good team.”

The Sooners, although still very good, hadn’t seemed like itself earlier in the season. But, like the rest of the team, they’ve caught fire. They are now averaging just over nine runs a game. They are averaging 10.7 runs per game in conference play.

This is great news for Oklahoma. The pitching has been pretty stellar all season long, but the hitting had to pick up, and it has so far. It’s a perfect time to do so, as the Sooners have a big time matchup this week in Lawrence against a surprising Kansas Jayhawks team before traveling to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns.

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Best Photos from Oklahoma’s doubleheader sweep of the Baylor Bears

A look at the best photos from the Sooners doubleheader with the Baylor Bears

The Sooners are now on a 13-game winning streak after their sweep of the Baylor Bears.

The wins over Baylor marked their first top 25 wins since early in the season when they knocked off top 10 teams Washington and Duke.

The games set the stage for a stretch of games against Wichita State, Kansas (yes, Kansas), and the Texas Longhorns. It’s a stretch that could have a huge impact on the Big 12 title race as Texas sits second in the standings and Kansas is a half-game back of Oklahoma State ahead of the Jayhawks series finale against Houston on Sunday.

It was another capacity crowd at Love’s Field on Saturday as the Sooners announced a record attendance of 4,520 on-site to watch the top 25 matchup. The fans in attendance were treated to a show as the Sooners scored 19 runs on Saturday and hit seven home runs.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the Sooners doubleheader sweep of Baylor.

‘She’s been waiting to have the offensive explosion’: Alynah Torres steals the show in Sooners win

The Sooners won big in their midweek game against UT Arlington in large part to the bat of Alynah Torres.

The Oklahoma Sooners put together a dominant showing in their midweek game against UT Arlington on Wednesday. The Sooners run-ruled the Mavs 12-1 in five innings.

It was in large part thanks to a big 2nd inning for the Sooners. They rattled off 10 runs to run away from the Mavericks. A big part of that was the bat of [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag].

Torres hit a two-run shot to center field early in the inning to help the Sooners take a 2-1 lead. She then made it back around and ended the scoring for the inning with another two-run shot, this time to left field to put Oklahoma up 10-1.

Patty Gasso shared what she has seen from her senior utility player. “She’s been waiting to have the offensive explosion that she’s used to before she came here,” Gasso said. “It’s hard when you have a new hitting coach and you are learning new things and trying to feel what feels right. So, a lot of that, I think she’s peaking now like this is what she’s been waiting for. She’s absolutely crushing the ball but what I love about Alynah is she’s just clutch in so many different ways. Not just offensively but defensively, we put her in a lot of different places.”

Torres transferred to Oklahoma last season after spending her first three years at Arizona State. She had 37 home runs in those three seasons before only having two a season ago at Oklahoma. This year, she is hitting .400 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Torres talked about what she thinks the difference has been for her lately. “I’m just having fun with my teammates, honestly, and just keeping it really simple,” Torres said. “I’m not trying to critique everything I’m doing, just having fun and seeing ball, hit ball.”

Torres is another one of several Sooners starting to find their groove. Now, it’s up to them to keep it going as Oklahoma begins a three-game series with a top 25 Baylor team.

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