NORMAN–Big 12-leading and No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Softball begins its third weekend of conference play by hosting No. 19/22 Baylor for a three-game series, opened with a neutral-site contest at Hall of Fame Stadium.
First pitch on Friday in Oklahoma City is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT as the Sooners (28-1, 6-0 Big 12) put their unbeaten Big 12 record to the test against Baylor (17-8, 1-5 Big 12). Games two and three Saturday and Sunday at Love's Field will start at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. respectively. All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and 1560 AM/103.3 FM The Franchise 2 with Friday and Saturday's tilts also airing on 107.7 FM The Franchise.
Oklahoma owns a 73-14 record against Baylor in the all-time series with a 65-11 mark under Patty Gasso. The Sooners are 28-7 in Norman vs. Baylor and 19-1 on neutral fields. The Bears handed OU its lone loss last season, defeating the Sooners 4-3 in Waco on February 19, 2023.
OU has swept each of its first two conference series, going 3-0 against Iowa State at home and Texas Tech in Lubbock.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Baylor enters the weekend 17-8 with a 1-5 mark in Big 12 play, dropping two of three games to Oklahoma State at home before being swept by Kansas in Lawrence. BU run-ruled Houston Christian 14-4 on Tuesday evening.
Junior infielder Shaylon Govan is hitting .500 entering the series, adding four doubles and three home runs with a 1.356 OPS. Junior outfielder Taylor Strain (.343) and senior utility player Emily Hott (.329) join Govan as qualified Bears hitting .300 or better. Baylor hits .290 as a club with a .745 OPS, leaning on on-base skills over power with a .361 OBP compared to just seven home runs.
Sophom*ore right-hander RyLee Crandall leads Baylor with a 7-2 record and a 1.31 ERA in the circle, striking out 51 and walking just 18 across 59.0 innings. Senior righty Aliyah Binford is second on the team with 58.1 innings pitched, logging a 2.64 ERA while going 5-5 and striking out 71. Baylor's staff owns a 2.08 team ERA and limits opponents to a .207 batting average.
SOONERS SWEEP WEEKLY HONORS
Graduate left-handed pitcherKelly Maxwellwas named both NFCA National Pitcher of the Week and Big 12 Pitcher of the Week while senior shortstopTiare Jenningsearned Big 12 Player of the Week honors, announced by the organization and conference Tuesday.
Maxwell won both her starts last week, throwing the fifth no-hitter of her career on March 12 against Tarleton State before fanning 10 across 6.0 scoreless innings at Texas Tech on March 15. The left-hander struck out 17 over a combined 11.0 shutout innings of work, limiting her opponents to two hits and four walks. She allowed just six baserunners across her two outings, holding opponents to go just 2-for-36 (.056) while producing a meager .226 OPS.
Jennings led the Big 12 in RBIs and extra-base hits last week, going 7-for-13 (.538) with three doubles, three home runs and 12 runs driven in. The senior slashed .538/.632/1.462 for a monstrous 2.094 OPS, scoring five times and drawing five walks in her 19 plate appearances. She produced three multi-RBI performances and a pair of multi-hit games while reaching in each of OU's five contests. Jennings tied Sydney Romero's program record with her 58th career double on March 16 at Texas Tech.
Both Sooners earned the eighth Big 12 weekly honor of their career as Maxwell picked up her second pitcher-of-the-week nod of 2024. UnderPatty Gasso, Oklahoma student-athletes have earned 108 Big 12 Player of the Week honors and 89 Big 12 Pitcher of the Week accolades.
LAST TIME OUT
Senior infielder Alynah Torres blasted two home runs and drove in four as top-ranked Oklahoma run-ruled UT Arlington 12-1 at Love's Field on Wednesday evening.
The Sooners (28-1, 6-0 Big 12) blew the game open with a 10-run second inning, earning their 18th run-rule win of the season. OU held UT Arlington (10-17, 1-1 WAC) to a lone unearned run on five hits as Karlie Keeney, SJ Geurin and Paytn Monticelli combined for five strong innings of work.
Torres, Parker, Coleman and Boone each provided multi-hit efforts as part of a 12-hit barrage by the OU lineup. The Sooners drew five free passes and struck out just once on the evening.
LEADERBOARDS
The Sooners enter the week ranked highly across the national leaderboards in multiple statistical categories. OU leads the nation in OPS (1.209) and on-base percentage (.491) and is top-three in fielding percentage (2nd, .985), slugging percentage (2nd, .718), batting average (2nd, .394), runs per game (2nd, 9.04), shutouts (2nd, 15) and home runs (3rd, 56) while ranking fourth in ERA (1.26). Junior first baseman Cydney leads the nation in OPS (1.599) and ranks third in slugging percentage (1.020).
Sanders leads the Big 12 in OPS, home runs (10), walks drawn (21) and slugging percentage while ranking third in on-base percentage (.579) and fifth in RBIs (30). Senior third basemanAlyssa Britois second in runs scored (32), third in OPS (1.424) and tied for fifth in home runs (9). Senior shortstopTiare Jenningsshares the league lead in home runs (10) with Sanders while ranking second in doubles (9) and RBIs (37).
In the circle, sophom*ore left-handerKierston Dealis fourth across the Big 12 in ERA (1.25) and fifth in batting average against (.184).Nicole Mayis third in wins (9) and 10th in opponent average (.205) while landing ninth in ERA (1.54).Kelly Maxwelllands third in opponent average (.164), sixth in wins (8) and fifth in ERA (1.31) whileKarlie Keeney's1.37 ERA mark is seventh in the league.
LET'S GO POLLING
The Sooners remained at No. 1 in the NFCA/USA Today coaches poll this week, earning 26 of the 32 available first-place votes. OU also held the top spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, receiving all 25 available first-place votes.
BIG 12 STANDINGS
Oklahoma enters the third week of conference play as the lone unbeaten team in the Big 12 at 6-0. The Sooners are a full game ahead of Oklahoma State and Texas. OU hosts Baylor this weekend, Texas visits UCF and Oklahoma State travels to Provo.
FRESHMEN PHENOMS
Oklahoma freshmenElla ParkerandKasidi Pickeringhave provided immediate impact to the lineup as regulars in their debut season. The duo enters the weekend ranked second and fifth respectively among OU hitters in batting average.
Parker is second among her teammates in hitting at .441, reaching base at a .541 clip and slugging .765 for a 1.306 OPS. She adds seven doubles, five home runs and 27 RBIs and has walked in 17.6% of her trips to the plate. Among her Big 12 counterparts, Parker is fifth in on-base percentage, sixth in OPS, eighth in batting average and ninth in slugging.
Pickering slashes .412/.500/.662 for a 1.162 OPS entering the week. She has collected five doubles and four homers to go with 22 RBIs while logging strong defense in both outfield corners.
ALYNAH'S ON FIRE
Senior infielder Alynah Torres enters the weekend on a seven-game hitting streak, going 9-for-16 (.563) with three home runs and six RBIs over the stretch. Torres has drawn three walks, reaching in 12 of her last 19 trips to the plate for a .632 on-base percentage.
COACH GASSO REACHES 400
Patty Gassobecame the first Big 12 head coach, in any sport, to earn her 400th conference win with the Sooners' 11-1 win over Texas Tech on March 17.
The conference's all-time league wins leader is 400-87 (.821) in Big 12 games over her illustrious career, earning 15 regular season championships and eight postseason titles. She has led OU in every season of the conference's existence.
TIA TIME
Senior shortstopTiare Jenningsenters the week within striking distance of a few major milestones. Jennings is one double away from breaking Sydney Romero's career record of 58 and one total base from moving into a tie for second with Lauren Chamberlain (583) in the program's top-10 list.
Jennings also needs three hits to move into sixth in program history, which would tie her with Christy Ring at 276.
CHAMPS IN THE CLUTCH
Oklahoma's lineup has produced the second-most runs per game across the NCAA at 9.14 this season. A key factor in the order's success has been the club's penchant for hitting with runners in scoring position. OU slashes .421/.507/.804 for a 1.312 OPS with RISP, producing a .530 weighted on-base average (wOBA) in those situations.
Alyssa Brito is 13-for-23 (.565) with RISP this spring, producing a 1.938 OPS. Tiare Jennings has blasted six home runs and six doubles while producing a 1.790 OPS with runners in scoring position. Ella Parker (.538), Jayda Coleman (.500) and Kasidi Pickering (.500) join Brito and Jennings as Sooners batting .500 or better with RISP.
ONE LAST RIDE IN THE BIG 12
The Sooners are in their final season of Big 12 competition with a 400-87 (.821) league record since the conference began in 1996, winners of 11 consecutive conference championships. They are 127-4 (.970) in Big 12 play since the beginning of the 2016 season and have not lost a conference series since 2011.
OU won both the regular season and conference tournament championships last season while going 18-0 in Big 12 play. The program has won 23 Big 12 titles (15 regular season and eight Big 12 tournament championships), all under head coach Patty Gasso.
Oklahoma will join the SEC on July 1, 2024.
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