Tag: Kinzie Hansen

Alex Storako’s no-hitter, Kinzie Hansen’s homers power Oklahoma to 18-0 win over No. 17 Kentucky

After being named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after her performance against UCLA with another dominant performance over Kentucky.

After an incredible outing to beat the UCLA Bruins to close out the Mary Nutter Classic in California, the Oklahoma Sooners put together an encore performance Friday evening against No. 17 Kentucky.

After beating UIC 5-0 in the first game of their Friday double-header, the Oklahoma Sooners were once again dominant over a ranked opponent, beating the Wildcats 18-0 at Marita Hynes Field.

[autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] got the start in the circle and was flawless, throwing five innings and striking out five for the no-hitter. Her lone blemish in the win was a hit batter with two outs in the first inning. She didn’t allow another base runner over the final 4.1 innings pitched to move to 5-0 and lower her ERA to 0.27 on the season.

Not to be overshadowed by another dominant outing for Storako, the Sooners’ bats had another huge outing.

As they’ve done a lot this year, Oklahoma went to work early, putting the pressure on in the first inning.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] led off the game with a double before [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] drove her in for the 1-0 lead. After moving to third on a [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] ground out, and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] singled and stole second, true freshman Jocelyn Erickson came up with a pair of runners in scoring position and just one out.

She did what she’s been doing all year and added to the lead with a two-run single to make it 3-0 OU.

Hansen, who had a huge debut weekend in the Mary Nutter Classic a week ago, kept her offensive outburst going with a grand slam in the second inning to put the Sooners up 4-0.

It was her third home run of the season and first of two in the game.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Oklahoma Sooners erupted for 10 runs, kickstarted by Jayda Coleman’s fourth home run of the season. It was a solo shot to put the Sooners up 8-0. But they weren’t satisfied there.

With two on and one out, [autotag]Sophia Nugent[/autotag] belted a three-run home run for her third home run of the season. Arizona State transfer [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] and [autotag]Quincee Lilio[/autotag] followed Nugent’s blast with home runs of their own to go back-to-back-to-back.

Jordy Bahl walked to drive in a run, and Haley Lee brought in Rylie Boone from third on a fielder’s choice to make it 15-0. Then Kinzie Hansen came to the plate again and bashed a three-run home run for her fourth homer of the year. Hansen’s played in just seven games this season and has four home runs and 16 RBIs.

The Sooners hit five home runs in the 10-run inning to put away yet another top 25 opponent.

Oklahoma was pretty much flawless from the circle and at the plate. In Alex Storako’s last two starts, both against ranked teams, the Sooners have outscored their opponents 32-0.

Oklahoma is now 15-1 on the season and has been absolutely dominant since losing to Baylor nearly two weeks ago.

They’ll face Kentucky once again at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday at Marita Hynes Feld. Their second matchup with UIC will follow Oklahoma-UCLA.

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Kinzie Hansen makes presence felt in Oklahoma’s 5-0 weekend at Mary Nutter Classic

Kinzie Hansen returned to the Sooners lineup in incredible fashion to plate nine RBIs in Oklahoma’s 5-0 record at the Mary Nutter Classic.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a strong start without one of the better players and leaders, Kinzie Hansen. Hansen missed the first two weekends of action due to appendicitis, requiring surgery.

Making her debut on Friday in a pinch-hit opportunity, Hansen wasted little time reintroducing herself to the softball world. In her first appearance of the season against Cal State Fullerton, Hansen came up with an RBI double to help Oklahoma’s lead to 8-0 to put the Sooners in run-rule territory.

Against Texas A&M, Hansen got her first start of the season behind the plate and went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Her RBI helped get the scoring going in the Sooners’ 8-0 win over the Aggies.

On Saturday, Hansen picked up an RBI in each of the Sooners’ wins over Utah and Loyola Marymount, setting the stage for a huge game on Sunday against UCLA.

In Oklahoma’s 14-0 beatdown of UCLA, Hansen went 2 for 4 with two home runs and five RBIs. In just 13 at bats, Hansen’s hitting .308 with two home runs and nine RBIs. Each of her RBIs came at the Mary Nutter Classic.

As important as her work at the plate, Kinzie Hansen was great behind the plate as well, calling a pair of Sooners’ shutouts Against Texas A&M and UCLA.

Though 2022 was a down year at the plate, Hansen had 24 home runs in 2021. With two home runs and nine RBIs in five games, it looks like she’s found her power stroke once again for the Oklahoma Sooners. And that’s a scary proposition as the Sooners boast an already deep lineup.

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Oklahoma Sooners blast No. 1 UCLA Bruins 14-0

The Oklahoma Sooners were more than prepared for their matchup with No. 1 UCLA, blasting 6 home runs to support Alex Storako’s shutout of the Bruins.

Any lingering questions about this Oklahoma Sooners teams should be put to bed after closing out the [autotag]Mary Nutter Classic[/autotag] with a 14-0 domination over the previously undefeated and No. 1 ranked UCLA Bruins.

The Oklahoma Sooners wasted no time establishing themselves at the plate, loading the bases early against UCLA ace pitcher [autotag]Megan Fariamo[/autotag]. Though Oklahoma wasn’t able to push any runs across the plate, that set the stage for what was to come over the final four innings.

With two outs in the second inning, the Oklahoma Sooners began the launch party with back-to-back home runs from [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] to make it 2-0. Then [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] and [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] hit two-run home runs to put the Sooners up 6-0 after two.

Oklahoma kept the offense going in the third. After Brito was moved over to third on Jayda Coleman’s double, Tiare Jennings drove both of them in to extend the lead to 8-0.

In the top of the fourth, Oklahoma continued to pour it on with a [autotag]Kinzie Hansen [/autotag]home run, a two-run shot for her first of the season. Since her 2023 debut on Friday, Hansen had an RBI in each game for the Sooners. Well, she erupted in this one. In addition to her two-run home run in the fourth, Hansen had a three-run homer in the fifth to eclipse her RBI total coming into the season.

Hansen finished the day 2 for 4 with two home runs, five RBIs, and two runs scored. Back in 2021, Hansen hit 20 home runs before an injury-laden 2022. She looks to have found her power stroke so far in 2023, which will make the Sooners even more dangerous.

Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings also had fantastic days at the plate, each going three for four in the win. Both Coleman and Jennings hit home runs and Jennings had four RBIs for the Sooners.

After not registering a hit in Friday’s wins over Cal State Fullerton and Texas A&M, Jennings went 6 for 9 on Saturday and Sunday with two home runs, six RBIs, and three runs scored. The preseason favorite for national player of the year has begun to find her hitting stroke, and that’s a dangerous proposition for Oklahoma’s opponents.

True freshman [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] had another solid day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a run scored. Erickson’s now hitting .571 on the season to lead the Sooners. [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] improved her batting average to .423 after a two-hit performance.

Not to be outdone, [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] was magnificent. She asserted herself as one of the best pitchers in college softball with her five-inning shutout of UCLA. She allowed just three hits in the game, all singles, and was never in any real danger. Storako struck out five Bruins and didn’t allow a walk in a dominant performance.

Storako’s now 4-0 on the season and lowered her ERA to 0.34. She’s recorded 26 strikeouts in 20.1 innings pitched this season.

Oklahoma is now 13-1 on the season. They’ve recorded nine shutouts and nine run-rule victories in their first 14 games.

The Sooners return home to the friendly confines of Marita Hynes field for the OU Tournament. They’ll face Incarnate word and Kentucky twice over the three-day tourney.

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‘Bombs Away’: Social Media Reacts to Sooners dominant win over No. 1 UCLA

The Oklahoma Sooners dominated the No. 1 UCLA Bruins in every facet of their 14-0 win Sunday, and social media loved every bit of it.

There’s no other way to describe what the Oklahoma Sooners did to the No. 1 UCLA Bruins on Sunday but utter annihilation. The Sooners blasted six home runs, and Alex Storako was dominant in the circle on their way to a 14-0 run-rule win over UCLA.

After coming away empty with a bases loaded opportunity in the first inning, the Sooners got the party started in the second with four home runs, including back-to-back home runs from Alyssa Brito and Jayda Coleman. Haley Lee and Tiare Jennings bombed a pair of two-run home runs to leave the second frame up 6-0.

They kept the scoring going in the third inning with a pair of runs on a Tiare Jennings RBI double. They plated two more runs in the fourth on Kinzie Hansen’s first home run of the season, a two-run blast. Hansen hit a three-run home run in the fifth to continue her incredible run since making her debut on Friday.

As dominant as the Sooners were from the plate, Alex Storako was equally so from the circle, holding the UCLA Bruins to just three hits over five innings. She also had five strikeouts and didn’t allow a walk in her best performance since joining Oklahoma.

After losing to Baylor 4-3 in Waco a week ago, the Sooners dropped to No. 2 in the nation, and questions about their status as the team to beat in 2023 began to swirl.

Well, those questions can be put to bed after the Sooners dominated a UCLA team who entered the game undefeated with wins over the likes of Florida and Florida State.

It was an incredible performance that reestablished the Sooners as the No. 1 team in the country, and social media was buzzing throughout the dominant 14-0 performance.

Sooners offense rolling but still has room for improvement

The Oklahoma Sooners’ offense has been really good through the first few weeks of the season, but they still have room to improve.

Sometimes a good team just runs into a good pitcher, and that can make all the difference. That’s what happened a week ago in Waco against the Baylor Bears, but that one-run loss hasn’t slowed down the defending national champion.

In the Mary Nutter Classic, the Oklahoma Sooners have continued their torrid offensive pace. They’ve scored 36 runs in four games, averaging nine runs per game. On the season, they’re averaging 8.38 runs per game.

The Sooners are getting contributions from up and down the lineup this season.

Oklahoma has nine players hitting better than .300 on the season and four better than .400. True Freshman [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] has made a seamless transition to the collegiate game. Erickson’s leading the team in hitting with a .560 batting average, five home runs, and 21 RBIs.

The Sooners’ offense has been really good to start the season, and still, it can be better. [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] hasn’t fully found her stride yet. She didn’t register a hit in Friday’s wins over Cal State Fullerton and Texas A&M but went 3 for 5 against Utah and Loyola Marymount on Saturday. She had a home run, two RBIs, and three runs scored on day two of the Mary Nutter Classic.

Arizona State transfer and national freshman of the year finalist [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] hasn’t really gotten going yet. She’s hitting just .222 on the season and hasn’t hit a home run yet. Last year for Arizona State, Sanders hit .425 with 21 home runs and 63 RBIs. She’s going to get going soon. Hopefully on Sunday against UCLA.

[autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag]’s return has provided a boost this weekend. Though she’s hitting just .222, Hansen has an RBI in four straight games. Her leadership and experience at the plate will be huge for the Sooners when they face their most formidable opponent of the season to close out the weekend.

The Sooners will close out the Mary Nutter Classic in a finale against the No. 1 UCLA Bruins on Sunday. UCLA has been fantastic this season, especially from the circle, where they have a team ERA of 0.97. The Bruins offer the Sooners their stiffest challenge to date, but if the bats get hot, Oklahoma will be tough to beat.

Check out the best photos from the first two days at the Mary Nutter Classic.

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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Sooners complete the Friday sweep with 8-0 shutout of Texas A&M

The Oklahoma Sooners got another strong performance from Nicole May in their 8-0 win over the Texas A&M Aggies on Friday.

The Oklahoma Sooners started the [autotag]Mary Nutter Classic[/autotag] off with a bang on Friday, completing the two-game sweep with an 8-0 win over Texas A&M. It was the second run-rule win of the day after defeating Cal State Fullerton 8-0 in the early game.

[autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] continued her scoreless streak to start the 2023 season with four shutout innings against the Aggies. Though she allowed five hits, a walk, and hit a batter, she was able to work around some jams with five strikeouts. May’s pitched 19.1 innings without allowing a run in 2023.

May had to go to work in the top of the first as the Aggies picked up three straight hits to open the game. And then May shut them down. With the bases loaded and no outs, she struck out the next three batters she faced to end the threat.

Oklahoma took control of the game in the bottom of the first, taking advantage of a wild pitch and a couple of two-out errors by the Aggies defense.

[autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], who got her first start behind the plate, opened the scoring, with an RBI fielder’s choice to drive in [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag]. It was her second RBI of the day after making her debut as a pinch hitter against Cal State Fullerton. [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] reached on an error before [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] drove Hansen in to make it 2-0. Oklahoma then put two more across the plate as [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] reached on an error to make it 4-0.

Though May had to work around a couple of jams in the third and fourth, the Sooners’ offense provided enough offense to take care of their starter.

Oklahoma added four more runs in the bottom of the third, powered by [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag]’s fifth home run of the season. She came in to pinch-hit for [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] and launched a three-run home run to make it 8-0.

Erickson leads Oklahoma with her five home runs, 17 RBIs, and a batting average of .579. Only two other Sooners have multiple home runs through the first 11 games, [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] and [autotag]Sophia Nugent[/autotag]. Erickson’s proving the moment isn’t too big for her in her young career and will continue to get opportunities to make an impact in a deep Oklahoma Sooners’ lineup.

Now 10-1 on the season with seven run-rule wins, the Sooners will face Loyola Marymount and Utah on Saturday. Then comes the clash of the titans with the Sooners facing the No. 1 UCLA Bruins on Sunday.

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Oklahoma Sooners bounce back with run rule win over Cal State Fullerton

Rylie Boone led the way at the plate and in the field as the Sooners got back on the wining side of things with an 8-0 win over Cal State Fullerton.

The Oklahoma Sooners took game one of the [autotag]Mary Nutter Classic[/autotag] with their sixth run-rule win of the season, an 8-0 victory over Cal State Fullerton. The Sooners moved to 9-1 on the season with the win in the first of two Friday games out in California.

Alex Storako got the start and threw four scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just two hits and a walk to move to 3-0 on the season. [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] and [autotag]Sophia Nugent[/autotag] led the way. Each had home runs and three RBIs. Boone was the only player to record multiple hits in the win, going 2 for 3 with the home run, 3 RBIs, and two runs scored.

The Sooners got the scoring started in the bottom of the first. [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] walked to open the game, and [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag], hitting from the two-hole, drove her in with a double.

Oklahoma broke it open in the bottom of the second as [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] started it off with back-to-back walks. [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] singled to drive Lee in from second, and Nugent cleared the bases with a three-run home run to make it 5-0.

Cal State Fullerton looked like they were going to get on the board with one out in the second. With two on and one out, Hannah Becer singled to left field and Antuanett De attempted to score from second, but Rylie Boone came up firing to Nugent to make the play at the plate. Daisy Munoz fouled out to first to end the scoring threat, and that’s as close as they got to scoring on the afternoon.

Oklahoma got three more in the bottom of the fourth to create the run-rule opportunity, and [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] pitched a scoreless fifth inning to close the game.

[autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] made her 2023 debut with a pinch-hit RBI double in the fourth.

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10 Oklahoma Sooners named to Softball America’s Preseason All-American teams

Led by five first-team selections, 10 Oklahoma Sooners were named to Softball America’s preseason All-American teams.

The Oklahoma Sooners begin their quest for a third-straight national championship at the Mark Campbell Invitational on Thursday, February 9, against Duke.

The unanimous preseason No. 1 team in the country, and back-to-back national champions, the Sooners, are expected to make another run despite the loss of Jocelyn Alo and Hope Trautwein. Patty Gasso has assembled another talented group to take on all comers in the 2023 season.

It won’t be easy, it never is, but the Oklahoma Sooners will be the team to beat for the 2023 national title. With the season under two weeks away, Softball America released their preseason All-American teams. 10 Sooners were selected, including five to the first team. UCLA was the only other team with multiple first-team selections with three and they had just five total selections to the three All-American squads.

Here’s a look at the Sooners’ selections.

8 Sooners named to USA Softball Player of the Year watchlist

Eight Sooners named to USA Softball Player of the Year preseason watchlist

Jocelyn Alo has won the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award the last two seasons, and deservedly so. On Wednesday, USA Softball released their preseason watch list, a list featuring 50 players across the country.

Needless to say, head coach Patty Gasso’s bunch was very popular on the list. A total of eight Sooners made the cut, nearly one fifth of the 50 names mentioned. No other school has more than three names on the list.

While Alo’s departure is sure to be felt by Oklahoma at some point, it will be interesting to see just who ends up pulling away from the rest of the pack for this prestigous award. The Sooners have a talented lineup and a deep group of pitchers. They’re talented enough to win their third-consecutive national championship, which will put someone in line for yet another national player of the year honor.