Tag: Kierston Deal

Oklahoma Sooners off to roaring postseason start with 9-0 win over Iowa State

Oklahoma’s offense erupted for nine runs in the first three innings and Alex Storako, Kierston Deal, and Jordy Bahl combined to allow 1 hit in the Sooners 9-0 win over Iowa State.

It didn’t take long for the Oklahoma Sooners to announce their presence in the Big 12 championships with a 9-0 run-rule win over the Iowa State Cyclones.

[autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] made quick work of the Cyclones in the top of the first with a 1-2-3 inning, forcing a trio of groundouts to retire the side.

Then the Sooners’ bats opened strongly with a leadoff double from [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], who advanced to third on a wild pitch. [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] walked and stole second, and [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] walked to load the bases.

[autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag]’ RBI single made it 1-0. [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] grounded into a fielder’s choice forcing Jennings out at home. Then [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] came through with a two-run double to make it 3-0. Lee attempted to score from first and was initially ruled safe at the plate, but replay review overturned the call.

Storako avoided trouble in the second when she issued back-to-back walks to open the frame by retiring the next three batters, including a pair of strikeouts to keep the Cyclones off the scoreboard.

In the bottom of the second, [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] walked with one out. After a Coleman fly out to left, Boone advanced to second on a passed ball. Jennings drove Boone in to make it 4-0, and Sanders drew her second walk of the day. That’s when the captain put the game out of reach.

With two on and two out, Grace Lyons took the first pitch from Ellie Spelhaug to deep right center for a three-run home run to make the score 7-0.

Oklahoma kept the scoring going in the bottom of the third to put the game in run-rule territory when Jayda Coleman launched her team-leading 14th home run of the season to make it 9-0.

Coleman ended the day 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Lyons was 2-for-2 with four RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

Storako threw three innings, allowing no hits and two walks. She recorded three strikeouts before giving way to [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag]. Deal, a true freshman, threw 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, before Jordy Bahl closed out the win with a pair of strikeouts in 0.2 innings.

The Oklahoma Sooners (50-1) have won 42 in a row. Oklahoma awaits the winner of the Texas Longhorns and Kansas Jayhawks in the other semifinal game. The Sooners swept both opponents in Big 12 play.

Texas reached the semifinal overcoming a four-run deficit against Texas Tech and the Jayhawks beat the Oklahoma State Cowgirls in a game that required two days to play due to inclement weather.

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Sooners pitching staff leads the way in Oklahoma’s Bedlam sweep

Oklahoma’s pitching staff came up big in the Bedlam sweep, allowing just six runs to a top 20 scoring offense in Oklahoma State.

With the regular season over, the Oklahoma Sooners finished No. 1 in scoring and ERA in 2023. An incredible feat for the most balanced and best team in college softball. We’re used to the Sooners offense being something special, but this year, Oklahoma’s pitching rotation has carried its fair share of the load as well.

Oklahoma State came into the series with the No. 8 team batting average and the No. 17 scoring offense, and the Sooners effectively shut them down.

In the series sweep, the Sooners’ pitching staff showed out. They allowed just six runs on the weekend against a top-20 scoring offense and just one home run. In the three games, Patty Gasso went four deep, utilizing Jordy Bahl, Nicole May, Alex Storako, and true freshman Kierston Deal.

The starters threw 19.2 of a possible 21 innings, and Deal provided 1.1 innings of work in Oklahoma’s come-from-behind win on Saturday evening. We’ve known what Oklahoma’s three primary starters were capable of, but Deal’s performance against the Cowgirls provided a glimpse of just how dangerous the Sooners’ pitching staff will be in tournament play.

When most teams will shorten their rotation of pitchers, the Oklahoma Sooners will be able to utilize four to great effect in Big 12 and NCAA tournament play.

This week, Oklahoma will play at most two games. That gives Gasso plenty of options along the way as they seek a Big 12 tournament title. When they get into regionals, super regionals, and the Women’s College World Series, nobody is set up as well as the Oklahoma Sooners because of their deep pitching staff.

For the Sooners to win their third-consecutive national championship, they’ll need the pitching staff to continue to be as good as they’ve been all season long. With a deep trio of starting pitchers and an effective true freshman that can provide a spot start or a relief appearance, Oklahoma will be incredibly difficult to beat in May and June.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from Oklahoma’s sweep of Oklahoma State in Bedlam.

 

Oklahoma Sooners beat Oklahoma State Cowgirls 4-2 in comeback fashion

Oklahoma Sooners picked up their 40th consecutive win with four runs in the top of the seventh for a 4-2 win over Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma won game two of their three-game series against No.7/6 Oklahoma State 4-2 with three with four runs in the top of the seventh to improve to 48-1 on the season and 17-0 against the Big 12.

Oklahoma struggled most of the day on offense, with only three hits through the first six innings against Oklahoma State freshman pitcher Kyra Aycock. The Sooners then went to work in their final at-bat.

Oklahoma State lead 2-0 heading into the seventh after picking up an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth off of starter [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag].

[autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] doubled to lead off the inning, and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] followed that with a single to drive in pinch runner [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] from second.

Oklahoma State brought in the ace of their staff [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag], but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Rylie Boone drew a hit by pitch to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Maxwell was able to strikeout [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] to put pressure back on the Sooners, but after a wild pitch moved Torres on third and Boone on second, [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] stepped up and blasted a two-run double to left center to put Oklahoma up 3-2.

“You can never count the Sooners out,” said Jennings after the game. “So much joy, so much fun playing. You can see that. We knew we were never out of this game, no matter what the score was, no matter what the inning was. We just knew in the dugout that we were gonna keep smiling, keep cheering and keep having fun.”

Cydney Sanders put the final dent in the score with an RBI single to make it 4-2. Maxwell walked [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], and Aycock came back in for Oklahoma State. She gave up a single to [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag] but then forced Haley Lee to pop out to end the threat.

Then it was time for freshman [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] to shine.

After coming in to record the final out of the sixth inning in relief of Nicole May, Deal retired the Cowgirls in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the come-from-behind win for the Oklahoma Sooners. She retired all four batters she faced, striking out two Oklahoma State batters in the process to move to 2-0 on the season. With the effort, Deal’s ERA is now 0.95 on the season.

“This team knows as long as they have one out left in a game, they’re never out of it,” Gasso said after the win. “You could feel that momentum come. They will not be denied. They believe in each other. They are unafraid of losing, and that’s a big deal.”

Nicole May battled for 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits, two runs, a walk, and striking out four. May didn’t factor into the decision but kept the Cowgirls from creating big innings with some clutch pitching.

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 48-1 and 17-0 in Big 12 play on the season and have now won 40 games in a row, surpassing their 39-game winning streak from a year ago. The Sooners and Cowgirls will play the final game of the series and the regular season on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm CT in Stillwater. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.

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Social media reacts to Oklahoma Sooners epic 7th inning comeback win over Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma Sooners rallied in the seventh inning to top Oklahoma State Cowgirls 4-2 and had social media buzzing in the process.

Down 2-0 in the seventh, just when you were counting them out, the Oklahoma Sooners did like they always seem to do; rallied in the seventh inning to beat a rival.

Just like they did on April 1 against the Texas Longhorns, the Oklahoma Sooners overcame a two-run deficit in the seventh to beat another rival. Against Texas, it was Jayda Coleman and Kinzie Hansen coming through in the clutch. On Saturday afternoon in Stillwater, it was Alynah Torres bringing the Sooners within one and Tiare Jennings providing the go-ahead runs on a double to left-center to make it 3-2.

Cydney Sanders provided the insurance run to make it 4-2, and Kierston Deal picked up where she left off in the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 seventh to seal the victory for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma moves to 48-1 on the season and remains perfect in Big 12 play at 17-0. They extended their winning streak to 40 games, surpassing their 39-game winning streak from the 2022 season.

With the come-from-behind win, the Oklahoma Sooners clinch the Bedlam series against Oklahoma State. The late-inning effort had Twitter buzzing and here are some of the best reactions from social media.

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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Oklahoma Sooners hit three home runs, beat Texas 8-1 in series opener

After allowing a lead-off home run, Jordy Bahl responded with six scoreless innings, and the Sooners hit three home runs in their 8-1 win over the Texas Longhorns.

[autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] gave up a home run to Texas leadoff hitter [autotag]Leighanne Goode[/autotag] and while Texas would threaten in later innings, Bahl took control of the game. Bahl settled in to throw six scoreless innings after the first to shut down the high-powered Longhorns offense to help Oklahoma win game one of the series 8-1.

It didn’t take long for the Sooners to respond to Texas’ opening frame. [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] hit a pop fly to left-center field, but it was misplayed, and she advanced to second on the error and then to third as the Longhorns outfielder threw behind her to second.

[autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] drove her in with a single, and though Oklahoma wouldn’t score with the bases loaded and just one out, it set the stage for what would be a dominating Sooners win.

After getting one run off of starter [autotag]Estelle Czech[/autotag] in the first, the Sooners broke the game open in the second. A pair of singles by [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] and [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], followed by a wild pitch, put runners on second and third with nobody out. After a Jayda Coleman flyout, Tiare Jennings reminded everyone why she’s one of the best in the country with a bomb to left center for the three-run home run and put Oklahoma up 4-1.

It was Jennings’ eighth home run of the season, which ties her with [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] and Jayda Coleman for the team lead.

[autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] followed Jennings with a home run to go back-to-back, put Oklahoma up 5-1, and chase Czech from the game. It was Lee’s seventh homer of the season.

[autotag]Sophia Simpson[/autotag] settled things down for Texas. She but with some strong defense, a timely overturned call on the field, and the way Jordy Bahl was throwing, the Longhorns couldn’t get anything going. Simpson kept the Sooners from building up on their lead with four scoreless innings until the sixth.

In the sixth, the Sooners went back to work.

With two outs in the sixth, Tiare Jennings doubled, and Haley Lee brought her around for Lee’s second RBI of the day. Now leading 6-1, [autotag]Kinzie Hanse[/autotag]n blasted a 2-1 pitch to left center for her seventh home run of the season. She now has seven home runs and 31 RBIs in just 22 games in 2023.

Tiare Jennings led the way at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, three runs scored, and four RBIs. Her double was nearly her second home run of the game, hitting just off the top of the wall in left field.

Haley Lee, [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag], Kinzie Hansen, and Rylie Boone each had multi-hit performances for the Sooners who put up 12 hits and took advantage of a pair of Longhorns errors.

On a night that set an NCAA attendance record, the Sooners put on a show. In front of 8,930 fans, Oklahoma took care of business against Texas.

Jordy Bahl picked up her ninth win of the season in the complete game, two-hit performance. Though she allowed four walks, Bahl struck out six in the win. She was superhuman tonight, throwing 108 pitches in the win. Bahl’s performance allowed Patty Gasso to keep [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag], and [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] fresh for the remainder of the three-game series.

The Sooners improved to 31-1 on the season while the Longhorns fell to 30-6-1.

Game two will be on Saturday at 11 am on ESPN2 at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, followed by the Sunday finale at the same time Sunday, also on ESPN2.

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Alex Storako, Kierston Deal combine for one-hitter, Sooners defeat Weber State 16-0

Alex Storako and Kierston Deal combine for a one-hitter as Oklahoma’s offense explodes in 16-0 win over Weber State.

After a low-scoring Friday on the first day of the Hall of Fame Classic, the Oklahoma Sooners erupted for 30 runs in wins over Weber State and Auburn on Saturday.

In the first game, the Sooners beat the Wildcats 16-0. It was another strong pitching performance from [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag], who moved to 9-0 with three shutout innings. Storako was perfect and threw struck out six in the abbreviated outing. [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] pitched two innings of one-hit ball for the combined shutout.

At the plate, [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag], [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] led the way for the Sooners’ offense.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] walked and stole second to lead off the game. [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] followed that up with a walk of her own, and the two advanced on a passed ball. Having a fantastic season for the Sooners, Haley Lee came to the plate and doubled to put Oklahoma up 2-0 early in the first. Lee advanced to third and then scored on a wild pitch and a passed ball to put the Sooners up 3-0.

But Oklahoma wasn’t done in the first. [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] singled, and [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] doubled to put runners on second and third for [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag]. Hansen drove both in with a single to make it 5-0.

By the end of the first, the Sooners were up 9-0 and scored without hitting a home run in the inning.

Oklahoma added four more in the second inning, including a two-run home run for Sophia Nugent. Well within run-rule territory and with Alex Storako cruising, Oklahoma added another run in the third and two more in the fourth to come away with the big win.

In the win, Haley Lee was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Kinzie Hansen was 3-for-4 with one run scored and a pair of runs batted in. Alynah Torres was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Oklahoma Sooners stay hot in win over Loyola Marymount

Oklahoma moved to 12-1 on the season with their 10-1 win over Loyola Marymount in the Mary Nutter Classic.

As they’ve done a lot this year, the Oklahoma Sooners jumped on Loyola Marymount early and cruised to a 10-1 victory behind a strong start from true freshman [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] in the circle.

[autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag] got things going at the plate with a single out of the second spot in the order. She moved over to third on [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag]’ single to left. [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] then doubled to score Lyons, and Jennings scored on [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag]’s fielder’s choice. [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] continued her strong start to the season with another RBI when she drove in Lee from third.

[autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] singled to lead off the second and scored on Rylie Boone’s double to right. Jayda Coleman then hit her first home run of the season, a two-run shot to left-center to give the Sooners a 6-0 lead.

With two outs in the inning, [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] hit her first career triple to set up Erickson with another RBI opportunity to make it 7-0 through two innings.

Oklahoma got three more in the third when [autotag]Quincee Lilio[/autotag] cleared the bases with an RBI triple.

[autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] worked around a double in the first, recording two strikeouts. She allowed just three baserunners through four innings before running into a bit of trouble in the fifth. After loading the bases, [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] came in to close out the win. Loyola Marymount was able to pick up one run in the bottom of the fifth, but that was all they could muster in the 10-1 loss to Oklahoma.

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 12-1 with the win, setting up a showdown between the top two teams in the country when they face UCLA on Sunday.

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5 takeaways from Oklahoma’s 5-0 weekend at the Mark Campbell Invitational

The Oklahoma Sooners went 5-0 in the Mark Campbell Invitational with three ranked wins, two shutouts, and two run-rule wins. Here are 5 takeaways.

The Oklahoma Sooners got things started with a bang in the Mark Campbell Invitational over the weekend, going 5-0 to open the season.

They were challenged in two of their five matchups, winning one-run ball games against Liberty and Washington, but also picked up a pair of run-rule wins over Stanford and San Jose State.

Oklahoma beat three top 25 teams, including a 4-0 shutout of Duke, a 10-1 win over Stanford, and the 5-4 nailbiter against the Huskies.

It was a productive start to the season that saw the Oklahoma Sooners deploy a lot of players. 15 players registered an at-bat, and four pitchers threw four or more innings pitched. And here’s a breakdown of the weekend from Seth Oliveras.

Oklahoma Sooners pitching dominant in opening day doubleheader sweep

Jordy Bahl and Nicole May combined for 15 shutout innings and 18 strikeouts to lead the Sooners to a 2-0 record on opening day of the 2023 season.

The Oklahoma Sooners opened the 2023 season with wins over No. 16/19 Duke and Liberty in a Thursday doubleheader. They beat the Blue Devils 4-0 and Liberty 1-0.

Shutting out their opponents to start the season isn’t all that different. The Sooners blanked their first three opponents of the season a year ago. The difference, however, is Oklahoma’s offense powered them to two run-rule wins in those first three shutouts.

On opening day, it was pitching and defense that helped the Sooners start 2023 on a high note.

[autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] threw a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits and a pair of walks across seven innings. Bahl struck out eight Blue Devils and drove in a pair of runs from the plate.

In the nightcap, [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] followed up a stellar performance from Bahl with one of her own, striking out 10 in an extra-inning complete game shutout of Liberty. Like Bahl, May only allowed six baserunners (four hits and two walks) but didn’t get much run support from an offense that’s starting off slower than they have in recent years.

But with how deep the Sooners are in the circle, the Oklahoma offense isn’t under the same pressure to score that they’ve had in recent years. But they’re going to score, and they’re going to score a lot. Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings, and Cydney Sanders aren’t going to go a combined 4 for 20 like they did in the two wins on opening day.

The Sooners offense will get going, but so far it’s been the pitching that’s carried them. And they haven’t even deployed all of their arms yet. With No. No. 17/14 Stanford on Friday night, it’s likely that we’ll see Michigan transfer [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag]. Storako threw 300 strikeouts in 200 innings last year for the Wolverines.

Oklahoma plays No. 14/16 Washington on Saturday and San Jose State. on Sunday. And this is where things get interesting. Will head coach Patty Gasso use a strict rotation and go with Storako on Friday night and then true freshman [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] on Saturday? Or will she go back to Jordy Bahl against a top-25 opponent and let Deal get her feet wet against San Jose State on Sunday?

After relying on the offense to bully teams over the last several years, in 2023 the pitching staff is going to be as dangerous as Oklahoma’s vaunted lineup. That was on full display on Thursday on the first day of the season.

This Oklahoma Sooners team is going to be challenged every outing, but the pitching has shown on the first day of the season that they’re willing to duel it out with the opposition.

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