Tag: Rylie Boone

Sooners Alynah Torres signs with the Oklahoma City Spark

Alynah Torres is the latest Sooner to sign professionally to play with the Oklahoma City Spark.

Another Sooner is making her way up I-35 to Devon Park this summer as the Oklahoma City Spark announced on Monday that they’ve signed Oklahoma utility player [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag].

Torres, who came to the Sooners from Arizona State following the 2022 season, spent two years in Norman and played a key role in Oklahoma’s record-breaking 2023 and 2024 seasons.

In 2024, as she platooned with [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] at second base and played some in right field, Torres hit .331 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs.

She’s a versatile defensive piece that can help at third base, second base, first base and in the corner outfield.

Torres joins former Sooners teammates [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], and [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag] along with Sooners legends [autotag]Keilani Ricketts[/autotag] and [autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag] with the Spark.

Oklahoma City just completed their first weekend of the season with a series in Chattanooga, Tenn. They’re currently 3-1 on the season as they get set to host Great Britain and Team USA at Devon Park this weekend in the Royal Spark Challenge.

For their full schedule or for ticketing, go to OKCSpark.com.

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Sooners Rylie Boone signs with the Oklahoma City Spark

Another Sooners great is heading to Oklahoma City as Rylie Boone signs with the Spark.

After four straight national championships, several Oklahoma Sooners are making the move up I-35 to continue their softball careers. Both [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] have signed with the [autotag]Oklahoma City Spark[/autotag] and they’ll also add Oklahoma outfielder [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag].

Boone is the third Sooner to sign with the Sprk in the last few days and joins Hansen, Coleman, [autotag]Jocelyn Alo[/autotag], [autotag]Haley Lee[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag], and Oklahoma legend [autotag]Keilani Ricketts[/autotag] in OKC.

In her four-year career with the Sooners, Boone hit .407 and provided a second lead-off hitter at the bottom of Oklahoma’s lineup, setting the table for the top of the order.

Much like Coleman, she was fantastic in the outfield and on the bases, electrifying with her speed and ability to make teams pay for throwing errors.

 

The Spark will open their season on Wednesday, June 19, in the Scenic City Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn., against the New York Rise. Oklahoma City will return to the Sooner State for two games against Great Britain’s national team and then face Team USA in a two-game set from June 27 to 30 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.

For their full schedule or for ticketing, go to OKCSpark.com.

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Oklahoma’s senior class pulled off the unthinkable with four-peat

Five of Oklahoma’s seniors earned four national title during their time with the Sooners. An absolutely unbelievable run.

Winning one championship in sports is difficult. Winning two straight puts you in the history books forever. Winning three in a row means you’re a legend. But winning four straight? That’s unheard of in team sports, only being accomplished by a small handful of times throughout history.

“People say, ‘Let’s go win one,’” OU coach Patty Gasso said. “You’re like, ‘OK.’ It’s not like that. It’s very difficult. Everything has to go right. The thing about them is they’re resilient. They have a lot of pride in that.

The 2024 senior class for the Oklahoma Sooners softball team will finish their college careers not knowing how it feels to walk away from a season without a championship.

[autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] and [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] now have four rings. They’re joined in this senior class by [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag], [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag], all transfers who started their careers elsewhere.

“This one was the hardest one that I’ve ever had to work for in my life,” Jennings said via The Oklahoman. “This team, the adversity that we went through, we did it and we overcame everything.”

Oklahoma’s senior class finished with as many national championships as [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag] loses, as OU finished off Texas on Thursday night. It was an 8-4 victory in Game 2 of the [autotag]WCWS[/autotag] final to win championship number eight, tied for the second-most all-time.

The Sooners won their unprecedented fourth-straight championship, giving [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] a record-tying eight rings. Half of them have now come in succession.

The Sooner seniors wowed many inside and outside the world of sports with a career sweep of national championships, but a quote from their head coach tells their story better than anyone else can.

“This is the best senior class that has ever played the game, and I’ll stand behind that as long as I live,” said Gasso of their incredible run.

Patty Gasso has built a historic dynasty in Norman, and this senior class has pulled off something few imagined could ever be done. And we may never see another run like this again. But given what Oklahoma’s done, who’s to say they can’t run it back.

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Oklahoma Sooners beat No. 1 Texas 8-4, win 4th straight national championship

The Oklahoma Sooners made history as the first team to win four consecutive national championships with their 8-4 win over the Texas Longhorns.

The Oklahoma Sooners made history in their 8-4 win over the Texas Longhorns. The Sooners won their fourth-straight national championship, and this senior class capped off the most successful run in softball history.

The Texas Longhorns got the scoring going in the top of the second on Kayden Henry’s RBI single. But [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] answered with a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to put the Sooners up one.

The Longhorns tied the game up in the third off of starter [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag]. [autotag]Peytn Monticelli[/autotag] came in with the bases loaded and kept the game tied 2-2. Texas then took a 3-2 lead in the fourth.

In the bottom of the fourth, however, the Sooners began to take control. Consecutive singles by [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag], and [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] set the stage for [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag]. Sanders proceeded to launch a double to the right-center gap to clear the bases and put Oklahoma up 5-3.

[autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] took over in the fifth and had a dominant outing with a 1-2-3 inning and got two outs in the sixth before [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] came in with runners on second and third. Maxwell induced a ground ball by Mia Scott, and a Texas run scored to make it 5-4. But Scott got caught off the bag, and [autotag]Avery Hodge[/autotag] flipped the ball to Sanders to get the final out of the inning and leave a runner stranded on third.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Sooners ran away from the Longhorns. Boone earned a one-out single, Sanders walked, and Hodge was hit by a pitch to load the bases. [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] added to the Sooners lead with an RBI single through the right side of the infield. With two outs in the inning, [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] continued her incredible postseason with a two-RBI single to put Oklahoma up 8-4.

In the top of the seventh, Maxwell went up against the heart of the Texas lineup. Maxwell got Viviana Martinez to fly out and struck out Big 12 Player of the Year Reese Atwood before getting Katie Stewart to ground out to [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], who made a perfect throw over to Sanders to get the final out and send the Sooners into the record books.

Maxwell earned her second save of the NCAA Tournament and earned Most Outstanding Player, going 5-0 with a 1.88 ERA to lead the Oklahoma Sooners to the national championship.

It’s the Sooners’ eighth national title and their seventh since 2013. With four straight national titles, Oklahoma is the only program to accomplish this feat. The Sooners move into a tie for second with the Arizona Wildcats for most national titles.

Seniors [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], and [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] will go down as the most decorated class in softball history, with four national championships in their career.

With eight national titles, [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] is now tied for the most in the history of the sport.

It was an incredible run for the Oklahoma Sooners, who lost just one game during the postseason, dating back to their Big 12 tournament title run. In the two games against Texas the Sooners outscored their Red River Rivals 16-7 to win the national title.

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Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 11-3 win over the Florida State Seminoles

The Sooners earned a big win over Florida State in game one of the Super Regionals, and here are the best photos from the action.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a roaring start in their super regional matchup with the Florida State Seminoles. They struck first with a [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] home run and ran away from the Seminoles in an 11-3 win on Thursday evening.

Jennings is now tied with Sooners legend Lauren Chamberlain for third all-time in career home runs.

[autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] had a pair of home runs and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag] added to the power display to give the Sooners four home runs in the win. In total, OU recorded 11 hits, 8 walks, and no strikeouts.

On a night when [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] wasn’t her sharpest, the offense picked her up with a fantastic showing in their first game of the Super Regionals.

“You know what, Kelly fought her rear-end off for this (victory),” Patty Gasso said after the win. “That’s a tough-hitting team. It’s like facing our own team. They swing. One thing they’re so good at, they probably hit 40 foul balls. Their at-bats lasted forever. I credit them for just being tough hitters, but I also credit Kelly for having to bear down and get through it. Holding them to three runs is big-time.”

Brito had a huge night, reaching base in all four plate appearances, going 3-for-3 with a walk, two home runs, and three RBIs. The home runs were her first since April 26 against UCF. [autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] also reached base four times in her 2-for-2 night with two walks and an RBI.

Now the pressure shifts to Florida State to try and extend the series to a game three. With the way the schedule sets up, Oklahoma may get an extended break if they were to close out the super regional with a win on Friday night. OU vs. Florida State was just one of two matchups to play on Thursday night, so the Sooners could get an extra day of rest ahead of the Women’s College World Series if they can secure the series tonight.

The Sooners and Seminoles will to Love’s Field at 7 p.m. CT and the game can be seen on ESPN2.

Here are the best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners 11-3 win over FSU.

Oklahoma Sooners run-rule Seminoles to open Norman Super Regional

Powered by Alyssa Brito’s two home runs, the Oklahoma Sooners beat Florida State 11-3 to take game one of their Super Regional matchup.

The Oklahoma Sooners came to play in their super regional opener against Florida State, earning an 11-3 walk-off run-rule win in five innings on Thursday evening.

[autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] worked around a bases loaded jam in the first inning against the Seminoles and then one of the greatest hitters the game has ever seen stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the first to help the Sooners strike first.

With one out, [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] took the 1-0 offering out of the park for her 22nd home run of the season and third in four NCAA tournament games. Oklahoma led 1-0 after one inning.

Maxwell settled in with a 1-2-3 second and [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] added to the lead with a two-strike double to bring in [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] for a 2-0 advantage through two innings.

In the top of the third, Maxwell’s control got away from her a bit as she hit her second batter of the game and a wild pitch put runners on second and third with just one out. Florida State cashed in with a two-run single from Devyn Flaherty to tie the game at two.

But the Sooners responded as only they know how in the bottom of the inning. [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] hit the first of two home runs to regain the lead for Oklahoma. Then OU took advantage of a FSU error to plate two more and retake control of the game 5-2.

But they weren’t anywhere close to done. In the bottom of the fourth, the Sooners pulled away completely. Brito hit her second home run of the day, this time a two-run shot after [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag]’s one out single.

[autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] singled ahead of Kinzie Hansen, who hit her 10th home run of the season, which made it 9-2. [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag] capped off the scoring with an RBI single to give Oklahoma a commanding 10-2 lead and put the run rule in effect heading into the fifth.

Florida State was able to scratch out a run in the top half of the inning. But Seminoles pitching walked four batters in the bottom of the fifth and the Sooners took home the 11-3 win in walk-off fashion.

It was a rough outing for Maxwell, but she battled to give the Sooners offense a chance to take control of the game. She gave up three runs on four hits and six walks in an uncharacteristic performance for the Sooners ace.

Alyssa Brito led the way at the plate with a 3-for-3 day with two home runs and three RBIs. The home runs were her first since April 26 against UCF. She’s now up to 18 homers on the season with 59 RBIs.

Oklahoma and Florida State will play game two of the series on Friday night at 7 p.m. CT. Broadcast information is still to be determined. The Sooners are now one win away from reaching the Women’s College World Series for the eighth time and fourth straight season.

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Oklahoma Sooners open NCAA Tournament with 9-0 win over Cleveland State

Nicole May dominated Cleveland State with five shutout innings, nine strikeouts and no walks. Freshman Kasidi Pickering hit two home runs, Ella Parker added three RBIs, and Tiare Jennings ended the game with a walk-off home run to lead the Sooners to a 9-0 win.

In what was a pitchers duel through the first few innings turned into a rout as the Oklahoma Sooners beat the Cleveland State Vikings 9-0 to move to 1-0 in the Norman Regional.

The Sooners received. fantastic performance from senior [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], who recorded nine strikeouts in five innings of shutout ball. She allowed just three hits and didn’t surrender a walk in the win.

[autotag]Kasidi Pickering[/autotag] got the scoring started for the Sooners in the second inning with a solo home run, one of two blasts she had in her first NCAA tournament game.

May and Cleveland State starter Melissa Holzopfel battled to a 1-0 game through three innings. Holzopfel even eliminated a Sooners scoring threat in the bottom of the third, escaping a bases loaded jam by striking out [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag].

But the Sooners broke through in the fourth inning to pull away from the Vikings.

Pickering singled and pinch runner [autotag]Hannah Coor[/autotag] advanced to second on [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] sacrifice bunt. After Avery Hodge grounded back to the pitcher for the second out of the inning, the Sooners bats came to life.

[autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] singled to bring in Coor and make it 2-0. [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] followed that with a triple on a diving attempt by Cleveland State’s center fielder. That brought home Boone and put Oklahoma up 3-0. [autotag]Ella Parker[/autotag] continued her incredible postseason by driving in Coleman, and the Sooners had a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the fifth.

As she had all game, May was electric, getting a 1-2-3 inning to put the red hot Sooners offense back at the plate.

Pickering hit her second home run of the game and ninth of the season in the fifth to put the Sooners up 5-0. In the bottom of the sixth, Parker had a two-run double and [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] hit the 93rd home run of her career to end the game in walk-off, run-rule fashion.

Jennings’ home run was the 93rd of her career and tied her for fourth in NCAA history.

Nicole May’s nine-strikeout performance was a season-high. She was electric from the circle, showing off great location and power, and mixed up her pitches well. She struck out half of the 18 Cleveland State batters she faced to move to 13-2 on the season.

Coleman, Parker, and Jennings were really good, combining to go 5-for-10 with six RBIs. Parker and fellow freshman Pickering were instrumental in the victory, showing that they’re ready for the bright lights of the NCAA tournament.

The win put the Sooners on the winning side of the Norman Regional, where they’ll face the Oregon Ducks on day two. Oregon run ruled Boston earlier in the day Friday to advance in the winners bracket.

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‘It’s going to be bittersweet’: Oklahoma Sooners’ seniors ready for final road trip

Heading to Orlando to take on the Knights, Oklahoma’s senior class goes on the road for the final time.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ senior class is one of the best senior classes in the history of softball. Most have been a part of the three straight national champions or at least a part of some of the national titles during this stretch.

Those seniors include [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag], [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag], [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag], [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag], [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag] and [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag]. This weekend they head on the road for what might be the final time in their career.

After this weekend in Orlando vs. UCF, the Sooners will close out the regular season in Norman against Oklahoma State. Then it’s onto the postseason where OU won’t have to leave Central Oklahoma.

With the final road trip coming, what is Alynah Torres thinking ahead of their series with UCF.

“I haven’t really thought about it,” Torres said. “I think it’s going to be bittersweet. It’s going to be a long flight so it’s going to be really cool just sitting there and thinking about it and just having a good time. I think road trips are always fun because that’s when you get closest with your teammates.”

Torres went on to mention she’s excited for this trip in particular because it’ll be the Sooners’ first time to head to UCF as members of the Big 12. What better way to go out than for a series sweep against a conference foe before the start of postseason play in a few weeks?

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‘When they don’t get caught up in outcomes’: Patty Gasso on what calms her team

This senior group has been special for the Sooners but even they have their down times and need something to get them going each year.

The Oklahoma Sooners have 10 seniors on this year’s roster. Five of them have been a part of all three of their national championships.

That would be [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag], [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Rylie Boone[/autotag] and [autotag]Kinzie Hansen[/autotag]. [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag] has been a part of two of them, [autotag]Alynah Torres[/autotag] has been a part of one. The other three, [autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Ludlam[/autotag] and [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag] are new to the team this year.

This season may not have gone like people expected, but the Sooners are still in a strong position to contend for the national title. Despite four losses, the sky certainly isn’t falling.

Patty Gasso shared that sometimes her team gets caught up in the outside noise but there is one thing that gets her seniors going. “When they get lost in the game,” Gasso said. “When they don’t get caught up in outcomes. You’ve seen some really uncharacteristic teams where we’re just getting really mad at ourselves. You might see the slamming of the bat. Something that’s really frustrating them. We try too hard. That is not our game. It just comes super natural because they are that elite of athletes.”

You can tell at times the pressure of winning a fourth title in a row is starting to weigh on them, especially, with all of the outside noise as well. But when they are playing their game, I still think they are the best team in the country regardless of what the standings say.

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Oklahoma Sooners’ pitching the lone bright spot over the weekend

While there isn’t a lot of positives to take away from the weekend, you can take away just how great the pitching was from the Sooners.

When you lose your first conference series in over a decade, there aren’t a lot of positives for fans to take away. Especially with how you lost the series.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ offense managed to score just seven runs in the three games, but there is one bright spot from the weekend. The pitching and defense were really good against one of the best offenses in the country.

[autotag]Kelly Maxwell[/autotag], [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag], [autotag]Karlie Keeney[/autotag], [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag] and [autotag]Paytn Monticelli[/autotag] held one of the best offenses in the country to just six runs in three games. Maxwell was dominant in Game 1 and got the start again in Game 3 and threw really well.

Patty Gasso spoke about her thought process giving Maxwell two starts in the series. “Another level,” Gasso said. “This is the best I’ve seen her. (She is) confident, cool, calm, execution, getting ahead. I liked it so much the first night, I wanted to see it again. She handled herself really well. I’m telling you, their offense and our offense, it’s almost side by side, identical. So, for us to shut them down to two runs, that’s a big deal.”

Holding them to two runs per game for the series would normally end in a series sweep for the Sooners. But Texas shutting Oklahoma’s lineup down to one run in the final two games of the series was the difference.

“I knew that today (Sunday) was going to be tough,” Kelly Maxwell said. “Credit Texas’ offense for picking up on my mistakes. I think there is just more opportunity to learn and grow from this weekend.”

The Sooners will have a day to regroup before traveling to face Wichita State on Tuesday.

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