Oklahoma State Cowgirls Softball – Page 2

Key players to watch for each team in the Women’s College World Series

As the eight teams descend on Oklahoma City, here are some of the key players to watch in the Women’s College World Series.

This week, the eight teams who qualified for the Women’s College World Series will descend upon Oklahoma City to crown the 2023 national champion. While the Oklahoma Sooners are the favorite to win the title, they’ll be challenged along the way.

Each of the eight teams in the Women’s College World Series is bringing some serious talent with them to USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.

While there are certainly a lot of talented players worth mentioning from each team, here’s a look at some of the key players in this year’s WCWS field.

Women’s College World Series field set for Oklahoma City

With the super regionals complete, here’s a look at the Women’s College World Series field and how each team punched their ticket to Oklahoma City.

In what has become one of the best weekends in sports, the super regionals didn’t disappoint. There were incredible matchups across the board, and while just two of the super regionals went to a game three, there was plenty of drama across the country.

Of the eight teams that advanced, only one lower-seeded team in the super regional was able to advance. The Stanford Cardinal. Of the eight teams represented, three are from the Pac-12, two are from the Big 12, two are from the SEC, and one is from the ACC. No Big Ten teams were able to make it to the Women’s College World Series, and no mid-major programs advanced to OKC in 2023.

With the super regionals complete, here’s a look at the Women’s College World Series field and how each team punched their ticket to Oklahoma City.

NCAA Tournament super regionals set after a wild weekend of college softball

A look at the super regional matchups, which includes the Oklahoma Sooners welcoming the Clemson Tigers to Norman.

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament was fantastic. There were a pair of big-time upsets, fantastic back-and-forth action and most of the top softball teams advanced to what should be a great slate of super regional action next weekend.

There were big offensive outbursts and even a perfect game in a winner-take-all matchup on Sunday afternoon that highlighted a fabulous weekend for the sport of collegiate softball.

Three of the top 16 went home early. No. 2 UCLA, No. 10 LSU, and No. 11 Arkansas were unable to make home field hold up, and were sent home early. UCLA didn’t even get a chance to play Los Angeles Regional winner San Diego State because the Bruins were beaten by Grand Canyon and Liberty before the regional final.

With one more leg before the Women’s College World Series, here’s a look at each of the super regionals and what those teams had to do to advance.

Oklahoma No. 1 seed: NCAA softball tournament matchups set, outlook for regional round

A look at who’s playing where and teams to watch in the Regional round of the NCAA Softball Tournament.

The growth of collegiate softball has turned the NCAA tournament into must-see television over the last several years. That growth was felt on selection Sunday as anticipation built for the 64 programs and teams on the bubble that awaited their fate from the selection committee.

This next weekend marks the first step in the march to the Women’s College World Series for the Oklahoma Sooners and the 63 other teams that hope to knock off the reigning, defending undisputed back-to-back NCAA champions.

With tournament play beginning this Friday, here’s a look at each of the 16 regional sites.

Oklahoma bookends regular season No. 1 in D1Softball’s top 25

The Oklahoma Sooners finish the regular season No. 1 in D1Softball’s top 25, while Texas and Oklahoma State fall out of the top 10.

Not that they needed to sweep Oklahoma State in their Big 12 series finale to say so, but the Oklahoma Sooners reaffirmed their status as the top team in the country. The Sooners were really only in trouble in one of the games, but with a little seventh-inning magic, came back to stun the Cowgirls.

The first game of the series was an 8-3 win where the offense was just too much for the Cowgirls. On Sunday, they got a couple of timely two-run hits and road [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] to victory. The weekend was a testament to the Sooners’ ability to win in a variety of ways with the No. 1 offense, No. 1 pitching staff in terms of ERA, and the No. 1 defense.

The Sooners closed the season on an incredible 41-game winning streak.

Oklahoma remains No. 1 in the nation in the latest D1Softabll top 25.

UCLA comes in at No. 2, followed by Florida State, Tennessee, and Washington in the top 5. After being swept by the Baylor Bears, the Texas Longhorns dropped six spots to No. 11 and Oklahoma State fell five spots to No. 12 after being swept by Oklahoma.

Baylor, who needed a big weekend to prevent them from falling back in the Big 12 standings, came up huge to maintain their spot as the four-seed heading into the Big 12 championships. The Bears rose seven spots to No. 13 in the latest top 25.

This has already been a historic year for Oklahoma. The Sooners are on a mission to keep it going into the postseason. The presumed favorite to win the national title won’t have their challengers. It’s a deep year in collegiate softball, but the Sooners look unstoppable heading into postseason play, starting with the Big 12 championships, which begin on Thursday.

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Oklahoma Sooners close regular season with 5-1 win over Oklahoma State

Alex Storako notched career strikeout No. 1,000 and the Oklahoma Sooners beat Oklahoma State 5-1 to close the regular season on a 41-game winning streak.

Oklahoma finished off a dominant regular season after a Bedlam series sweep against Oklahoma State. They won the final game of the series 5-1 in a strong showing to close out their last trip to Stillwater for the foreseeable future.

It’s Oklahoma’s 41st win in a row and the Sooners closed out the Big 12 regular season undefeated at 18-0. It was the final hurdle on the schedule until the postseason begins in the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.

The Sooners got the scoring started in the third inning with senior shortstop Grace Lyons driving in Cydney Sanders and Jayda Coleman with a two out double.

Oklahoma had a chance to bust the game wide-open in the fourth, but failed to capitalize with the bases loaded and one out in the inning. After leaving runners on base in the fourth, the Sooners would push a couple more runs across the plate in the fifth to extend their lead on Alynah Torres’ two-run single to make it 4-0.

Lyons picked up her third RBI of the game in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-0 game in the late innings.

The Cowgirls avoided a shutout with Micaela Wark’s RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.

The biggest story of the game for Oklahoma was pitcher Alex Storako who finished with a 16-0 record this season and recorded strikeout number 1,000. It was a dominant performance for the WPF’s first overall pick, throwing a complete game, allowing six hits one run while striking out four Cowgirls.

Oklahoma State’s pitching was more of a mixed bag, with Lexi Kilfoyl getting the start and throwing six innings. She allowed seven hits, five runs, but also had five strikeouts. Kyra Aycock came in for the seventh and picked up where she left off on Saturday night, holding the Sooners scoreless in the seventh inning.

The win for the Sooners cements them as the top overall seed in the Big 12 championships. As the one-seed, Oklahoma gets a bye into the semifinals and will face the winner of Baylor vs. Iowa State in the opening round on Thursday.

Iowa State finished the season strong, going 10-4 in their last 14 games, including a series win over Baylor in Ames last weekend. The Bears rebounded to the upset in Ames with an upset of their own, sweeping the Texas Longhorns in Waco and outscoring the Big 12’s No. 2 seed 16-4.

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Oklahoma Sooners beat Oklahoma State Cowgirls 4-2 in comeback fashion

Oklahoma Sooners picked up their 40th consecutive win with four runs in the top of the seventh for a 4-2 win over Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma won game two of their three-game series against No.7/6 Oklahoma State 4-2 with three with four runs in the top of the seventh to improve to 48-1 on the season and 17-0 against the Big 12.

Oklahoma struggled most of the day on offense, with only three hits through the first six innings against Oklahoma State freshman pitcher Kyra Aycock. The Sooners then went to work in their final at-bat.

Oklahoma State lead 2-0 heading into the seventh after picking up an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth off of starter [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag].

[autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] doubled to lead off the inning, and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] followed that with a single to drive in pinch runner [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag] from second.

Oklahoma State brought in the ace of their staff [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag], but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Rylie Boone drew a hit by pitch to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Maxwell was able to strikeout [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] to put pressure back on the Sooners, but after a wild pitch moved Torres on third and Boone on second, [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] stepped up and blasted a two-run double to left center to put Oklahoma up 3-2.

“You can never count the Sooners out,” said Jennings after the game. “So much joy, so much fun playing. You can see that. We knew we were never out of this game, no matter what the score was, no matter what the inning was. We just knew in the dugout that we were gonna keep smiling, keep cheering and keep having fun.”

Cydney Sanders put the final dent in the score with an RBI single to make it 4-2. Maxwell walked [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], and Aycock came back in for Oklahoma State. She gave up a single to [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag] but then forced Haley Lee to pop out to end the threat.

Then it was time for freshman [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] to shine.

After coming in to record the final out of the sixth inning in relief of Nicole May, Deal retired the Cowgirls in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the come-from-behind win for the Oklahoma Sooners. She retired all four batters she faced, striking out two Oklahoma State batters in the process to move to 2-0 on the season. With the effort, Deal’s ERA is now 0.95 on the season.

“This team knows as long as they have one out left in a game, they’re never out of it,” Gasso said after the win. “You could feel that momentum come. They will not be denied. They believe in each other. They are unafraid of losing, and that’s a big deal.”

Nicole May battled for 5.2 innings, allowing eight hits, two runs, a walk, and striking out four. May didn’t factor into the decision but kept the Cowgirls from creating big innings with some clutch pitching.

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 48-1 and 17-0 in Big 12 play on the season and have now won 40 games in a row, surpassing their 39-game winning streak from a year ago. The Sooners and Cowgirls will play the final game of the series and the regular season on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm CT in Stillwater. The game can be viewed on ESPN+.

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Social media reacts to Oklahoma Sooners epic 7th inning comeback win over Oklahoma State

The Oklahoma Sooners rallied in the seventh inning to top Oklahoma State Cowgirls 4-2 and had social media buzzing in the process.

Down 2-0 in the seventh, just when you were counting them out, the Oklahoma Sooners did like they always seem to do; rallied in the seventh inning to beat a rival.

Just like they did on April 1 against the Texas Longhorns, the Oklahoma Sooners overcame a two-run deficit in the seventh to beat another rival. Against Texas, it was Jayda Coleman and Kinzie Hansen coming through in the clutch. On Saturday afternoon in Stillwater, it was Alynah Torres bringing the Sooners within one and Tiare Jennings providing the go-ahead runs on a double to left-center to make it 3-2.

Cydney Sanders provided the insurance run to make it 4-2, and Kierston Deal picked up where she left off in the sixth and worked a 1-2-3 seventh to seal the victory for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma moves to 48-1 on the season and remains perfect in Big 12 play at 17-0. They extended their winning streak to 40 games, surpassing their 39-game winning streak from the 2022 season.

With the come-from-behind win, the Oklahoma Sooners clinch the Bedlam series against Oklahoma State. The late-inning effort had Twitter buzzing and here are some of the best reactions from social media.

No. 1 Oklahoma Softball at No. 7/6 Oklahoma State: How to watch, weekend preview, key players

The Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowgirls get set for a top 10 Bedlam matchup.

For the final week of the regular season, all eyes turn to Stillwater, Oklahoma for 2023’s edition of Bedlam Softball.

The Oklahoma Sooners come in 46-1 and 15-0 in Big 12 play, riding a nation’s best 38-game winning streak. Oklahoma State is 45-10 and 10-5 in conference play. They’ve lost seven of their last nine games, including upset losses to Texas Tech, Iowa State, Wichita State, UNT, and were swept by the Texas Longhorns in Austin.

Though the Cowgirls are reeling a bit, they’re a force on the diamond and have gone 19-3 at home this season.

As the Sooners and Cowgirls get set for Bedlam Softball in Stillwater, here’s a look at how you can tune in, players to watch, a series outlook, and our prediction.

‘No one’s afraid to play anyone else:’ Patty Gasso speaks on Bedlam Softball’s future

With the Sooners moving to the SEC after the 2024 season, Bedlam Softball is in doubt, but there’s plenty of time to make it work.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are only scheduled to play this season and next with the Sooners departure for the SEC coming after the 2024 softball season. That move has left the Bedlam in doubt across all sports, not just softball or football.

With Bedlam beginning on the diamond on Friday evening, there are questions about the future of Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma State head coach, Kenny Gajewski, was asked about the series potentially coming to an end after next season.

“I’ve tried to tell them (Oklahoma) that we want to play, but I don’t have very good luck getting responses,” Gajewski said Tuesday. “I’m pretty open that we want to play. I don’t know how that looks. I don’t know if we could play three games and it’s one [in Stillwater], one [in Norman] and one [in Oklahoma City], or if it’s a weekend. I think it would be good for both teams. I know that they’re going into the No. 1 conference. But it would shock me if they didn’t want to play, to be honest.”

Gajewski continued, “… I ought to think that we’ll play, but I don’t have any kind of clarification. I don’t have any communication.”

Why wouldn’t Patty Gasso want to keep Oklahoma State on the schedule in the future in a nonconference capacity? At the moment, it’s not even something that’s on her mind.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Patty Gasso described that she’s not even through making her 2024 schedule yet.

“It’s really interesting because I haven’t even gotten halfway through my 2024 schedule. So, it’s not on my mind whatsoever,” Gasso said. “I’m assuming that our athletic director (Joe Castiglione) will have some input on it. I’ve never been called and asked to play. It’s never even been discussed.”

“So, I’m not worried about it. When there’s a right time to even think about it, I will. No one’s afraid to play anyone else, anything like that. I have to understand the dynamics of what we’re walking into and what makes sense. So, first and foremost, I’m going to take care of my team and what’s best for us… We’ll come to that road when it’s time, but it’s not even close to being time.”

Gasso wants to get a feel for what SEC scheduling looks like ahead of their first season in 2025 before making any grand statements about what their nonconference schedule will look like.

The Sooners haven’t been shy about scheduling top teams from around the country in their nonconference schedule. They’ve played UCLA, Florida State, LSU, and Auburn in 2023 alone. Each a top-25 team, each a win for the Oklahoma Sooners. They’ve scheduled like that over the years because Patty Gasso wants her team tested as much as possible.

The SEC getting both Texas and Oklahoma makes it the best softball conference in the country. Those two are joining a conference that has six teams currently in the top 20 of the RPI.

Softball generates a ton of buzz in the state of Oklahoma, second only to football. Though the Oklahoma Sooners have been a large part of that, Oklahoma State’s rise to national prominence is a key factor in the continued growth of the sport in the state.

When the time is right, cooler heads will prevail. The series means too much to the state and to the two programs for it not to continue in a nonconference setting.

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