Tag: Nicole Mendes

Three Oklahoma softball players added to Player of the Year watchlist

Three Oklahoma Sooners softball players were named to the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team is gearing up for another season. They have won a total of 12 Big 12 Championships, including eight in a row. Their streak is technically still intact given that the season was cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020. Prior to the cancellation, the Sooners were 20-4 and winners of seven-straight games.

The Sooners softball team is ready to make another run at their fifth National Championship. They finished as runner ups in 2019. The expectations are right where they should be with the championship culture around campus. The USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll has been released for the preseason rankings. Oklahoma is the highest-ranked of any of the Big 12 schools.

Oklahoma is also well represented in the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.

Giselle Juarez, Jocelyn Alo, and Nicole Mendes were all named to the watch list that is comprised of 50 softball players around the country. Juarez holds a career ERA of 1.45 and she is looking to climb even further in the Sooners’ history books.

Last year Alo hit eight home runs with 21 RBI’s while batting .427 for the Sooners. She returns for another year of eligibility due to the NCAA’s ruling to allow the extra year due to the season that was lost with the cancellation.

Mendes also returns for a fifth year at Oklahoma. She appeared in just six games and hit two home runs with four RBI’s in six plate appearances. The Sooners will begin their season soon, as we await the official schedule to be released for the 2021 campaign.

Oklahoma softball seniors announce 2021 return

Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes and Shannon Saile officially announced their plans to return for the 2021 season via Twitter Thursday.

Oklahoma softball seniors Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes and Shannon Saile officially announced their plans to return for the 2021 season via Twitter Thursday.

The Sooners posted a 20-4 in 2020 before the NCAA canceled all Division I and II spring sporting events for the remainder of the season, which included the remainder of Oklahoma’s softball season. On March 30, the NCAA granted all participants in the spring season one extra year of eligibility.

The only piece left to the puzzle for head coach Patty Gasso and Oklahoma was it’s three seniors officially announcing their return, which happened Thursday night.

Both Juarez and Mendes battled injury throughout most of the 2020 season. Mendes had just made her way back into the lineup after suffering a torn ACL in the fall with what would be only a few games remaining. Juarez, who led the Sooners in strikeouts in 2019,  battled a shoulder injury. Coach Gasso alluded to the fact she wasn’t close to returning to the circle in late February.

Saile ended the season on a hot streak, posting several solid outings in the circle in the final games. She finished with 89 strikeouts and an 8-3 record.

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Patty Gasso expects Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes and Shannon Saile back for 2021 season

Oklahoma softball head coach Patty Gasso said she expected Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes and Shannon Saile back for the 2021 season.

Oklahoma softball head coach Patty Gasso said she expected Giselle Juarez, Nicole Mendes, and Shannon Saile back for the 2021 season in light of the 2020 season’s cancellation.

After the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of all Division I and Division II spring sports, the NCAA announced on Friday that all Division I student-athletes who participated in the spring season will receive an extra year of eligibility.

“I expect the three seniors back,” Gasso said at her teleconference on Monday.

Gasso explained that Juarez and Mendes, who had already missed significant time in the 2020 season, could receive medical redshirts. Juarez was limited to just 6.2 innings through the Sooners 24 games, and Mendes was just getting back in the swing of things with six at-bats in the last six games.

Saile had thrown more pitches than any other Sooner before the season’s cancellation. She led Oklahoma in innings pitched and strikeouts, and led the Sooners to an 8-3 record when in the circle,  allowing just three runs in her last 20 innings pitched.

Oklahoma posted a 20-4 record before their season ended.

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No. 6 Oklahoma softball has undefeated weekend in Norman

No. 6 Oklahoma Softball capped off its second straight weekend at home with four wins in a row, moving to 20-4 on the season.

No. 6 Oklahoma Softball capped off its second straight weekend at home with four wins in a row, moving to 20-4 on the season.

After losing at least one game in each of the last three weekends, the Sooners beat all five of their opponents this week, starting with Wichita State on Wednesday. After getting down 4-0 early in the first due to freshman pitching struggles, senior Shannon Saile entered the game and allowed just one run in seven innings. OU strung together several hits in the second and third innings, including three home runs, and cruised to an 8-5 victory over the Shockers.

On Friday, Oklahoma earned a pair of wins over Mercer and Utah, scoring 10 runs in both contests. Nicole Mendes had a home run in both games, and finished with four RBI’s on the day as a designated hitter. 

In their first game Saturday, freshman pitcher Brooke Vestal put together arguably her best game of the season, going all seven innings and allowing just one run against Murray State. Freshman Kenzie Hansen and Alycia Flores led the Sooners at the plate with a pair of home runs. 

The last bout of the weekend for Oklahoma yielded one of its most exciting yet, as senior captain Lynnsie Elam walked off Missouri State on an RBI single in the eighth inning that scored Hansen. Shannon Saile moved to 8-3 on the year with the win, and freshman Olivia Rains put together one of her best performances in the circle.

Oklahoma now looks to host the OU Tournament, the last leg of their three-week home-stand. They’ll start with New Mexico State at 3 p.m. on Friday.

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No. 5 Oklahoma wins Courtyard Marriott Tournament

The Sooners exploded for five runs in the fifth inning to top Northwestern 5-1 and claim the Courtyard Marriott Tournament. 

For the first time since the 2019 World Series, Nicole Mendes stepped up to the plate with a chance to give Oklahoma the lead on Sunday.

The senior’s brace was the only indicator of a torn ACL last fall, as her swing was smooth early in her at bat.

On the fifth, she connected hard enough to ricochet the ball off the Northwestern first baseman’s glove. Mendes reach first safely, and freshman Kinzie Hansen streaked home to put the Sooners ahead 2-1.

Mendes was among the four Sooners with an RBI in the fifth inning Sunday, as they exploded for five runs in the inning to top Northwestern 5-1 and claim the Courtyard Marriott Tournament.

“I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a really hard process,” Mendes said after Sunday’s game. “I’ve had to learn a lot. Make a lot of adjustments and grow up as a person and as a player. But to be able to watch this team, as young as we are and as depleted as we are, watch us grow and work together… It’s been really fun to watch.”

Oklahoma’s weekend began with an 8-3 win over the very same team, as Lynnsie Elam finished 2-for-3 with 3 RBI’s.

In their second game Friday, Elam, Eliyah Flores and Raylee Pogue all hit solo home runs in the third inning to push the Sooners past Abilene Christian 4-2.

The Sooners split Saturday’s games with North Texas, dropping the first game in a tight contest 4-3. The Mean Green out-hit the Sooners 9-8.

After suffering their fifth loss of the year, the Sooners turned around and smacked 17 hits in their second game against UNT. Eight different players finished with home runs in the contest.

On Sunday, Shannon Saile put together the Sooners most consistent pitching performance of the weekend, going all seven innings and striking out 10 different batters.

“Today was her best day, no doubt.” head coach Patty Gasso said after Saile’s performance Sunday. “Just really calm, very much in control. Much better job being ahead of hitters. We’ve got a lot of work to do and this team is ready to do it.”

Oklahoma now looks to a five-game home-stand that begins this Wednesday. The Sooners slate starts with Wichita State at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, and Mercer and Utah at 2:30 and 5 p.m. on Friday, respectively. They’ll finish their week with Murray State at 2:30 p.m. and Missouri State at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

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