Tag: Wichita State Softball

Trio of Sooners top 10 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award

Jocelyn Alo, Jordy Bahl, and Grace Lyons were named among the top 10 finalists for the 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award.

Oklahoma Sooners softball has had a tremendous 2022 in search of back-to-back national championships. They’re 45-1, the No. 1 team in the nation, and heading into Bedlam, the favorite to advance to the College World Series and win the whole thing.

Jocelyn Alo has been the headliner in her record-breaking season. She once again leads the Sooners in home runs and batting average. Alo is looking to become the second Sooner since Keilani Ricketts to win the award in back-to-back seasons. Ricketts won the award in 2012 and 2013 and was a member of the 2013 national championship team.

She’s having a tremendous year and is one of three Sooners to be named finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award.

But her season isn’t the only one that’s defined Oklahoma softball in 2022. The breakout year from Grace Lyons has been a key factor in the Sooners’ offense remaining deadly even as Alo gets walked or has an off day at the plate. And Lyons has come up clutch throughout the year as well, with multi-home run games and walk-off hits.

Though the offense carries a lot of the headlines, Jordy Bahl’s arrival to Norman has headlined a pitching staff that has been dominant in 2022. Bahl has become the ace of the staff, appearing in a team-leading 28 games and holds a 20-1 record with 191 strikeouts. The standout freshman has also been nominated for the NFCA National Freshman of the Year award for her performance in 2022.

The award will be narrowed to three finalists on May 18 and announced prior to the start of the College World Series, slated to begin on June 2 at the USA Softball complex in Oklahoma City.

Here’s a look at the 10 finalists.

No. 1 Oklahoma defeats Wichita State 24-7, punches ticket to Super Regionals

No. 1 Oklahoma softball decimated Wichita State 24-7 on Sunday to punch their ticket back to the Super Regionals for an 11th straight season

No. 1 Oklahoma softball returned to Marita Hynes Field on Sunday for the final of the Norman Regional against Wichita State with the Shockers needing to defeat the Sooners twice after Patty Gasso’s squad won a close one between the two teams on Saturday.

In a surprising decision, Gasso elected to give the start to sophomore Olivia Rains and she would struggle allowing three runs and only recording one out in the opening frame before being removed in favor of fellow sophomore Alanna Thiede. Thiede would only get one out herself and allow another run before freshman Nicole May (13-1) stepped into the circle to get the final out and end the inning at 4-0 Wichita State.

But, after an empty first trip to the plate, Oklahoma would cut loose in the second frame striking for eight runs. Right fielder Nicole Mendes got it started with a two-run single followed by a two-run double from second baseman Tiare Jennings. First baseman Kinzie Hansen then picked up a run-scoring knock and designated player Jocelyn Alo came across on a wild pitch. Shortstop Grace Lyons and catcher Lynnsie Elam would both tack on RBI hits before inning’s end to have the Sooners out in front 8-4.

Oklahoma would go for three more runs in the third with one coming across on a fielder’s choice and Lyons connecting on a two-run home run to left field. The Sooners led 11-4 at the midway point of the third frame.

After the Shockers got a run on a solo home run by designated player Lauren Mills in the bottom of the third, Oklahoma would get it right back and then some in the fourth on a three-run shot by Jennings to push the Sooners’ lead out to 14-5.

Wichita State first baseman Neleigh Herring would connect the following inning on a two-run blast off of May to cut the deficit to 14-7 at the end of four innings.

The score would remain there into the seventh when the Sooners would add onto their lead in big fashion starting with two two-run home runs from Jennings and Lyons to balloon the lead out to 18-7. Oklahoma wouldn’t stop there by any stretch striking for six more on another home run, a solo shot from Elam, a bases loaded walk from Jennings and then a grand slam from Rylie Boone – all still without a single out recorded.

May would then record the final three outs to finish the game off with the Sooners winning by the lopsided margin of 24-7.

The win pushes Oklahoma to 48-2 on the season and punches their ticket to the Super Regionals for the eleventh straight season. After a rough early start, this game was domination from the second inning on. This Sooners team continues to meet every challenge in front of them as they get one step closer to reaching their ultimate goal.

Oklahoma will now await the winner of the Seattle Regional in either No. 16 Washington or Michigan next week in the Super Regionals. Sooners Wire will provide more information on opponent and start times when they become available.

When, where, how to watch No. 1 Oklahoma softball take on Wichita State in NCAA Regional final

Everything you need to know for No. 1 Oklahoma softball’s regional final against Wichita State on Sunday afternoon.

No. 1 Oklahoma (47-2) is back at Marita Hynes Field on Sunday in the final of the Norman Regional against Wichita State (41-12-1) with a berth in the Super Regionals on the line.

For the Sooners, they will need to win only once to advance to the next round of the NCAA Tournament with the Shockers needing to find a way to beat Oklahoma two consecutive times. Considering Patty Gasso’s club has only lost twice allΒ season, that is certainly a tall task – but they did indeed give them a run for their money in their matchup on Sunday with the Sooners hanging on for the 7-5 win.

After falling to Oklahoma, Wichita State was forced to do battle with Texas A&M late Saturday night needing a win to keep their season alive. The action crossed midnight and was a hard-fought battle with the Shockers outlasting the Aggies 9-6. Obviously, fatigue could be a serious factor for Wichita State on Sunday.

After Saturday’s matchup, Gasso expressed a deep respect for Wichita State saying quite simply that they were an under seeded team and better than most people give them credit for even going as far as to say they were the “toughest hitting team” the Sooners had seen all season. While Oklahoma will have obvious huge advantages with being at home, being more rested and only needing one win, the Shockers will still pose a tough challenge.

For the Norman Regional final, here is everything you need to know:

WHEN:Β  Β 3:00 p.m. CT

WHERE:Β  Β Norman, Oklahoma (Marita Hynes Field)

HOW TO WATCH:Β  Β ESPN

HOW TO LISTEN:Β  Β Sooner Sports Radio Network – KRXO 107.7 FM The Franchise in Oklahoma City; KTBZ 1430 AM in Tulsa; Tune In Radio App (Chris Plank)

 

IF WICHITA STATE WINS:

Should the Shockers win, the second game will be approximately 30 minutes after the first game’s conclusion. Radio information for the second matchup will be the same. Television details will be added to this post once the information becomes available.

No. 1 Oklahoma survives battle with Wichita State 7-5 to move to regional final

No. 1 Oklahoma softball survived a battle with Wichita State 7-5 on Saturday to move to Sunday’s regional final.

No. 1 Oklahoma softball returned to the diamond at Marita Hynes Field on Saturday for the second day of the Norman Regional against Wichita State looking to move to 2-0 on the weekend and clinch their spot in Sunday’s regional final.

Getting the start in the circle for Patty Gasso was senior Shannon Saile who would do a solid job working into the fourth inning, only getting burned by a pair of solo home runs. Giselle Juarez would relieve her and work through two innings allowing a three-run home run of her own before freshman Nicole May finished the job recording the final four outs.

The Shockers would get on the board first in the opening frame with a solo home run by catcher Madison Perrigan. The Sooners would get that run back the following frame on a blast from their catcher Lynnsie Elam to knot things up at 1-1 after two.

That would remain the score into the fourth when Wichita State would get ahold of another one off of Saile with third baseman Ryleigh Buck driving a ball out to left field to put the Shockers in front 2-1.

The score would stay there into the bottom of the fifth which would be the point in which the Oklahoma bats would come to life and seize all the momentum striking for six huge runs to jump out to a sizable advantage.

Second baseman Tiare Jennings got the scoring started with an RBI double off the wall to bring in right fielder Nicole Mendes after she had walked. Designated player Jocelyn Alo and first baseman Kinzie Hansen then followed that up with run-scoring hits of their own to have the score sitting at 4-2.

But the big swing would come later on in the frame, with Elam blasting her second home run of the day – this one a three-run blast to make the score 7-2 Oklahoma. The game went from being in control of Wichita State to a laugher the other way seemingly in the blink of an eye.

The Shockers, however, were not going to go quietly into the night. They would respond back in the sixth with a three-run home run from Buck – herΒ second of the afternoon – to pull within a couple of runs at 7-5.

Oklahoma would be retired scoreless in the bottom half of the frame leaving May to try and hang on for the win. After retiring the first two batters of the inning, Wichita State would pick up back-to-back two-out singles to put pressure on the freshman. But, with the game on the line, May once again stepped up with a monster strikeout to end the game.

The win moves the Sooners to 47-2 on the year and moves them on to Sunday’s regional final. This was a significant test that Gasso’s squad passed, taking the Shockers’ best shot and finding a way to absorb it and survive for the hard-fought victory.

Oklahoma will head to Sunday having two chances to win one game and move to the Super Regionals starting at 3:00 p.m. CT.

No. 1 Oklahoma dominates No. 25 Wichita State in 14-3 run-rule win

No. 1 Oklahoma softball dominated No. 25 Wichita State in a 14-3 run-rule win on Tuesday night to improve to 40-1 on the season.

No. 1 Oklahoma softball returned to action on Tuesday night after a week off to do battle with No. 25 Wichita State at their place in Wichita, Kansas. As have many of the Sooners games have been this year, it wasn’t very competitive.

Getting the start for Oklahoma was Shannon Saile (13-0) who continued her fantastic season with four shutout innings allowing just one hit. The Shockers were unable to muster much of anything against her throughout the evening, only collecting three runs in the fifth inning off of freshman Nicole May.

After an empty opening inning, the Sooners would get the bats going in the second putting up four runs on a bases loaded walk by third baseman Jana Johns, a two-run single by left fielder Mackenzie Donihoo and an RBI knock from second baseman Tiare Jennings.

Oklahoma wouldn’t add in the third but would score two more runs in the fourth highlighted by an RBI double from Jennings to make the score 6-0. The Sooners would then explode in the fifth inning making it a complete laugher with an eight-run frame.

Right fielder Rylie Boone got it started with a run-scoring single followed by an RBI double from Donihoo. Jennings would then knock in two more before shortstop Grace Green put the exclamation point on the evening with a grand slam to make the score 14-0 in favor of Oklahoma.

Wichita State would try to avoid the run-rule in the bottom half of the frame scoring three runs off of May, but that wouldn’t be enough as the Sooners held on to win it 14-3. The win moves them to an absurd 40-1 on the season and is their seventh in a row since taking their first loss of the year to Georgia two weeks ago.

This team continues to make good teams look bad, as the Shockers entered with a very impressive record as a definite NCAA Tournament team coming up later this month. But, like so many others, they were simply no match for Patty Gasso’s incredible club.

Oklahoma will now return to the state of Oklahoma for the remainder of the season, beginning with Bedlam in Stillwater starting on Friday night.