Tag: Marita Hynes Field

A look back on Kinzie Hansen’s time with the Oklahoma Sooners

Kinzie Hansen always seemed to come through in the clutch for the Oklahoma Sooners, helping lead OU during a historic career.

If “attitude reflects leadership,” as Julius Campbell from Remember the Titans once coined, then the Oklahoma Sooners were a reflection of one of their captains in 2024.

[autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag]’s career had some ups and downs. She dealt with injuries in the 2022 season before getting healthy enough to play a huge role in that year’s title run. The Sooners’ catcher has been the epitome of toughness and resilience over her five seasons at Oklahoma.

She played in 243 games for the Sooners. After playing just 24 as a true freshman, Hansen averaged 54.75 games a season and started 49.5 games each of the last four years. In her career, Hansen hit .390 with 60 home runs and 268 RBIs.

If you take out the 2022 season, where she battled injuries throughout, Hansen hit .416. In four of her five seasons at OU, Hansen hit over .400. Statistically, 2021 was the best of her career, hitting .438 with 24 home runs and 66 RBIs.

While the power numbers might not have returned, Hansen’s proclivity for clutch hitting and heroics remained. She was as good as anyone in the country with two strikes and earned a reputation for coming through when the count was stacked against her.

There’s no greater example than Hansen’s game-tying home run against Clemson in the 2023 super regionals.

Chasing history, the Oklahoma Sooners were down 7-4 to the Clemson Tigers. At one point, OU was up 4-0 before the Tigers rattled off seven unanswered runs.

Valerie Cagle, one of the best players in the game, was on the mound, battling to tie up the super-regional series with Oklahoma. It was the moment that every kid playing diamond sports daydreams about. Oklahoma had two on with two out, and Hansen dug in at the plate as the tying run.

After falling behind in the count 0-2, Hansen connected on a pitch up and away and pulled it deep to left field and beyond the bleachers of Marita Hynes Field.

With one swing of the bat, Hansen tied the game to send it to extra innings, where [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] put OU ahead in the ninth to win the game. The win gave the Sooners their 48th straight victory, passing Arizona for softball’s longest winning streak. It’s a streak that extended into the 2024 season and finished at 71 games.

The game doesn’t get there unless Hansen comes through in the seventh. It was an at-bat that Sooners fans and the softball world will remember forever.

That was Oklahoma’s final game at [autotag]Marita Hynes Field[/autotag], a place they called home for more than 20 years. In a poetic moment, Hansen also had the walk-off home run to beat Miami (OH) in Oklahoma’s first game inside Love’s Field.

And while her work at the plate will be remembered for years to come, it’s important to acknowledge her role in managing the pitching staff over the last five years. In each of the Sooners’ four national titles, Hansen caught a different frontline starter to win the national championship. In 2021, it was [autotag]Giselle Juarez[/autotag]. In 2022, [autotag]Hope Trautwein[/autotag] took the ball in key moments. 2023 was [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag]’s season of dominance. And in 2024, it was [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag].

In 2023, Hansen was named a first-team All-American. She was also a first-team All-Big 12 selection each of the last two seasons and has been selected for multiple national team appearances. In 2024, she was the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Big 12 selection.

Hansen’s toughness, resiliency, and propensity to come through in clutch situations made her a fan favorite over the last five years. And with the announcement that she’ll continue her softball career locally with the WPF’s Oklahoma City Spark, Sooner fans have the opportunity to continue to watch K-9 do her thing on the diamond.

Athletic Director Joe Castiglione gives update on OU Softball’s Love’s Field

Everything seems to be on schedule as Joe Castiglione gives an update on Love’s Field before opening day.

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team is less than a month away from the beginning of the 2024 season. They’ll have a shot to extend their NCAA record 53-game winning streak. The Sooners have also won three straight national titles, which has only been done one other time (1988-1990 UCLA Bruins).

No program has ever won four straight national titles, but the Sooners have all of the ingredients to be the first. Oklahoma also has some more exciting news to look forward to this year. They are opening a new stadium, [autotag]Love’s Field[/autotag].

Last week, Athletic Director Joe Castiglione spoke about the progress of the stadium and whether it will be ready for opening day. “I drove through there with one of my deputies yesterday (Thursday) and they are working feverishly and have a March 1st functional occupancy deadline,” Castiglione said. “That everyone knows because that’s the first official game that will be played at Love’s Field.”

Castiglione added the workers were out putting in seats and the scoreboard recently. The Sooners played at the OU Softball Complex since it opened its doors in 1998. It was later named [autotag]Marita Hynes Field[/autotag] in 2004 for all of her contributions to the program.

Marita Hynes seats about 1,400 people, whereas Love’s Field is going to seat 4,200 people. That’s three times as many in attendance for your national champion softball program.

It’s a much-needed upgrade for one of the best programs of all time and for a sport that continues to grow in the state of Oklahoma.

The Sooners start the season on Feb. 8, 2024, with a couple of tournaments before they play their first home game in their new stadium on March 1, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. CT against Miami (OH).

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

Kinzie Hansen, Sooners create magic in final game at Marita Hynes Field

Kinzie Hansen’s magical moment closed out the Oklahoma Sooners time at Marita Hynes Field and launched them into the Women’s College World Series.

This weekend, the Oklahoma Sooners said goodbye to Marita Hynes Field in the only way they knew how: with a bit of “Sooner Magic.”

They got things going with a pair of home runs to open the game. The back-to-back bombs from Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings seemed like it would set the stage for a Sooners rout, but Clemson had other plans.

Tigers’ starter Brooke McCubbin settled and kept Oklahoma from extending their lead until the fourth inning when Alyssa Brito’s home run and Sophia Nugent’s fielder’s choice RBI extended the lead to 4-0. At that point, it felt like the Sooners were going to run away with the game and into the Women’s College World Series.

But then the Tigers responded in kind with a three-run home run from Maddie Moore in the fourth and a two-run shot from McKenzie Clark to kickstart a five-run fifth that put Clemson up 7-4.

Those seven runs were the first time Oklahoma’s pitching staff had allowed five or more runs in 2023. That’s how good Jordy Bahl, Nicole May, Alex Storako and Kierston Deal had been this season.

After a scoreless sixth inning, it was looking like Oklahoma would be playing again on Sunday. But the Sooners had other plans.

Rylie Boone singled to start the top of the seventh and with two outs in the inning Haley Lee came through in the clutch to keep the inning alive. That’s when Kinzie Hansen provided the heroics to extend the game for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Her three-run home run was the magical moment the Sooners needed to pull off the victory and close their storied history at Marita Hynes Field with a win. But it wasn’t just any other win.

It was a record-setting 48th consecutive win. It was the win that propelled them to their seventh-straight Women’s College World Series. It was a win on Patty Gasso’s birthday. It was an emotional win over an up-and-coming program that’s seen a rapid ascent.

During a weekend in which Oklahoma Softball and its illustrious alumni remembered their time at Marita Hynes Field, Hansen, Tiare Jennings, and the Oklahoma Sooners created another incredible moment. A memory that will be imprinted on the hearts and minds of those on the field in crimson and those in Sooner Nation for years to come, even after Oklahoma’s selling out their new home at Love’s Field.

Oklahoma Softball greats, fans honor Marita Hynes Field in its final homestand

Former Sooners greats and fans share on social media about the final weekend of softball at Marita Hynes Field.

As the Oklahoma Sooners host their super regional matchup with the Clemson Tigers in an effort to defend their back-to-back national championships, they say goodbye to the place they’ve called home for the last 25 years.

With Oklahoma’s Love’s Field set to open in time for the 2024 home slate, the Sooners are playing their last series at Marita Hynes Field in Norman. It’s been the home to national champions and national players of the year. It’s been the place where Patty Gasso has established the legend that’s made her the face of college softball.

With the weekend to say goodbye to Marita Hynes Field, Oklahoma softball greats of the past and fans shared what they felt about one of the legendary sites of collegiate athletics.