Tag: Nicole May

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.

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 John on Twitter @john9williams.

‘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.

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

‘We’re spoiled’: Oklahoma Sooners defense shines against Iowa State

After a rough defensive outing in the loss to Louisiana, the Sooners looked like themselves vs. Iowa State.

One of the more shocking things when Oklahoma Sooners’ 71-game winning streak came to an end was how bad their defense played that game. They had a number of mistakes they just don’t make.

While the offense has gotten all of the attention the last few seasons Oklahoma has also been one of the best defensive teams in the country as well. In Oklahoma’s sweep of the [autotag]Iowa State Cyclones[/autotag], the Sooners’ stellar defensive play returned.

Patty Gasso talked after the game about their defense against the Cyclones. “We’re spoiled,” Gasso said. “Jayda Coleman makes some of the greatest plays out there. She will not be denied, but it bleeds on to Hannah Coor, who made some good plays and almost had one tonight. Defense looks solid. It was very clean. It was very pure style of play, specifically Game 2.”

Gasso went on to say she thought her team came out a little flat with almost a “boring” style of play. But that changed in the second game of the day when the Sooners won 11-2. The offense is going to be there almost every single game but it’s the defense that is going to be the difference if this team ends up winning another national championship.

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.

‘We’ve got to get comfortable’: Patty Gasso gives insight to conversation with her team following loss

After a devastating loss on Sunday, the Sooners had a heart to heart that hopes to fuel them the rest of the season.

For the first time in more than a year, the Oklahoma Sooners are set to play a game coming off of a loss. They don’t have much time to dwell on their 7-5 loss to Louisiana as they get ready to play Texas A&M Commerce Wednesday night.

Now, everyone wants to know how this team will bounce back from that loss on Sunday. [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] said they had Monday off before practicing on Tuesday. She said during that practice they talked a lot about what needs to change.

“Just the comfort level,” Gasso said. “We’ve got to get comfortable. We had some new situations where parents were behind us, behind the dugout. So, that’s new for us. The amount of crowd noise is like the World Series. I don’t think we were ready for that. You always want to win all of your games on your home field. So, I think we put some unnecessary pressure on ourselves to perform. We just weren’t as free and as sharp as we normally are. So, we talked about how we got that out of the way, we got the win streak out of the way, and I don’t know if they were really thinking about it, but it was just looming. So, I said don’t be disappointed. What we did was history-making.”

That record will probably never be touched in the history of the sport, but it is also a big weight off of their shoulders. Now they can just go out and play the sport they love.

More: How to watch Oklahoma Softball vs. Texas A&M Commerce

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.

Emotions of the weekend finally behind the Oklahoma Sooners

There was a lot going on this weekend for the Oklahoma Sooners but now that emotional rollercoaster is behind them.

After more than a full calendar year and 71 games, the Oklahoma Sooners were seemingly unbeatable. That was until Sunday afternoon’s loss to Louisiana.

This was a big weekend for the Oklahoma softball team. It was an emotional weekend as well. It was their first time playing in their new stadium, Love’s Field. They were also in two different dogfights this weekend, one of which resulted in their streak coming to an end.

More: Best photos from the Sooners Opening Day at Love’s Field

Kinzie Hansen spoke after the game about the emotions of the weekend. “The tough day was the first day when we opened it,” Hansen said. “After that, I thought we settled in pretty good. Obviously, today was very uncharacteristic and really that is that.”

The Sooners made several unforced errors in the game that we aren’t used to seeing an Oklahoma team make whether that were errors in the field or even base-running errors. [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] was called out for leaving the bag early and Hansen got caught in a pickle which are two things we don’t typically see an Oklahoma team make.

But still, they showed their resiliency and were able to tie it up in the 7th inning after being down two runs going into the bottom half. This just shows when they aren’t on their best day, they are still very tough to put down.

Now with the emotions of the weekend behind them and the pressure of the streak behind them, they can finish this season with a clear mind while chasing that historical 4-peat.

More: Social media reacts to Sooners loss to Louisiana 

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.

‘It came too late’: Tiare Jennings on the good moments for the Oklahoma Sooners’ offense

The Oklahoma Sooners have one of the best offenses in the country but even still they haven’t hit their full stride yet.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had historic offenses in the last few years. While they’ve been very good in 2024 as well, something has just felt off.

It hasn’t felt as dominant in years past. Now, granted those have been all-time great offenses so being a tick below that isn’t necessarily that big of a knock.

This year they are still averaging 8.2 runs per game and have a .382 batting average on the season. That batting average and runs per game are actually better than last year’s averages as of now. However, the 2022 and 2021 offense scored more runs per game and the 2021 team had a better batting average.

It has just felt like this year, the offense has taken too long to get things going in a lot of games. Usually, they are firing on all cylinders by the second time they get through the order. That happened once again on Sunday. They took a little too long to get things going and when they did, it was too late.

Kinzie Hansen and Tiare Jennings spoke about how Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun pitcher Chloe Riassetto was able to keep the Oklahoma offense at bay for much of the game.

“I thought she did a really good job at spotting her pitches,” Hansen said. “She was spotting that low curveball really well for both lefties and righties. We were just taking good pitches honestly. We weren’t ourselves today and I think when we are, it would be a different outcome.”

“She said it right,” Jennings said. “Her curveballs in and out. There were some good moments that the offense did have but it came too late. In times like that, it’s hard to get going. But we just took too long to adjust. All credit to the pitcher, she was good. But we just weren’t good enough to beat her today.”

That’s not to take the pitching off the hook because it felt every time the Sooners’ offense did manage to get some runs, Louisiana would answer. Give credit to the Ragin’ Cajuns because they played a heck of a game. The Sooners just know they have to get the offense going quicker and help out the pitching staff.

More: Best photos from the Sooners Opening Day at Love’s Field

More: Social media reacts to Sooners loss to Louisiana 

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.

‘We were out of the running lane’: Patty Gasso explains controversial out call in Oklahoma’s loss to Louisiana

In a game with a lot of controversial moments, one stands above the rest. Patty Gasso breaks it down.

In the Oklahoma Sooners’ loss to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns on Sunday, there were several controversial moments. But one such moments stood above the rest.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Sooners were down by one, 3-2. Freshman [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] came up to bat with two outs and hit a ground ball. Though it appeared the first baseman had to jump off the bag to catch the throw, Parker was called out at first.

A lengthy review determined she was still out even though it was clear the first baseman came off the bag to make the catch. If she had been called safe, the Sooners were going to score one run and maybe two to take the lead.

Patty Gasso explained after the game why the call stood as an out.

“We were out of the running lane,” Gasso said. “It was interference by the runner. That’s why the contact happened. If she was one step over in the running lane, she would have been safe. It was a crazy game like that. Lots of controversy.”

She was then asked about having a safety bag, which is an extra bag on the foul side of the first base line so runners can run through that to avoid contact with the first baseman. Gasso said she is not an advocate of the safety bag.

That was just another play in a long list of plays that didn’t end up going Oklahoma’s way, contributing to the loss.

More: Best photos from the Sooners opening day at Love’s Field

More: Social media reacts to Sooners loss to Louisiana 

 

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

Oklahoma Sooners beat Liberty Flames 15-3 behind 7 extra base hits

Behind seven extra base hits, the Oklahoma Sooners cruised to a 15-3 win over Liberty.

The Oklahoma Sooners bats came to life in a 15-3 throttling of the Liberty Flames to improve to 18-0 on the season. In the process, they extended their record win streak to 71 games.

[autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] got the start for the Sooners. After giving up three runs in the first inning to Miami (OH), May held the Red Hawks scoreless for the remainder of her outing. That continued against Liberty on Saturday as she threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit in the process.

The Sooners got the scoring going in the second inning when [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] launched a solo shot to deep left-center field. It was her third home run of the season on a day where Sanders went 2-for-2 with the home run, a double, a walk, and four RBIs.

Still in the second, after she doubled and advanced to third on a [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] single, [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0. [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] then crushed her sixth home run of the season to make put OU up 4-0. [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] then added another run on a Liberty throwing error to put the Sooners well in front 5-0.

More: Social media reacts to Sooners walk-off win in Love’s Field opener

In the Sooners next at bat in the bottom of the third, the Sooners put up seven runs on five hits. Sanders added three runs in a base-clearing double to put Oklahoma up 12-0 after three.

In the bottom of the fourth, [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] had an RBI single and [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] a two-run home run, putting Oklahoma up 15-0.

More: Best photos from Opening Day at Love’s Field.

Oklahoma allowed three runs in the top of the fifth on back-to-back home runs, but the game was already well decided at that point.

Six different Sooners had at least two hits, led by Coleman’s three-hit game.

Oklahoma will close out the OU Tournament with a game against Louisiana on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT at Love’s Field.

More: How to watch No. 1 Oklahoma in the OU Tournament

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 John on Twitter @john9williams.

Oklahoma Sooners walk off opener at Love’s Field, 9-7 over Miami (OH)

It didn’t start off great but Oklahoma rallied for a 9-7 walk-off win in their first game at Love’s Field.

The Oklahoma Sooners played their first game at their new home. [autotag]Love’s Field[/autotag], the nation’s largest on-campus softball stadium, is the new home of the Sooners.

Things didn’t start well for the Sooners. The nation’s leader in home runs, the Miami (OH) Redhawks, hit back-to-back home runs off [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] in the top of the 1st inning to get things started. The Redhawks led 3-0 after the top of the 1st. The Sooners loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of the 1st but only managed to score one run on an [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] sacrifice fly that scored [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag]. Miami (OH) led 3-1 after one.

The 2nd inning was all about clutch pitching. Both pitchers were able to get out of two on jams.

The bottom of the 4th inning looked like it was going to be a big one. [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] started things off by putting runners on second and third respectively with no outs. [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] grounded out but was able to score Boone. Right after that, Miami (OH) struck out [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] and got Coleman to pop out to only allow one run. The Redhawks led 3-2 after four.

[autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag] made quick work in the 5th inning and then [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] hit the first Sooners’ home run at Love’s Field to tie the game up at three heading to the 6th inning.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag] came in as a pinch hitter and hit a single up the middle that scored Hansen to give the Sooners their first lead. The very next at-bat, Coleman hit a two-run shot to give the Sooners a 6-3 lead. But they weren’t done there because in the very next at-bat freshman [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] hit a solo shot to right field. The Sooners headed to the 7th inning with a 7-3 lead and needed three outs to improve to 15-0 on the season.

Keeney allowed back-to-back-to-back home runs to Miami to tie the game at seven with no outs in the inning. Keeney recovered to retire the side, setting the game up for another heroic moment.

The Sooners needed someone to step up and it was two of their veterans who did it. Boone started things off with a single before Hansen hit a walk-off two-run home run to win the game and extend Oklahoma’s winning streak to 68 and open Love’s Field with a huge win.

The Sooners face Liberty in the night cap of their double-header in their new home.

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.

How to watch, key players for No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners in the OU Tournament

The Sooners make their home debut and here is how you can watch their upcoming games.

The best softball team in the land is back in action this time for the first time at home and in their new stadium. The Oklahoma Sooners are in action this weekend in the OU Tournament.

They will play five games this weekend against three opponents. They’ll play Miami (OH), Liberty and Louisiana. The Sooners currently sit at 14-0.

They are looking to expand their national win streak record five more games. They’ve been paced by outstanding pitching and while the offense hasn’t been as good as in years past, it’s been very good once again. It seemed to come to life last week.

So, let’s take a look at how you can watch the game.