Tag: Oklahoma State Softball

Former Alabama softball pitcher announces transfer to Oklahoma State

Former Alabama softball pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl has announced that she is transferring to Oklahoma State.

On Thursday, former Alabama softball pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl announced that she was transferring to Oklahoma State via Twitter. The news comes a couple of days after former Alabama infielder Megan Bloodworth announced her commitment to the Cowboys as well.

Kilfoyl joined the softball team in 2020 as a freshman. The Florida native would appear in 13 games in a season that was shortened by COVID-19. In eight starts, she maintained a 6-4 record with a 2.42 ERA. Then, in 2021, she would appear in 32 games with 27 of those games being as the starting pitcher. She was named to the All-SEC Newcomer Team after a stellar season, to say the least. Kilfoyl dominated on the mound with a 13-4 record with a 1.62 ERA.

This past season, she pitched in 18 games with 13 as a starter. In the games that she pitched, she maintained a solid 2.36 ERA with a 9-3 record on the year. It wasn’t the ideal scenario for Kilfoyl to be in Tuscaloosa for yet another year with ace pitcher Montana Fouts returning for a fifth season. With an increased opportunity to play elsewhere, Kilfoyl entered her name into the transfer portal.

Now, she will be taking her talents to Stillwater to play for a Cowboys squad that is fresh off a College World Series appearance this past season. Since the end of the season, Patrick Murphy has lost five players already via the transfer portal. Several of the players that have announced transfers are Savannah Woodard (Liberty), Jenna Lord (Ole Miss), Dallis Goodnight (Georgia), Megan Bloodworth (Oklahoma State), and now Lexi Kilfoyl (Oklahoma State).

Roll Tide Wire will continue to cover Crimson Tide softball and other Alabama athletics.

LOOK: Best photos from Texas softball’s miraculous comeback win over Oklahoma State

Texas is the FIRST unranked team in history to reach the Women’s College World Series finals!

Texas is the first unranked team in history to reach the Women’s College World Series finals. Continue reading “LOOK: Best photos from Texas softball’s miraculous comeback win over Oklahoma State”

No. 1 Oklahoma wins Bedlam round four 10-2, claims Big 12 tournament title

No. 1 Oklahoma softball run-ruled No. 9 Oklahoma State 10-2 on Saturday to improve to 45-2 and claim the 2021 Big 12 tournament title.

No. 1 Oklahoma softball returned to the diamond at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on Saturday afternoon looking to complete the clean sweep of conference titles by winning the Big 12 tournament final against No. 9 Oklahoma State.

After a highly contested and emotional three-game set in Stillwater last weekend, the anticipation was high for this one and the atmosphere represented that to be a big crowd that had a significant Sooners lean.

Senior Shannon Saile (16-0) would get the start and do a good job working out of trouble through the first four innings, frequently leaving runners stranded on base in key moments. She would exit in the fifth after allowing a pair of solo home runs, with freshman pitcher Nicole May relieving her to record the final four outs of the game.

Oklahoma wouldn’t wait long to get the bats going as they struck for three runs in the bottom of the first. Center fielder Jayda Coleman got the scoring started coming across on a wild pitch followed by RBI hits from second baseman Tiare Jennings and first baseman Taylon Snow later in the inning. The Sooners would go on to hold a 3-0 lead at the end of two frames.

Oklahoma would add onto their lead in the third with a solo home run from catcher Kinzie Hansen, her fifth of the tournament and 20th of the season, and a run coming in on a squeeze bunt from shortstop Grace Lyons. They would tack on another with a run coming across on a fielder’s choice in the fourth to have the advantage sitting at 6-0 heading into the late innings.

The Cowgirls’ bats would finally come to life in the fifth with a pair of solo home runs from shortstop Kiley Naomi and first baseman Alysen Febrey. Second baseman Hayley Busby looked to have made it a third with a drive to center, but Sooners center fielder Jayda Coleman went up and over the wall to rob the home run. Freshman Nicole May would then enter for Saile to record the final out of the inning.

Oklahoma would go on to get those two runs right back in the bottom half of the inning on run-scoring hits from the two leading RBI getters on the team in designated player Jocelyn Alo and second baseman Tiare Jennings. The Sooners had the bases loaded with two outs, threatening to run-rule, but were unsuccessful and the game headed to the sixth sitting at 8-2.

After May kept Oklahoma State off the scoreboard in the top of the sixth, Oklahoma would finish the job this time around in the bottom half of the inning. With runners on second and third and two outs, designated player Jocelyn Alo grounded a ball right up the middle to plate the two runners and give the Sooners the 10-2 run-rule win.

The win improves Oklahoma to 45-2 on the year heading into postseason play with a strong argument to be the No. 1 overall seed in the country when the brackets are revealed on Sunday. This was a totally dominant outing against a top-10 opponent, there isn’t a much better way to cap off your tournament resume than with that. What an incredible year it has been for Patty Gasso’s team.

The Sooners will now await further instruction on who their next opponent will be next weekend in Norman. The NCAA Tournament selection show is set for 8:00 p.m. CT on Sunday night and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

No. 1 Oklahoma wins Bedlam finale 11-8 to claim ninth consecutive Big 12 title

No. 1 Oklahoma softball took the finale of the Bedlam series on Sunday 11-8 to claim their ninth consecutive Big 12 regular season title.

No. 1 Oklahoma softball capped off their biggest series of the year in style on Sunday winning the Bedlam finale 11-8 against rival No. 7/9 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

The game was the unofficial Big 12 championship, with the winner claiming the regular season title after they split the first two games of the series on Friday and Saturday. With the win, the Sooners have now won the league’s regular season crown in nine straight years – an absurd feat for a goliath program built by Patty Gasso.

Getting the start for Oklahoma was Giselle Juarez (16-1) and she had some rare struggles only completing two innings and allowing four runs. It was an offensive day in Stillwater, with not even Juarez being immune to balls flying all over the park throughout the afternoon.

Fortunately for Juarez, she had quite the cushion to work with as the Sooners jumped out to a big early lead 6-0 in the top of the second. RBI hits from left fielder Mackenzie Donihoo and center fielder Jayda Coleman paired with multiple errors from the Cowgirls allowed the marathon inning to get Oklahoma out to the quick advantage.

After Oklahoma State got one back in the bottom of the second, the Sooners would strike for three more runs in the third inning on a three-run shot to right field off the bat of right fielder Nicole Mendes. At the middle of the third frame, Oklahoma held a commanding 9-1 lead.

But, the Cowgirls weren’t going to go down easy. They matched the Sooners’ six-run second inning with a six-run frame of their own off of Juarez and fellow senior pitcher Shannon Saile. Shortstop Kiley Naomi and first baseman Alysen Febrey both connected with two-run home runs in the big inning to help draw the game to a 9-7 score after three.

In the fourth, the two teams would trade solo home runs with Oklahoma second baseman Tiare Jennings hitting one in the top half before Okalhoma State designated player Haley Busby got one in the bottom half. The Sooners took a 10-8 lead into the fifth.

There, Coleman gave Oklahoma an insurance run with a sacrifice fly to make the score 11-8. That would go on to be the final score thanks to the star of the weekend – Sooners freshman starting pitcher Nicole May.

After getting her first save of the season in Saturday’s game, she picked up her second here working a masterful 4 1/3 innings out of the bullpen allowing just one run and three hits while striking out four. In a rare occurrence where the two outstanding veteran pitchers struggled, the young gun stepped in a gigantic way.

The win moves the Sooners to 42-2 overall and 16-1 in Big 12 play to conclude the regular season and, obviously, gives them the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament in Oklahoma City.

This was billed as the biggest series of the year for both teams and one of the biggest in the country all year long, and it lived up to the hype. The emotion was high all throughout three action-packed games. But, once again, it’s Gasso and Oklahoma who reign supreme in the Big 12.

The Sooners will now have some time to celebrate and catch their breath with four days away from game action before starting the Big 12 Tournament on Friday.

No. 1 Oklahoma bounces back to take second game of Bedlam series 6-4

No. 1 Oklahoma softball bounced back to take the second game of the Bedlam series on Saturday 6-4, setting up a finale for the Big 12 title.

No. 1 Oklahoma continued their massive three-game weekend Bedlam series against No. 7/9 Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater after dropping the opener on Friday for just their second loss of the season.

The winner of this series wins the Big 12 regular season title, meaning the Sooners needed wins both in Saturday’s game and in the Sunday finale to extend their conference title streak to nine straight years. Well, the first part of that proposition was fulfilled in this game with Patty Gasso’s squad bouncing back to win 6-4.

Shannon Saile (14-0) got the start for Oklahoma and was quite good working all the way into the seventh and allowing just two earned runs. Nicole May would lock things down in the seventh for her first save of the season.

The game wouldn’t see its first runs until the top of the third when Oklahoma struck for two to snag an early lead. Center fielder Jayda Coleman and designated player Jocelyn Alo would team up for back-to-back RBI knocks to provide the early offense. The Sooners would take a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning.

There, catcher Lynnsie Elam came through with a huge two-out, two-run single to push the lead out to 4-0 and provide some much-needed breathing room in the late innings. Those two runs would come in handy right away in the following half-inning as the Pokes got them right back off of Saile to have the score stand at 4-2 Oklahoma at the end of five frames.

In the sixth, right fielder Nicole Mendes connected on a solo home run to right field to tack on an insurance run and make the score 5-2. Grace Green, pinch-hitting, would tack on another in the seventh on an RBI double to make the score 6-2 heading to the bottom of the final inning, where things would get very interesting.

Oklahoma State was not about to go down quietly, and they put together a ferocious rally to make the Sooner faithful sweat it out. Saile started the inning, but was relieved in favor of Olivia Rains after allowing a home run to open the frame.

Rains would then run into struggles of her own, allowing the Cowgirls to load the bases with nobody out. In the biggest spot of the entire season, Oklahoma elected to turn to freshman pitcher Nicole May to try to record the final three outs and escape the jam.

May would proceed to do just that and record the next three outs in order, allowing just one run to score on a sacrifice fly, and preserve the 6-4 win and keep the Sooners hopes of another Big 12 crown alive. The freshman stepped up in a major way in an ultra-high pressure moment, picking up a massive strikeout to silence the Stillwater crowd and end the game.

The win moves Oklahoma to 41-2 on the season and 15-1 in conference play and sets up what is essentially an unofficial Big 12 championship game in the finale on Sunday. The first two games of the series have already provided lots of drama and emotion, and the final matchup should be the boiling point in all facets. It will be a sight to behold on Sunday.

The third and final game of the Bedlam series is set for 11;00 a.m. CT tomorrow back in Stillwater.

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No. 1 Oklahoma bounces back to take second game of Bedlam series 6-4

No. 1 Oklahoma softball bounced back to take the second game of the Bedlam series on Saturday 6-4, setting up a finale for the Big 12 title.

No. 1 Oklahoma continued their massive three-game weekend Bedlam series against No. 7/9 Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater after dropping the opener on Friday for just their second loss of the season.

The winner of this series wins the Big 12 regular season title, meaning the Sooners needed wins both in Saturday’s game and in the Sunday finale to extend their conference title streak to nine straight years. Well, the first part of that proposition was fulfilled in this game with Patty Gasso’s squad bouncing back to win 6-4.

Shannon Saile (14-0) got the start for Oklahoma and was quite good working all the way into the seventh and allowing just two earned runs. Nicole May would lock things down in the seventh for her first save of the season.

The game wouldn’t see its first runs until the top of the third when Oklahoma struck for two to snag an early lead. Center fielder Jayda Coleman and designated player Jocelyn Alo would team up for back-to-back RBI knocks to provide the early offense. The Sooners would take a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning.

There, catcher Lynnsie Elam came through with a huge two-out, two-run single to push the lead out to 4-0 and provide some much-needed breathing room in the late innings. Those two runs would come in handy right away in the following half-inning as the Pokes got them right back off of Saile to have the score stand at 4-2 Oklahoma at the end of five frames.

In the sixth, right fielder Nicole Mendes connected on a solo home run to right field to tack on an insurance run and make the score 5-2. Grace Green, pinch-hitting, would tack on another in the seventh on an RBI double to make the score 6-2 heading to the bottom of the final inning, where things would get very interesting.

Oklahoma State was not about to go down quietly, and they put together a ferocious rally to make the Sooner faithful sweat it out. Saile started the inning, but was relieved in favor of Olivia Rains after allowing a home run to open the frame.

Rains would then run into struggles of her own, allowing the Cowgirls to load the bases with nobody out. In the biggest spot of the entire season, Oklahoma elected to turn to freshman pitcher Nicole May to try to record the final three outs and escape the jam.

May would proceed to do just that and record the next three outs in order, allowing just one run to score on a sacrifice fly, and preserve the 6-4 win and keep the Sooners hopes of another Big 12 crown alive. The freshman stepped up in a major way in an ultra-high pressure moment, picking up a massive strikeout to silence the Stillwater crowd and end the game.

The win moves Oklahoma to 41-2 on the season and 15-1 in conference play and sets up what is essentially an unofficial Big 12 championship game in the finale on Sunday. The first two games of the series have already provided lots of drama and emotion, and the final matchup should be the boiling point in all facets. It will be a sight to behold on Sunday.

The third and final game of the Bedlam series is set for 11;00 a.m. CT tomorrow back in Stillwater.

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No. 1 Oklahoma softball suffers their second loss of the season 6-4 in Bedlam

No. 1 Oklahoma softball suffered their second loss of the season on Friday night falling in the Bedlam opener 6-4 to No. 7/9 Oklahoma State.

No. 1 Oklahoma softball began their biggest series of the season on Friday night in Stillwater for Bedlam against No. 7/9 Oklahoma State. The winner of the series will be the Big 12 regular season champions, which adds a whole extra layer of drama to an already intense series between two good teams and in-state rivals.

Getting the start for the Sooners was Giselle Juarez (15-1) who had a very rare clunker, allowing five runs and only being able to work into the third inning. Friday would mark her first loss of the entire season.

Oklahoma was the team to jump out early, though, with center fielder Jayda Coleman connecting on a two-run home run in the second to put the Sooners ahead 2-0. Then, after the Cowgirls got a run back on a homer of their own in the bottom half of the inning, left fielder Jocelyn Alo hit a mammoth two-run blast in the third to push the lead to three runs at 4-1. Patty Gasso’s club, seemingly, was in total control.

But, momentum would shift heavily to the Oklahoma State dugout in the bottom of the third as the Cowgirls hit two two-run home runs off of Juarez to give the Pokes their first lead of the night at 5-4. From there, the Sooners’ bats went stunningly silent.

Oklahoma State pitcher Carrie Eberle (19-1) had early struggles allowing the home runs, but from the fourth inning on she was simply nails not allowing another run the rest of the way. The Cowgirls would tack on another run in the fifth, but Eberle wouldn’t need it. She was lock down the rest of the way to help Oklahoma State get the win 6-4.

This is the first win for the Cowgirls in Bedlam softball since April 27, 2011 and snaps the Sooners’ 57-game regular season conference game winning streak. Oklahoma State was game for this challenge, and they responded with a big time win and are now just one more away from claiming a Big 12 title.

Conversely, Oklahoma, now at 40-2 overall and 14-1 in league play, finds themselves needing to win the next two days to win the conference for a ninth consecutive season. The Sooners are, of course, more than capable of doing that. But, this was a legitimate statement from the Pokes in the opener.

Game two of the series will be back in Stillwater on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. CT.

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Oklahoma softball drops to No. 3 in USA TODAY Coaches Poll

Oklahoma softball (8-1) dropped one spot to No. 3 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

After suffering their first loss of the season to unranked Long Beach State last weekend, Oklahoma softball (8-1) dropped one spot to No. 3 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

No. 2 Washington suffered their first loss of the season over the weekend as well, losing to Alabama in a five-inning run-rule. Undefeated UCLA, the defending champions, jumped both Washington and Oklahoma to grab the No. 1 spot. The Sooners and Huskies meet up on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The Sooners salvaged what could have been a crippling loss to Long Beach State by turning around and beating then-No. 4 Arizona in extra-innings. The Wildcats fell one spot to No. 5.

Undefeated Texas follows Oklahoma at No. 4, three-loss Oklahoma State is at No. 14, and Texas Tech is the final Big 12 team to make the cut at No. 20.

The Sooners take the field next this Friday at 12:30 p.m. against Nebraska in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, CA.

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