Tag: Kierston Deal

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.

Oklahoma Sooners’ pitching the lone bright spot over the weekend

While there isn’t a lot of positives to take away from the weekend, you can take away just how great the pitching was from the Sooners.

When you lose your first conference series in over a decade, there aren’t a lot of positives for fans to take away. Especially with how you lost the series.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ offense managed to score just seven runs in the three games, but there is one bright spot from the weekend. The pitching and defense were really good against one of the best offenses in the country.

[autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag], [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag], [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] and [autotag]Paytn Monticelli[/autotag] held one of the best offenses in the country to just six runs in three games. Maxwell was dominant in Game 1 and got the start again in Game 3 and threw really well.

Patty Gasso spoke about her thought process giving Maxwell two starts in the series. “Another level,” Gasso said. “This is the best I’ve seen her. (She is) confident, cool, calm, execution, getting ahead. I liked it so much the first night, I wanted to see it again. She handled herself really well. I’m telling you, their offense and our offense, it’s almost side by side, identical. So, for us to shut them down to two runs, that’s a big deal.”

Holding them to two runs per game for the series would normally end in a series sweep for the Sooners. But Texas shutting Oklahoma’s lineup down to one run in the final two games of the series was the difference.

“I knew that today (Sunday) was going to be tough,” Kelly Maxwell said. “Credit Texas’ offense for picking up on my mistakes. I think there is just more opportunity to learn and grow from this weekend.”

The Sooners will have a day to regroup before traveling to face Wichita State on Tuesday.

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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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Kierston Deal shines, Oklahoma Sooners beat Texas A&M Commerce 9-0 in five innings

Kierston Deal threw three innings of one-hit ball and the Oklahoma Sooners jumped out to a five-run first inning lead in their 9-0 win.

It didn’t take long for the Oklahoma Sooners to get going in their midweek showdown with Texas A&M Commerce. The Sooners jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 9-0 run rule win to improve to 19-1 on the season.

[autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] got the start for the Oklahoma Sooners. She allowed a lead-off single and then retired the next nine batters she faced in her three innings of work. She got out of the first inning with two strikeouts to keep Texas A&M Commerce from adding to the lead-off single.

[autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] led off the game with a walk, followed by a couple of flyouts from [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] and [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag]. But the Sooners were masterful with two outs. [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] drew a four-pitch walk and [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] continued her strong freshman campaign with a two-RBI double to put the Sooners up 2-0 in the first.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] was intentionally walked bringing up freshman Ella Parker, who lined an 0-1 pitch to right field for the three-run home run to put the Sooners up 5-0 after the first.

After a 1-2-3 second inning from Deal, [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] led off the bottom of the second with a double and moved to third on Boone’s bunt single. Brito had another hard-hit ball to center field to bring home Sanders on the sacrifice fly and the Sooners led 6-0.

Deal threw another flawless inning in the third, picking up her fifth strikeout of the game.

In the bottom of the third, Hansen led off with a single to center. With [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag] in to pinch run for Hansen, Pickering added her second RBI double of the game. Coleman singled to center field to bring home Pickering for the 8-0 lead. After [autotag]Hannah Coor[/autotag] entered the game to pinch run for Jennings, [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] doubled to make it 9-0 in favor of the Sooners.

[autotag]Peytn Monticelli[/autotag] worked two scoreless innings of relief in the fourth and fifth to preserve the run-rule win. Over five innings of work, Deal and Monticelli combined to allow just two hits and one walk.

Deal is now 4-0 with a team-leading 0.97 ERA in 2024. Over her last four starts, Deal has now gone 19 innings without allowing a run. In that span she has a 0.63 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) and has recorded 23 strikeouts.

Pickering was the only Sooner with multiple hits in the game. She now leads the Sooners with a .458 batting average. Boone, Hansen, and Coleman each had a walk and a hit in the win. Parker’s home run was her fourth of the season. Along with the four home runs, she now has 18 RBIs on the season, good for third on the team.

Oklahoma will open Big 12 play this weekend with a three game home slate against Iowa State. The Cyclones are currently 9-10 on the season ahead of their trip to Norman.

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Oklahoma Sooners earn 70th win in a row with 8-0 win over Louisiana

The Oklahoma Sooners extended their win streak to 70 with an 8-0 win over Louisiana.

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 17-0 with an 8-0 win over the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns in the first of two games on Saturday. OU has now won an incredible 70 games in a row.

[autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] got the start and worked four scoreless innings, allowing three hits, two walks, and a hit batter with two strikeouts in the outing. [autotag]Peytn Monticelli[/autotag] came in and threw a scoreless fifth inning to help Oklahoma seal the win.

Oklahoma’s offense got going early with a three-run first inning. [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag], and [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] each had an RBI double in the frame to put the Sooners up early.

The Sooners added four more runs in the second. [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag] led off with a solo home run before Brito doubled home [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] for her second extra-base hit of the game. Parker walked to load the bases and [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] earned another walk to score [autotag]Riley Boone[/autotag]. [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] closed the scoring with a sacrifice fly to put the Sooners up 7-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] smashed her third double of the day, and after a passed ball allowed Brito to get to third and eventually scored on [autotag]Maya Bland[/autotag]’s ground out.

The Sooners will take on Liberty in the afternoon part of their Saturday double-header after beating the Flames 8-0 on Friday night.

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3 Stars from Oklahoma’s 5-0 weekend in the Cowgirl Challenge

The Oklahoma Sooners continued their record-winning streak in the Cowgirl Challenge and here are this weekend’s three stars.

The Oklahoma Sooners just completed a 5-0 weekend in Lake Charles, La. at the Cowgirl Challenge hosted by McNeese State.

Though the schedule may not have been as daunting as the week before, McNeese State and Central Arkansas were NCAA tournament teams in 2023 that represented themselves well in the regional. McNeese State nearly pulled off the upset to advance to the Super Regionals.

Against a couple of rising programs, the Sooners outscored the opposition 36-1 in the five games, earning a trio of run rules.

The pitching staff threw four shutouts as Patty Gasso and Jennifer Rocha went deep into their arsenal, utilizing six different pitchers during the weekend.

After another tremendous weekend in which the Sooners extended their winning streak to 62 games, and haven’t lost now in more than a year, here are the three stars and a few honorable mentions from the weekend.

Oklahoma Sooners close weekend with 11-3 win over Long Beach State

Karlie Keeney was fantastic in relief and the Oklahoma Sooners pulled away from Long Beach State late to earn the 11-3 win.

The Oklahoma Sooners finished their weekend in Puerto Vallarta with a 4-0 record and a 57-game winning streak.

As was the case on Friday night, the Sooners were tested on Saturday by Long Beach State before exploding late for the 11-3 win.

[autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] opened the scoring in the top of the first with a three-run blast to put Oklahoma ahead early.

[autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag], who drew the start, allowed a leadoff single before retiring the next three hitters. The bottom of the second though, wasn’t as kind. Long Beach State tagged her for three runs on three hits and a walk. Liberty transfer [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag] came in to put an end to the inning.

Keeney was magnificent, throwing 4 1/3 innings of perfect ball. Long Beach struggled to make good contact, and the Sooners defense made every play that came its way. Keeney’s outing provided the momentum Oklahoma’s bats needed to come around.

With the game tied 3-3 in the fourth, [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] rocketed a ball to deep center field. It looked like Lilyanna Martinez was there to make the play, but the ball hit off her glove and went over the fence for a home run, Sanders’ first of the season.

In the sixth, the Sooners broke it open. Brito led off with a solo home run, her second on the day and third of the season to make it 6-3. Sanders and Avery Hodge recorded infield singles, and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] walked to load the bases with no outs. Ella Parker and [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag] drew bases-loaded walks to make it 8-3 before [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] grounded into a double play to score Parker and make it 9-3. [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] capped the scoring with a two-run shot that went a long ways to make it 11-3. It was Jennings second home run of the season.

[autotag]Peytn Monticelli[/autotag] came in to pitch the seventh and recorded a scoreless relief appearance to seal OU’s win.

Brito was 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs to lead the way. Hansen was 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and a walk. Sanders also had two hits.

Oklahoma’s road tour continues next weekend when it heads to Lake Charles, Louisiana, for the Cowgirl Challenge. It will take on Central Arkansas and McNeese State on Friday, Lamar and McNeese State on Saturday before closing the weekend with Central Arkansas again on Sunday.

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Oklahoma State pitcher Kelly Maxwell to join the Oklahoma Sooners per report

According to a report from Extra Inning Softball, the Oklahoma Sooners are adding Oklahoma State ace Kelly Maxwell via the transfer portal.

Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners made another splash in the transfer portal, according to a report Thursday morning.

Extra Inning Softball’s Brentt Eads is reporting that Oklahoma State ace pitcher [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] is heading to Oklahoma via the transfer portal.

In the wake of Jordy Bahl’s departure to Nebraska, the Sooners have been active in the portal, adding pitchers [autotag]Peytn Monticelli[/autotag] and [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag]. In Maxwell, the Sooners get another experienced arm that has been one of the best in college softball over the last several years.

Maxwell has been named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week six times in her career. Along with Bahl, Maxwell was named Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2022.

She holds a career record of 58-20 and an ERA of 1.58.

Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso hinted at the addition of Maxwell on Wednesday night.

“This was not an easy decision but one that I felt was best, for my own personal happiness,” Maxwell wrote last month about her decision to transfer “Thank you for being there and supporting me as I made some of the best memories of my life.”

She joins a pitching staff that includes [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag], [autotag]S.J. Guerin[/autotag], Monticelli, and Keeney to fortify the Sooners in the circle as they attempt to defend their national championship three-peat.

Here’s a look at the best pictures of Kelly Maxwell’s time with the Oklahoma State Cowgirls

Oklahoma Sooners add Liberty transfer pitcher Karlie Keeney

The Oklahoma Sooners added another arm to their pitching arsenal earning a commitment from Liberty transfer Karlie Keeney.

The Oklahoma Sooners added another arm to their pitching staff via the transfer portal. Though some other names have received a lot of buzz, [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] and [autotag]Jennifer Rocha[/autotag] are bringing in Liberty transfer pitcher Karlie Keeney. Keeney announced her commitment to Oklahoma via Instagram.

As a junior in 2023, Keeney was an iron woman for the Flames, appearing in 48 games and throwing 261.2 innings. She was 27-12 with a 2.03 ERA and an opponents batting average of .229. Keeney threw 27 complete games, including five shutouts last season to help lead Liberty to the NCAA tournament.

Beyond the stat line, the name might be familiar. In Oklahoma’s second game of the 2023 season, Keeney shut out the Sooners for seven innings before allowing the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth inning when Jordy Bahl scored from second on an error.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CusMQwpOVzZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

On the season, Liberty ranked 105th in fielding percentage, committing 66 errors. For reference, the Oklahoma Sooners led the nation in fielding percentage, committing 19 errors on the year.

Keeney’s other most memorable start on the year came in the NCAA tournament, where again she was put to work. After losing to San Diego State (a game Keeney didn’t start), the Flames drew the unfortunate task of facing the UCLA Bruins in the losers’ bracket. Keeney was up to the task.

After allowing a solo home run to open the game to Megan Grant, Keeney settled in to shut the Bruins down. She scattered six more hits and allowed one walk the rest of the way to eliminate the No. 2 nationally seeded Bruins from the NCAA tournament.

She kept Liberty’s season alive with another one-run performance over seven innings against Grand Canyon before the Flames were eliminated by San Diego State in the final of the Los Angeles Regional.

So against Oklahoma and UCLA, the two teams that were ranked one and two for a vast majority of the 2023 season, Keeney allowed two runs, one earned, in 14 innings of work.

Keeney ranked No. 50 in D1Softball’s top 100, and here’s what they had to say.

Keeney was a true workhorse for Liberty. Her 261.2 innings pitched was the second-most in the entire nation. That translated into 27 wins last season, including victories against Alabama, Clemson and UCLA. Keeney’s heavy screwball and curveball approach led to a 52 percent groundball rate. Keeney is currently searching for her home for her last season via the transfer portal. – Brady Vernon, D1Softball

Keeney is an experienced starter that will benefit from not having to throw so many innings in Oklahoma’s rotation. [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] has worked to create a pitching system that minimizes the workload on her starters to keep them fresh later into the season and prepared for the NCAA tournament.

Oklahoma has a pitching rotation that can go four deep with [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag], [autotag]Peytn Monticelli[/autotag] and Karlie Keeney. Oklahoma also has [autotag]S.J. Guerin[/autotag] who can operate in the relief role Deal did in 2023.

Though the Sooners add an experienced arm in Keeney, it shouldn’t necessarily take them out of the mix for pitchers [autotag]Alana Vawter[/autotag] or [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag]. While Monticelli, Deal and Guerin all have really good upside, the experience and success that Vawter and Maxwell bring to the table is some of the best in the country.

But, if the Sooners don’t look to add another arm to their pitching staff, they’ll be in great shape to defend their national title in 2024.

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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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