Tag: Nicole May

Kinzie Hansen ‘feeling great’ after a nagging injury ahead of the Texas Longhorns series

The Sooners have been without one of their captains for quite a while now but she’s expected to be back against Texas this weekend.

The Oklahoma Sooners are gearing up for a big-time showdown against the No. 4 Texas Longhorns. The Longhorns had been ranked No. 2 for most of the season and actually briefly took over the No. 1 spot from the Sooners. But Texas is coming off of a weekend where they lost two of three to Oklahoma State and were shutout twice by Longhorns ace Lexi Kilfoyl.

As they head down to Austin, Texas to face the Longhorns in a three-game weekend series, the Sooners are hoping to get back one of their key players for this series.

Co-captain [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] has been battling a knee injury recently. She only started one game last weekend vs. the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag].

Hansen spoke to reporters about how she’s feeling ahead of the big rivalry game. “I’m feeling great,” Hansen said. “I’ll be ready for this weekend that’s for sure.”

A knee injury for a catcher can be painful with all of the squatting they have to do. She talked about if she had any problems in her last game. “No, not really,” Hansen said. “I’ve been working back to feel 100%, specifically for this weekend so I was really excited when coach had me suit up this past weekend.”

The Sooners are going to need all of the firepower they can get for this weekend. The Longhorns might be their toughest test to date.

There is no question that getting Hansen back is going to be big for the Sooners the rest of the way.

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Oklahoma Sooners game vs. Wichita State rescheduled for later in the season

The Sooners will no longer travel to Wichita State for a midweek game this week.

The Oklahoma Sooners will have nearly a week to prepare for their next game. That’s because their midweek contest with the [autotag]Wichita State Shockers[/autotag] slated for Tuesday has been rescheduled.

It is unclear why the game is being rescheduled, but in a release, Oklahoma moved to April 9, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. CT.

That contest will now be sandwiched in between a road series at the Texas Longhorns and a home series vs. the [autotag]BYU Cougars[/autotag]. That also means Oklahoma will now have four days off before they take on the Kansas Jayhawks in a three-game series starting on Thursday.

The first pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT, followed by a 5 p.m. CT start on Friday and a noon CT Saturday finale. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 1560 AM/103.3 FM The Franchise 2 if you aren’t able to watch on TV.

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Oklahoma Sooners are taking it ‘one game, one week’ at a time

All they needed was a wake up call as the Oklahoma Sooners are back to showing their dominance.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ loss to Louisiana might have been the wake-up call they needed as a team.

That appears to be the case, as the Sooners have been flat-out dominant since suffering their first loss of the season. They are outscoring teams 137-16 during that span. That’s an average of 10.5 to 1.2. Just complete and utter dominance for the Sooners.

Jayda Coleman spoke about if they are on the path they need to be to hopefully win another national championship.

“I think where we’re going right now is really exciting,” Coleman said. “I think the main focus for us is to take it one game at a time. We have Wichita State. We have Kansas. Just thinking just one week at a time. If we start thinking about the postseason, that kind of thing, it’ll mess us up, so just one game at a time, one week at a time.”

The Sooners have done that so far this season. Now, they will spend a week in the state of Kansas.

They start things off on Tuesday with a midweek game against Wichita State before heading to play the Jayhawks on Thursday in a three-game week/weekend series. The Jayhawks are playing some really good softball. They are 7-2 in Big 12 play, with sweeps of Baylor and Houston to their ledger.

One thing Oklahoma can’t do is look ahead to next week as they have the big showdown with their rival down south. They’ve got to take care of business against a pair of teams from the Sunflower State on an NCAA Tournament trajectory.

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Best Photos from Oklahoma’s doubleheader sweep of the Baylor Bears

A look at the best photos from the Sooners doubleheader with the Baylor Bears

The Sooners are now on a 13-game winning streak after their sweep of the Baylor Bears.

The wins over Baylor marked their first top 25 wins since early in the season when they knocked off top 10 teams Washington and Duke.

The games set the stage for a stretch of games against Wichita State, Kansas (yes, Kansas), and the Texas Longhorns. It’s a stretch that could have a huge impact on the Big 12 title race as Texas sits second in the standings and Kansas is a half-game back of Oklahoma State ahead of the Jayhawks series finale against Houston on Sunday.

It was another capacity crowd at Love’s Field on Saturday as the Sooners announced a record attendance of 4,520 on-site to watch the top 25 matchup. The fans in attendance were treated to a show as the Sooners scored 19 runs on Saturday and hit seven home runs.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the Sooners doubleheader sweep of Baylor.

‘I try not to over-contemplate things’: Ella Parker taking the same approach to conference play

Oklahoma’s star freshmen starting to settle in now that conference play is here.

The Oklahoma Sooners put together one of the best freshman classes in the country this past season. It’s highlighted by two players who have made immediate contributions, [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] and [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag].

Both have had great starts to their seasons. Parker is hitting .441, which is second on the team, with five home runs and 27 RBIs. Pickering is hitting .412 with four home runs and 22 RBIs.

Earlier in the season, the Sooners were playing five games just about every weekend, which can be a grind. Jayda Coleman even spoke about how tough that is and they are just now finding a groove as a team.

But it’s the same way for the freshmen. Ella Parker talked about her approach to playing five different teams in one weekend vs. playing the same team three times. “I keep it very simple,” Parker said. “I try not to over-contemplate things. That’s what’s helped me stay locked into each different team.”

Parker and Pickering are the future of the program, but they’ve been a big part of Oklahoma’s success this season. They both have played in every game so far this season. That right there just shows the confidence the team and coaches have in them.

But we’ve seen freshmen in every sport hit a freshman wall at some point in the season. As of now, that hasn’t happened with these girls and the hope is, it won’t happen anytime soon.

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No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 19/22 Baylor one of D1Softball’s must-watch series of the week

This week’s top 25 matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 19/22 Baylor Bears among D1Softball’s top matchups of the week.

The Oklahoma Sooners are on a tear to open Big 12 play.

Through two series, they’re 6-0 and are outscoring their opponents 69-6. Oklahoma’s recorded 33 extra base hits in conference play, 12 more than the Texas Longhorns. The Sooners offense also leads the way in walks.

Now Oklahoma prepares for the first of two consecutive top 25 showdowns in Big 12 play when they host the Baylor Bears this weekend. Friday’s game will be held at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, the site of the Women’s College World Series before moving back to Love’s Field for the final two games of the series.

Baylor is coming off of an upset sweep at the hands of the Kansas Jayhawks. The Bears scored two runs in the opener, and that’s all they could muster the rest of the weekend.

With the Sooners leading the Big 12 in ERA, this may not be a great time to face Oklahoma and their deep pitching staff.

Looking ahead to the weekend, Oklahoma vs. Baylor comes in at No. 3 in D1Softball’s “What to watch” this week.

The Bears were the only team to beat the Sooners in 2023, winning a non-conference matchup before being swept in their conference series later in the year. Now, the teams meet again. OU has surged to open Big 12 play, dismantling Iowa State and Texas Tech, while Baylor has struggled, most recently being swept at the hands of Kansas last weekend. Kelly Maxwell has been excellent in the circle for the Sooners, while Baylor has had some injury issues that have limited their roster depth as a whole. The Bears are the first Big 12 opponent on the OU schedule with, at minimum, a proven history of *being capable* of beating the three-time-defending champions – but can they do it with this year’s team? Only time will tell. – Justin McCleod, D1Softball

After last year’s loss to Baylor in nonconference play, the Oklahoma Sooners responded by shutting out the Bears in a three-game sweep during conference play.

While the name on the jersey may read the same, these teams are different. Instead of [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] taking their turns in the rotation, the Sooners will send [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] to the circle with [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] to face their Big 12 foes.

Last year’s series with Baylor might have been the turning point for [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag]. Heading into that weekend in Waco, Sanders was hitting just .234 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. Against the Bears, she raised her average to .271 after going 4-for-6 with two home runs, four RBIs, and five walks. That sparked a second half of the season where Sanders recorded seven home runs and 15 RBIs, including the postseason, and finished with a .284 average. This year, Sanders is hitting .365 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs.

Baylor may have one of the few wins over the Sooners over the last couple of seasons, but this is a different Oklahoma team than the one they faced last year.

More: How to watch No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 19/22 Baylor

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‘It’s always fun playing at the Hall of Fame Stadium’: Sooners excited for Friday’s game in Oklahoma City

The Sooners are set to make their return to Hall of Fame Stadium against the Baylor Bears on Friday.

The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping to keep their new winning streak alive with a win on Wednesday against UT Arlington. That’s before they have a top-20 matchup against the [autotag]Baylor Bears[/autotag] this weekend.

Game one will take place at a stadium the Sooners know all too well, Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Sooners have had great memories there winning the last three national championships on that field.

Jayda Coleman talked about what it’s like to play at that stadium. “It’s always fun playing at the Hall of Fame Stadium,” Coleman said. “I think we are actually lucky we get to play there before the College World Series. Just getting to feel it out, feel the field out. Also, get to feel the fans because there are a lot more fans there. But I’m super excited for that game.”

This will be just a one-game stop for the Sooners as they’ll close out the series in Norman on Saturday and Sunday. But as Coleman said, it’s always good to get a feel of that environment before the WCWS starts up. It’s one advantage Oklahoma has compared to other teams is they can schedule a game up there during the regular season.

But before we get there, they must take care of business against UT Arlington first.

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‘You can see a kind of energy switch’: Jayda Coleman talks about when the Sooners settled in

Jayda Coleman after a rough start is starting to round into form for the Sooners.

Earlier in the season the Oklahoma Sooners just looked off. It was hard to pinpoint what exactly the issue was but they just didn’t look as crisp as we had grown accustomed to seeing.

Whether that was in the field, pitching or even at the plate the team just hadn’t locked in yet. Nothing was a greater example of that than their loss to Louisiana snapping their 71-game winning streak. It wasn’t just that they lost, but there were several uncharacteristic errors in the field and on the base paths that led to the loss.

One of the players it was most noticeable with was [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]. Coleman has been one of the best players on the team since she first came to Norman back in 2021. She’s been instrumental in them winning three straight national championships.

Her defense is elite and has been good this year as well but something has seemed off with her offense until lately. Coleman talked about what was happening earlier in the season.

“It’s really hard to get into your groove when you’re playing five different teams I feel like,” Coleman said. “So, those first three tournaments are always kind of brutal. But honestly probably around when we lost our first game, probably that next practice you can see a kind of energy switch towards our team and we usually have that every year. There’s a point in the season where we are like ‘Okay, now we know how it’s supposed to feel. This is what it’s supposed to feel like every day at practice and when we come to the games, it should show up.’ So, I would say somewhere around our first loss.”

Coleman is batting .529 since the loss to Louisiana. She’s also hit one home run and has six RBIs in that stretch. It’s been clear since the loss that Coleman and the Sooners are settling into a groove.

Which is a scary sign for the rest of the college softball world.

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Sooners score 12 in the first to wreck the Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a hot start in their 15-2 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a phenomenal start in their 15-2 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders with 12 runs in the first inning before ever registering and out. And they never looked back.

[autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] swung at the first pitch she saw, dribbling it into center field. After Coleman took second on a passed ball, [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] beat out a play to first to put runners on the corner, and Kasidi Pickering walked to load the bases for the red-hot Cydney Sanders. Sanders singled to right field, bringing in Coleman to take a 1-0 lead.

Tiare Jennings then doubled to bring two more in, and [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] drew another Sooners walk to load the bases again. [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag] walked to make it 4-0. RBI singles from [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] and [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] made it 6-0 as the Sooners batted around in the first inning.

Still, with no outs and the bases loaded, [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] drew a walk to make it 7-0, and [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] singled to bring in Hodge and Boone, and the Sooners were up 9-0. Then the Sooners got their only home run of the inning, a three-run shot to right by [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] to put Oklahoma up 12-0 before registering their first out of the game.

It was an incredible effort from the Sooners, who drew five walks in the inning.

According to SoonerSports.com, the 12 runs were the most scored in an inning by the Sooners since 2022 against the Kansas Jayhawks.

In the circle, Kierston Deal allowed a solo home run in the first and one in the fourth. They were the first runs she’d given up since her start against Long Beach State in Puerto Vallarta to start the season. Deal threw 3.1 innings, allowing just three hits, no walks and recording one strikeout. Despite the home runs, it was another strong performance for Deal who has been great over the last month.

[autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag] pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, striking out two Red Raiders without allowing a hit.

Texas Tech came into the series third in the conference in runs scored and home runs, and the Sooners’ pitching staff has allowed just two runs through 12 innings.

[autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag], who reached base in all five plate appearances on Friday night, did it again Saturday. She was 2-for-2 with a double, a walk, and three RBIs. This weekend, she’s 5-for-5 with two doubles, two home runs, three walks and nine RBIs.

[autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag], batting in the two spot, was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. The Sooners leader in batting average is now hitting .450 as a true freshman.

The Sooners look to close out their series in Texas Tech with a sweep Sunday at Noon. Oklahoma is now 26-1 (5-0 Big 12) this season and riding an eight game winnings streak.

After [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] pitched Friday night and Deal threw on Saturday, [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] will likely get the ball to close out the series.

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‘We’re going to have to be pretty pinpointed’: Sooners pitchers have to be sharp vs. Texas Tech

Sooners will face one of the best offenses in the country this weekend and it’ll be no walk in the park for their pitchers.

The Oklahoma Sooners (24-1) returned to their spot as the consensus No. 1 team after splitting the rankings with Texas last week. This weekend they go on the road for the first time this month to face one of the better teams in the country.

The [autotag]Texas Tech Red Raiders[/autotag] are 21-5 and 6-1 at home this season. They are receiving votes but are just outside the top 25. While every game presents challenges, this one is going to be tough for Oklahoma and, specifically, its pitching staff.

The Red Raiders have scored 190 runs, which averages to just over seven runs a game. They’re third in the Big 12 in runs and home runs, behind Oklahoma and Texas. For comparison, Oklahoma averages 8.5 runs per game.

Patty Gasso was asked about the challenge they’ll face this weekend.

“Any team we play that has a bat in their hand is going to be a challenge for us, and that’s the way we’ll look at it,” Gasso said. “We’re going to have to be pretty pinpointed. We’re not going to try to outhit them. We’re just going to be us. Trusting that will be good enough.”

Typically, Oklahoma just being itself has been good enough. In the one loss this year, the Sooners weren’t themselves and it showed. This is when we will find out what this pitching staff is made of and which pitchers start to separate themselves.

There is no doubt these are measuring-stick games, and it’s going to be must-see television this weekend.

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