Tag: Kinzie Hansen

Oklahoma’s Grace Lyons added to USWNT for series in Japan

Oklahoma’s Grace Lyons joins Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings, Kinzie Hansen, and Jocelyn Alo on the USWNT roster for Japan Series.

The reigning national defensive player of the year, Grace Lyons, will be plying her craft on the national stage, joining the U.S. Women’s National Team for the upcoming series against No. 2 in the world Japan.

Lyons joins teammates Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings, and former teammate Jocelyn Alo on the 15-player squad. The Sooners lead the way with the most student athletes on the 15-player roster.

Known for her wizardry at shortstop, Lyons had a breakout year at the plate, hitting .401 with 23 home runs and 70 RBIs, providing more pop for the USWNT lineup. Lyons had an on-base percentage of .479 and a slugging percentage of .864.

Also making their first national team appearance are UCF’s Jada Cody and Wichita State’s Sydney McKinney. McKinney hit .522 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs for the Shockers in 2022, while Cody hit 15 home runs and drove in 75 RBIs.

The three-game set is scheduled for August 6-9 in Fukushima and Yokohama, Japan.

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All-American Texas A&M catcher Haley Lee enters the transfer portal

Looking to reload for the 2023 season, should the Sooners target Texas A&M catcher Haley Lee, who recently entered the transfer portal?

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team has already made a couple of splashes in the 2022 transfer portal as they reload for the 2023 season. They’ve added former Michigan pitcher [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] and shortstop [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] from Arizona State.

Storako will fill the void felt by the departure of [autotag]Hope Trautwein[/autotag] while it’s likely Torres moves from shortstop to third base with reigning defensive player of the year [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag] expected to return to OU.

Those additions will be impact players for the Oklahoma Sooners, but why stop there? Oklahoma could add another player to their ranks and one that could help fill the void left by the departed home run queen, [autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag]. And that player is [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag] from Texas A&M.

According to Extra Inning Softball, Lee has entered her name into the transfer portal.

Lee, a 2022 second-team All-American, led the Aggies in batting average, home runs, and RBIs in 2022, hitting .405 with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs. She also added 50 walks to her ledger, displaying discipline at the plate. She helped the Aggies reach the regional round of the NCAA tournament.

In the first regional matchup between Oklahoma and Texas A&M, Trautwein was dealing as the Sooners led 3-0. Things got a little tighter with one swing of the bat as Lee launched a two-run home run to cut the lead to one in the sixth inning. Oklahoma won the game, but Lee made her presence felt with the two-run bomb.

Lee plays catcher for Texas A&M but could also slide into the designated player role departed by Jocelyn Alo. Kinzie Hansen returns for the Sooners at catcher, but Patty Gasso platooned her and Lynnsie Elam in that role in 2022.

Haley Lee is a player to watch in the transfer portal and with her credentials could land anywhere in the country. You can never have too much hitting in your lineup and Lee would bring another formidable bat to the Sooners.

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Relive the magic of the Sooners 10-5 over Texas to win their 6th national title

Take a look back at the Oklahoma Sooners’ 10-5 win over the Texas Longhorns to claim their 6th national title in these stunning photos.

It was a season for the ages as the Oklahoma Sooners went coast-to-coast as the No. 1 team in the nation, all culminating with their 2022 national championship.

To win the WCWS championship over the first team to beat them during the season, the Texas Longhorns and a rival, made the win all the sweeter.

Oklahoma has now gone back-to-back for the second time in program history as they claimed their sixth title. They’re third all-time behind UCLA (12) and Arizona (8) and it doesn’t seem like a stretch that they’ll pass Arizona in the next five years for second place.

In the series-clinching win, the Sooners showed off their depth as Jocelyn Alo, one of the all-time greats, went just 1-for-3 with a walk on the evening. Everyone else had to step up.

Jayda Coleman stole the show defensively and had Twitter buzzing.

Oklahoma took advantage of a Texas error to get their first couple of runs across in the fourth and Kinze Hansen delivered the knockout blow with her three-run home run in the fifth inning. Grace Lyons followed that up with a three-run home run in the sixth to put the game out of reach and begin the seventh-inning ceremony.

Patty Gasso orchestrated an emotional exit for Jocelyn Alo, who started the seventh inning in left field and registered two putouts. After the second out, she lifted Alo to a roar from the crowd. And even though Texas got a three-run home run of their own to cut the deficit late, the coronation was just beginning.

The Oklahoma Sooners are the 2022 national champions.

Relive the Sooners’ 10-5 win over Texas to win the WCWS Championship in these incredible still photos.

Social media reacts to Oklahoma’s 10-5 win over Texas to claim their 6th national title

The Sooners put on a performance to remember to claim their sixth national title with a 10-5 win and it was the talk of the sports world.

The Oklahoma Sooners claimed the sixth national championship in program history with their 10-5 win over the Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns rebounded from the 16-1 loss the night before to put up a fight for three innings until the Oklahoma Sooners offense got going in the fourth.

Though Texas tried to spoil a perfect night with a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh, the Sooners were able to win their second straight national title and give Jocelyn Alo a proper send-off in her last game in an Oklahoma Sooners uniform.

The Sooners tied the game in the top of the fourth and then got three-run homers from Kinzie Hansen in the fifth and Grace Lyons in the sixth to break the game open. The eight runs combined over the fourth and fifth inning put the game away and the Sooners closed it out with two pop flies to Alo and a groundout to Tiare Jennings.

Fitting really, as the power duo of Alo and Jennings dominated in the Women’s College World Series.

As we revel in another national championship for Patty Gasso’s crew, let’s enjoy some of the best reactions social media had to offer, including thoughts from Oklahoma football and national media members of multiples sports.

Oklahoma Sooners capture 6th national title with 10-5 win over the Texas Longhorns

The Oklahoma Sooners erupted for four runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to beat the Longhorns 10-5 for their 6th national title.

The Texas Longhorns came to play in game two of the Women’s College World Series championship series. An excellent start by Estelle Czech kept the Sooners’ bats off balance for the first three innings, keeping Oklahoma scoreless. But just like death and taxes, the Oklahoma offense is inevitable.

The defense carried Oklahoma in the early frames, keeping the Longhorns from putting together far bigger innings than the two runs they got in the first inning.

Jayda Coleman came through with arguably the defensive play of the Women’s College World Series, when she skied above the fence to rob Courtney Day of what would have been a two-run home run to end the first inning for the Longhorns.

Jordy Bahl, getting the start settled in after that, limiting Texas to just three base runners over the next three innings.

Oklahoma rewarded Bahl’s bounce-back effort after a rough first inning by tying the game in the fourth before the Sooners erupted for four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.

In the four-run fifth, the Sooners put on a clinic on how to hit with two outs. Jayda Coleman and Jocelyn Alo were retired on long fly balls, but it was evidence that the Sooners were beginning to get a bead on what Czech was throwing. Tiare Jennings then kicked off a rally with a two-out single. Grace Lyons moved her to second after getting hit by a pitch. Then Alyssa Brito followed that with a double to score Jennings and put two on with two outs for Kinzie Hansen. Hansen, who hadn’t hit a home run since mid-April turned on an inside pitch to launch a three-run home run into the left field stands.

That made the game 6-2 and the Sooners were in complete control and didn’t stop there. Nicole May continued her strong relief efforts for the Sooners by retiring the Longhorns in order in the top of the fifth.

In the top of the sixth, the Sooners put four more runs on the board in a sixth inning kickstarted by Rylie Boone from the No. 9 hole. Boone singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jayda Coleman walked to put two on for Jocelyn Alo who followed with a single to load the bases for Tiare Jennings. Jennings drove Boone in with a sacrifice fly and then Grace Lyons cleared the bases with a three-run home run to give the Sooners a 10-2 lead.

May threw another strong sixth inning, allowing just a hit before retiring the side.

In the seventh, the Sooners’ bats went quietly, but in the bottom half of the inning was electric.

Jocelyn Alo entered the game for a rare appearance in left field and got the first two put outs before Patty Gasso lifted her for the curtain call to end her Oklahoma Sooners career.

Texas didn’t go quietly into the night as Hope Trautwein struggled with her command in her final appearance for the Oklahoma Sooners. Texas’ Mia Scott came in and hit a three-run home run to cut the lead to 10-5 with two outs remaining. After another walk, Trautwein settled in and threw strikes, getting Alyssa Washington to ground out to Tiare Jennings.

Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners now have six national championships in program history and five in the last nine seasons.

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Oklahoma Sooners dominate UCLA 15-0, advance to WCWS Championship

Jocelyn Alo went 4-for-4 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs and Hope Trautwein allowed just two hits as the Oklahoma Sooners dominated UCLA 15-0 to roar into the WCWS championship series.

After falling to the UCLA Bruins 7-3 in the first game of the day, the Oklahoma Sooners responded to their first loss of the NCAA tournament in a resounding fashion. They beat the 12-time national champions 15-0 to advance to the Women’s College World Series championship and continue their quest to go back-to-back and win their sixth national championship.

As they’ve done in each of the last two seasons following a loss, the Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt in this one, jumping on UCLA from the get-go.

The top of the order came out hot as [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] opened the game with a lead-off walk. [autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag] moved Coleman on a double to right-center and [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] crushed a three-run home run for her 27th of the season to left.

After the three-run shot from Jennings, Alo had a feeling about how game two was going to go against UCLA. And both the offense and the defense proved her right. The ESPN broadcast caught video of Alo telling her teammates that they’d only need five innings in the second game.

The Sooners added three more runs in the top of the second, this time off the bat of the NCAA all-time home run leader, who launched her own three-run home run of the season. Alo provided the action to go with her words. She ended the day going 4-for-4 with two home runs and seven RBIs to lead the Sooners in their 15-0 win. But she didn’t do it alone, [autotag]Hope Trautwein[/autotag] was fantastic as well.

Trautwein allowed just two hits, no walks, and struck out six Bruins to dominate the Bruins. She allowed a double in the bottom of the first and then would go on to retire 12 straight Bruins before allowing her second hit of the afternoon.

And if the Bruins were hoping they’d have a shot to extend the game to seven innings, the Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt that the game would end in five.

In the top of the fifth, the Oklahoma Sooners sent 11 batters to the plate, scoring eight runs on six hits, with a walk and a hit by pitch.

[autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag] led off with a hit by pitch and [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] followed that up with a single. Another single by [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] loaded the bases for [autotag]Grace Green[/autotag] who ripped a single of her own scoring Lyons to make it 8-0. [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] continued her hot Women’s College World Series with a two-RBI single to score Brito and Hansen. After [autotag]Jana Johns[/autotag] singled to left to load the bases, Jayda Coleman picked up her second walk of the game, this time pushing home Green to make it 11-0 and load the bases for “Home Run Queen” Jocelyn Alo.

In fitting fashion, Alo worked the count to her favor and blasted her second homer of the day for a grand slam to make it 15-0 to put the game far out of reach of any type of comeback from the highly-ranked Bruins.

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up their 40th run-rule win of the season and Jocelyn Alo now has 32 home runs and 82 RBIs on the season.

After a letdown in the first game of the day, the Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt as to their status as the favorites to win it all. Now they await the winner of the other semifinal this evening between the Oklahoma State Cowgirls and the Texas Longhorns. Either way, the Sooners will face a team that has a win over them.

They avenged their April loss to Texas in the winner’s bracket of the Women’s College World Series. Prior to their loss to UCLA, the Cowgirls were the last team to beat the Sooners, picking up a win in the Big 12 championship game.

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WATCH: Tiare Jennings grand slam gives Oklahoma commanding lead

Tiare Jennings broke open the Oklahoma Sooners opening round Women’s College World Series matchup vs. Northwestern with a third inning grand slam.

Northwestern struck first with a home run in the top of the third, doing their best Sooners impression. But that might have been the moment that awakened the sleeping dragon that was the Oklahoma lineup, who hadn’t put much together through the first two innings against All-American Danielle Williams.

After Rylie Boone led off with a double and Kinzie Hansen drove her in with an RBI single, OU loaded the bases for Tiare Jennings.

She didn’t wait long to jump on Williams’ change up and blasted the first pitch to deep center field for her third grand slam of the season.

That gave the Sooners a 5-1 lead and they’d add another to make it 6-1 before the registering their final out.

Jennings now has 25 home runs and 76 RBIs on the season and the Sooners are in control of their opening round WCWS matchup vs. Northwestern.

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Oklahoma Sooners beat Oklahoma State 6-0 to clinch 10th consecutive Big 12 regular season title

The Oklahoma Sooners beat Oklahoma State 6-0 to clinch the Big 12 regular season title with another standout performance from Hope Trautwein

The road to the Big 12 Conference trophy will yet again run through Norman as the unanimous No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners clinched the regular-season title with a win over the No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowgirls 6-0.

Since losing to the Texas Longhorns, OU has won nine straight games and allowed only six runs in that same span.

With head football coach Brent Venables in attendance to throw out the first pitch, the best softball team in the world put on an absolute show once again.

[autotag]Hope Trautwein[/autotag] picked up her 14th win of the season in 5.1 shutout innings with four strikeouts. Freshman phenom [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] came in to finish the job in the sixth.

Bahl struck out two batters in the remaining 1.2 innings of the game. Pitching once again revealed it’s a strength for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma State threatened early with two hits in the first inning, but Bahl ended up stranding both baserunners.

The Cowgirls only managed one hit after the early start as Trautwein buckled down and controlled the game.

Since losing to Texas, the Sooners have thrown five shutouts.

The game was tied at zero through the top of the third, then the Sooners’ offense made some noise.

Alyssa Brito singled home a run, Jana Johns walked with the bases loaded and then Kinzie Hansen hit a three run double to clear the bases.

With two wins against the Cowgirls, OU has now won 28 of their last 29 against their Bedlam rivals. Their only loss since 2011 was last year in Stillwater. Oklahoma has won 10 straight Big 12 regular-season titles and this is their 14th overall.

The regular season finale is tomorrow in Norman at 4 p.m. CST.

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Sooners bats kept in check, drop finale to Texas Longhorns 4-2 in Red River series win

Oklahoma Softball drops its first game of the season in a 4-2 loss to Hailey Dolcini and the Texas Longhorns.

Through four innings on Saturday, [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] and Hailey Dolcini were putting on a repeat performance of the Thursday night opener of the Red River series in Austin. In that matchup, Bahl and the Oklahoma Sooners came out on top in the 3-0 win over the Texas Longhorns. On Saturday, however, it was Dolcini and the Longhorns who would come away with the win.

The Longhorns hold the distinction of handing the Sooners their first loss of the season and ending a 40-game winning streak dating back to the championship of the 2021 College Softball World Series. Oklahoma started the season 38-0, a new record, and are now 38-1 after a tough loss to Texas.

Dolcini carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, keeping Oklahoma’s stout offense off-balance all afternoon. In the seventh, after getting the first out of the game, [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] broke up the no-hitter with a single. It was the third time she’d reach base on the day after getting hit by a pitch twice in the close matchup.

After Coleman got on to attempt a late rally, [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] drove her in with her seventh home run of the season to make the game 4-2. And that’s where it would stay as Dolcini closed it out to give Oklahoma their only blemish on the season.

Though she picked up the first loss of her Sooners career, Jordy Bahl pitched well and battled through some tough spots. She had nine strikeouts and three walks, and allowed three earned runs in the matchup. It was the first time in 21 games that Oklahoma’s pitching staff had allowed more than one run in a game.

Oklahoma’s top of the order of Tiare Jennings, Jocelyn Alo, and Grace Lyons were a combined 0-9 in the game and 3 for 28 in the series. While the Oklahoma Sooners boast a deep lineup, they have to get more from their top three hitters as they move forward.

Head Coach Patty Gasso spoke after the loss. “To be realistic, we weren’t going to go undefeated through the season. It was just a matter of time,” Gasso told SoonerSports.com. “We got outplayed, and that’s exactly why we have our first loss. They earned it. They played well, their pitcher was fantastic and they did everything right. That’s what it came down too. We take this back to Norman and we refine and we get better. That’s what you do with losses.”

It was improbable that the Oklahoma Sooners were going to go undefeated. There are too many good teams in college softball and all it takes is an opposing pitcher to get hot to take you out of the game. And that’s what happened here. Hailey Dolcini pitched a near-perfect game and the Longhorns took advantage of some miscues by the Oklahoma Sooners defense.

But that shouldn’t take away from the tremendous run they’ve been on this season or dampen expectations either. This is a learning opportunity for Patty Gasso’s crew and they’ll be up for the challenges they’ll face as the season progresses.

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Oklahoma Sooners sweep Texas Tech with 21-0 win, set NCAA record

The Oklahoma Sooners complete their three game sweep on record-setting fashion with a 21-0 win over Texas Tech.

Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners softball program continue to set the new standard for excellence with each passing day. With their 21-0 win today, the Sooners moved to 36-0, setting a new NCAA record for best start to the season.

The Sooners jumped on top of Texas Tech early and often hitting seven home runs, including two by Jocelyn Alo and grand slam by Tiare Jennings.

Jordy Bahl and Nicole May combined for a no hitter over five innings and the Sooners secured their 30th run-rule win of the season.

After Tiare Jennings struck out to open the game, Jocelyn Alo doubled and Kinzie Hansen hit the first of Oklahoma’s seven home runs to kickoff the scoring. The Sooners would go on to score 13 runs in the first two innings to leave no doubt about the outcome of their matchup with Texas Tech.

Alo’s two home runs now give her 21 on the season. Grace Lyons continued her incredible run with her 17th home run of the year and Jennings now has 16 after her fifth inning grand slam. Alyssa Brito and Jana Johns also went deep for Oklahoma who is on pace to break the single season home run mark they set a year ago.

In the Sooners three-game sweep of Texas Tech, Oklahoma outscored the Red Raiders 43-0.

Oklahoma now prepares for a Red River Series in Austin starting Thursday against the Texas Longhorns, who are a consensus top 20 team in the country.

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