Tag: Nicole May

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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Oklahoma Softball: The streak continues as OU run-rules Tulsa

There wasn’t an empty seat in the house at Marita Haynes Field as the Oklahoma Sooners played the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Wednesday night.

There wasn’t an empty seat in the house at Marita Haynes Field as the Oklahoma Sooners played the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Wednesday night. The packed ballpark gave the campus a certain buzz when walking by.

It was just another day at the office for the best softball team in the nation as they claimed a 9-0 run-rule victory to improve to a 33-0 record on the season. Wednesday night was their 27th win by run-rule this year.

Sophomore [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] picked up her tenth win on the season. She struck out six batters while walking three through five innings of work.

The Sooners were less powerful than usual at the plate with just one extra base hit on the evening; a double by [autotag]Lynnsie Elam[/autotag]. However, don’t mistake this for a lackluster hitting performance. Oklahoma didn’t struggle at the plate.

OU’s offense peppered Tulsa for 10 hits in the four innings. Eight different Sooners had an RBI against Tulsa. Jana Johns led the way, bringing in two, both on a fielders choice.

The Sooners were busy on the base paths, with five stolen bases on the night.

With Wednesday’s win, OU tied the program’s best start to a season which was set just last year. They can break the record on Friday night in Lubbock against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The 19-16 Red Raiders are coming off a loss to Kansas, but hold a 13-3 record this season when playing at home. They are 2-4 in Big 12 play.

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How does Oklahoma Softball stack up statistically against the Big 12 and the NCAA?

Taking a look at how the Oklahoma Sooners stack up against the Big 12 and the country statistically in the 2022 season.

In 2021, the Oklahoma Sooners set the record for most home runs in a season with 161, breaking Hawaii’s record on their way to a fifth national championship. It was an impressive feat that saw the Sooners set a new standard for offensive output. In 2022, they look like their redefining the game once again.

The Sooners are 32-0, with 26 wins coming in run-rule fashion. They lead the nation with 83 home runs. With 18 regular season games remaining, two to three games in the Big 12 championship, and anywhere from 10-15 games in the College World Series, the Oklahoma Sooners could push to break their record from a year ago.

Unreal.

In addition to their offensive dominance, the Sooners are leading the way from the circle as well. OU is first in the country in earned run average at 0.67. UCLA is the next best at 1.16.

In 2021, the Sooners secured 24 shutout victories in 60 games. Through 32 games in 2022, Oklahoma has recorded 17 shutouts. If the pitching holds up like it has, they’ll far surpass their shutout total from a year ago.

Patty Gasso’s squad has been so good in 2022 that the talk of an undefeated season doesn’t seem that unreasonable. While highly unlikely, the way Oklahoma hits and pitches and how they’ve battled against adversity means they’re never out of a game. And like we saw on Saturday against UAB, it only takes a moment for the Sooners to find their bats.

Below, we look at how the Sooners rank in the country and the Big 12 statistically.

Oklahoma Sooners sweep day one of Mary Nutter Classic with 11-3 win over Long Beach State

The Oklahoma Sooners improved to 12-0 on the season with a win over Long Beach State led by Kinzie Hansen, Grace Lyons, and Alyssa Brito.

The No. 1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners improved to 12-0 on the season with an 11-3 run rule win over Long Beach State on day one of the Mary Nutter Classic in California.

After Jordy Bahl’s perfect game in a 10-0 win against Cal-State Fullerton, the Sooners got a bit more of a challenge from Long Beach State who notched the first earned run of the season off of a Sooners pitcher in the three-run third inning.

Hope Trautwein hadn’t allowed an earned run coming into the game got into some trouble in the bottom third inning allowing three runs (two unearned) cutting the Sooners lead to 6-3. Nicole May entered the game to get the Sooners out of a jam and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits to close out the game.

Oklahoma responded in the top of the fourth thanks to Alyssa Brito’s base-clearing triple that drove in three runs to make it 9-3. They added another one later in the inning to go into the bottom of the fourth up 10-3. Oklahoma would add another run in the top of the fifth and May finished it off in the bottom of the fifth for the Sooners run-rule win.

At the plate, Kinzie Hansen and Grace Lyons hit home runs as the Sooners continued their offensive tear to start the season.

The Oklahoma Sooners will play two games on Saturday, first against No. 8/10 Arizona at 12 p.m. CT and then No. 17/17 Tennessee at 2:30 p.m. CT. They’ll close out the weekend series at 11 a.m. on against Utah on Sunday.

Here’s how you can watch or listen to the Oklahoma Sooners as they look to stay unbeaten and as Jocelyn Alo attempts to break the NCAA all-time home run record.

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Oklahoma Sooners dominate in season opening blowout of UC Santa Barbara

The Oklahoma Sooners used a nine-run first inning and a combined perfect game to open the season with a 14-0 win over UC-Santa Barbara.

The Oklahoma Sooners started the 2022 softball season off with a bang in their season opener against UC Santa Barbara, picking up the 14-0 run-rule win.

On the backs of an offense that exploded for nine runs in the top of the first, the Sooners picked up right where they left off from their historic national championship run in 2021. Last season, the Sooners set an NCAA record for home runs and they wasted little time hitting the long ball in this one.

Second baseman Tiare Jennings got Oklahoma going in the top of the first with a lead off home run to give the Sooners a 1-0 lead. The Sooners erupted in their first at bat of the season with nine runs, including a grand slam from 2021’s national player of the year Jocelyn Alo to cap off the explosive inning.

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Jennings’ lead-off home run would be the game winner as three Sooners pitchers combined for the perfect game victory over UCSB. True freshman Jordy Bahl got her first start of the season for the Sooners and led the way with 2.2 innings pitched and four strikeouts. She retired all eight batters she faced before giving way to sophomore Nicole May, who struck out the only batter she faced. Hope Trautwein took over in the bottom of the fourth and closed out the game for the Sooners, striking out three of the six batters she faced in her two innings of work.

The Sooners would get another home run from Jennings and Kinzie Hanson hit her first of the season to help Oklahoma erupt for their first win of the season.

On the afternoon, nine players recorded a hit and nine players drove in a runner for Oklahoma. Jennings, Alo, Hansen, and shortstop Grace Lyons combined to go 7 for 13 with four home runs, seven RBIs, and 10 runs scored.

The Sooners quest to defend their 2021 national title got off to a great start with the offensive explosion and the pitching dominance. If the Oklahoma Sooners continue to get performances like this from their pitching staff, they’ll be incredibly difficult to beat all year.

The Sooners will next compete in the Mark Campbell Invitational where they’ll face Loyola Marymount and Mississippi State on Friday, before a pivotal early-season matchup with UCLA on Saturday. They’ll close out the weekend against UC-San Diego on Sunday.

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Oklahoma Sooners Softball favorites in Big 12 preseason poll

Coming off of a historic 2021, the Oklahoma Sooners softball team was voted the preseason favorites to win the Big 12 in 2022.

While a lot of things have changed in Oklahoma athletics over the past year, one thing remains the same; championship expectations for Patty Gasso and her crew.

Coming off a historic season in which they set a new record for home runs, the Oklahoma Sooners Softball team was voted the No. 1 team in D1 Softball’s preseason rankings. The unanimous vote is just the first poll the Sooners sit atop of as they land at the top of the Big 12 preseason rankings as well.

The Sooners garnered all but one first-place vote from the seven participating schools. With nine returning all-conference selections including the Big 12 and national player of the year Jocelyn Alo, the Sooners look primed to bring home more hardware in 2022.

Last season, the Sooners were 16-1 in Big 12 play and hold a combined 144-14 record over the last nine seasons according to SoonerSports.com. Each of the last nine seasons has seen the Oklahoma Sooners win the regular season conference championship and 2022 should be no different.

The Sooners are stocked once again with great offensive talent. Run rule wins will once again be prevalent as the Sooners launch offensive barrages upon their opponents. They’ll need Nicole May to rise to the occasion as the ace of the staff with Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile graduated. May had a fantastic true freshman season in 2021 and should be ready to take the next step in her development.

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Oklahoma Sooners are unanimous No. 1 in DI softball’s 2022 preseason top 25

The staff over at DI Softball voted the Oklahoma Sooners unanimous No. 1 in the 2022 preseason rankings.

Just as they did at the plate several times during the 2021 season, the Oklahoma Sooners are looking to go back-to-back heading into 2022. Instead of homers though, they’re looking to collect back-to-back national championships.

Returning a roster that made run rules the standard in 2021, the Sooners look primed to make another run at the 2022 College World Series and national championship.

DI Softball recently released its preseason rankings, and the Oklahoma Sooners were named the unanimous No. 1 heading into the 2022 season.

Oklahoma set an NCAA record with 161 home runs a season ago and held the top position in our rankings for the majority – since Week 3 – of the 2021 season. – DI Softball Staff

Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners return the key components to their dominant offense from 2021: Jocelyn Alo, Tiare Jennings, Jayda Coleman and emotional sparkplug Mackenzie Donihoo.

Oklahoma will have to replace Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile, the key pitchers from the 2021 College World Series. Both have graduated, and Saile has moved into a graduate assistant role. Nicole May, who was great for the Sooners at times in 2021, will be expected to take on a larger role this season.

Oklahoma opens its season Feb. 10 in California against UC Santa Barbara. The Sooners will take part in several tournaments to start the season. Traveling to southern California, Houston and back to California before they host their home opener against Minnesota on March 7 at Marita Hynes Field. After that one-off at home, Jocelyn Alo will lead the Oklahoma Sooners to the power hitters’ home state of Hawaii for the Rainbow Wahine Classic. The team returns to Oklahoma City for the Hall of Fame Classic on March 18. Big 12 plays opens against Baylor on March 25.

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