Tag: Kierston Deal

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.

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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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Oklahoma Sooners should look to add Oklahoma State transfer Kelly Maxwell

Oklahoma Sooners should look to add Oklahoma State Cowgirls transfer ace Kelly Maxwell.

If Jordy Bahl’s departure via the transfer portal wasn’t stunning enough, Oklahoma State Cowgirls’ ace Kelly Maxwell announced via Instagram on Friday morning that she was looking for a new opportunity via the portal.

It’s a stunning move after four years in Stillwater, but as a graduate transfer, Maxwell has the opportunity to continue her career in a new locale.

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

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The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson had this to say about the stunning development: “Shocking because she has been Oklahoma State softball’s ace for three years. Shocking, too, because of the timing; it’s been a month since her season was over.”

Maxwell was one of five unanimous All-Big 12 first-team selections in 2023, joining former Sooner Bahl and Sooners’ stars Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman and Baylor’s Shaylon Govan.

One would think it improbable for the Oklahoma Sooners to add someone from across the Bedlam rivalry lines. However, Trace Ford broke the ice this offseason when the defensive end transferred from Oklahoma State to Oklahoma. Making the jump as well was guard Lexy Keys, who, after playing in 71 games with 32 starts, opted for the Crimson and Cream in the transfer portal.

Maxwell is one of college softball’s best pitchers. She’s a six-time recipient of Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and was the 2022 Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Year. She had a bit of a down year in 2023, finishing with an ERA of 1.91 and a 16-7 record. This after posting a record of 21-5 in 2022 with an ERA of 1.21 with 313 strikeouts.

In her career, she’s thrown 746 strikeouts and has a career ERA of 1.58 across nearly 500 innings of work.

While the Oklahoma Sooners have [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] returning and Patty Gasso is high on [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag], they’ve been active in the portal this offseason in their attempts to add talent in the circle. They brought in [autotag]Peytn Monticelli[/autotag] after her true freshman year for Wisconsin.

But if 2023 showed us anything, you can never have enough good arms in college softball. It certainly made a huge difference in the Sooners’ record-breaking winning streak and third straight national championship.

Maxwell will be someone that every team in the nation will want to add. You can bet as soon as her name officially hit the portal, either Patty Gasso or pitching coach Jennifer Rocha was in contact.

As the Sooners head into 2024 looking to extend their winning streak and run their national championship run to four straight, adding a talent of Maxwell’s experience and talent would be huge for Oklahoma.

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

Nicole May has the production and the talent to be Oklahoma’s next ace

Nicole May showed throughout much of the 2023 season that she’s got the talent to be the Oklahoma Sooners next ace in the circle.

The news of Jordy Bahl’s transfer portal decision, which led her to Nebraska and back to her home state, was a shocking one. It took the softball world by surprise.

In the aftermath, it left many wondering what Oklahoma would do in the circle without the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Surely, [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] and Jennifer Rocha will attack the transfer portal, but their answer for a frontline starter is already in-house.

For most of the 2023 season, it was [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] and not [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] that was leading the Oklahoma Sooners in ERA. May finished with an ERA of 0.91 and Bahl, after a fantastic run in the NCAA tournament, finished with an ERA of 0.90.

In each of her three seasons in Norman, May has improved her stat line and been a big part of Oklahoma’s national championship runs. As a true freshman in 2021, May was 15-2 and allowed an ERA of 2.37 in 85.2 innings. In 2022, she was 15-1 and allowed an ERA of 1.31 in 91.2 innings pitched.

In 2023, May was 18-0 in 107.2 innings pitched and allowed opponents to hit just .161. She recorded 130 strikeouts to just 29 walks on the season to help the Sooners defend their national title. Early in the season when Bahl was going through her struggles, it was May and Alex Storako that stemmed the tide for the Sooners’ pitching staff.

May didn’t allow an earned run in her first 42 innings pitched across nine appearances. That included outings against NCAA tournament teams Liberty, Washington, Texas A&M, and Utah.

She wasn’t as dominant the rest of the year, but still had a complete game shutout against Baylor, allowed just one earned run in a win against Texas, and allowed just two runs in a win against Oklahoma State.

Against Stanford, May battled back from allowing a two-run home run in the first inning to retire 12 in a row from the second inning until she allowed a hit in the sixth. Though she allowed a lead, she hung in there long enough to get the Sooners to Bahl, who they needed as the game went to extra innings. May was dominant from the second through the fifth and probably could have gotten the Sooners through seven innings if necessary.

You can’t simply replace a pitcher that was as good as Jordy Bahl was in her time with the Sooners. But Nicole May has shown that she has what it takes to be at the front of the line for the Sooners in the circle. She’s won big games and has gotten better as she’s gone. She’s shown a resiliency that has been critical to Oklahoma’s success.

The Sooners will likely add a pitcher to go along with May, sophomore [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag], and redshirt freshman [autotag]S.J. Guerin[/autotag]. But no matter what they do, Oklahoma will be in great hands with Nicole May leading the way.

 

D1Softball’s way-too-early 2024 Women’s College World Series predictions

Taking a way-too-early stab at the 2024 season, D1Softball shared their predictions on which teams make the Women’s College World Series next year.

Coming off a national championship three-peat it should come as no surprise that the Oklahoma Sooners are expected back in the Women’s College World Series in 2024.

Looking ahead to 2024, D1Softball issued its way-too-early predictions (subscription required) for which teams make next year’s WCWS.

Of course, Oklahoma is expected to be in the mix.

Even without Bahl, the Sooners aren’t going away. Oklahoma still brings back a lot of talent from its 2023 roster. Every major contributor returns for the back-to-back-to-back champions aside from Bahl, Alex Storako, Haley Lee and Grace Lyons. Kierston Deal’s role will likely increase and become the second arm alongside Nicole May. Expect the Sooners to also add another big-time pitcher through the portal like they have done in the past few seasons. Jocelyn Erickson or Sophia Nugent can fill the designated player role. Who plays shortstop is a big question, but there are plenty of candidates – and potential transfer additions – that could take over. – Brady Vernon, D1Softball

Nugent entered the portal, but Oklahoma has options on the bench to  replicate Haley Lee and Grace Lyons’ production from 2023.

From their No. 1 scoring lineup, the Sooners return everyone but Grace Lyons in the batting order. Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings lead the way for a squad hoping to do what no team has done: Win four in a row.

But they’ll have to do so without staff ace Jordy Bahl, who entered the transfer portal on Monday after two years with the Sooners.

Still, Oklahoma has Nicole May, who was fantastic in 2023, finishing with a sub-1.00 ERA. They’ll also put more on Kierston Deal’s plate after she  showed well in relief in 2023.

Here’s who D1Softball is predicting to be back in Oklahoma City in 2024.

Oklahoma’s win over Iowa State another statement of their dominance

The Oklahoma Sooners were dominant on both sides of the ball en route to their 9-0 win over Iowa State in the semifinals of the Big 12 softball championships.

That’s how you start postseason play. Oklahoma scored three runs in the first, four in the second, and two in the third to jump out to a 9-0 lead before the Iowa State Cyclones even registered a hit.

After getting a bye from winning the regular season title, the Sooners had to patiently wait their turn to begin their quest to capture the Big 12 tournament title.

As Tom Petty says, “the waiting is the hardest part.”

Oklahoma didn’t wait long to get going offensively against a hot Iowa State team that had won nine of their last 11, including an 8-1 win over the Baylor Bears on Thursday.

The Big 12’s Player of the Year, [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], led off with a double. The Sooners once again found themselves in a familiar place with the bases loaded. But unlike in their series against Oklahoma State, OU came through with an RBI single from [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] and a two-run double from [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] to get off to a hot start in postseason play.

[autotag]Grace Lyon[/autotag]’s three-run home run in the second and Coleman’s two-run bomb put the game completely out of reach for the Cyclones.

The best offense in the nation provided timely hitting and home run power to coast to an impressive run-rule shutout win.

And the pitching was equally effective in their five innings of work. [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] allowed just two walks in three innings, true freshman [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] allowed just one hit in 1.1 innings, and [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] pitched a perfect 0.2 innings of work to close out the combined one-hitter.

It was a strong performance to open postseason play as the No. 1 team in the nation pursues their third straight national championship and seventh overall.

Here are some of the best photos from the Sooners’ win over Iowa State.