Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Recap

By Taylor Thomas

February 19th, 2023. 372 days. That was the last time the Oklahoma Softball team has lost a game. It is a number that is almost unfathomable to think about, and while we as fans have grown accustomed to the elite play that this team has brought to the table, the run that this program has been on should not for one second be taken for granted. After an undefeated weekend in Lake Charles, Louisiana in which Patty Gasso was quoted saying that the team “has not played up to our standard”, the legendary head coach challenged her group at practice all week in preparation for the trip to the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Sooners accepted the challenge and yet again answered the call against tough competition, ending the California trip at 5-0 picking up wins against No. 20 Mississippi State and Wisconsin on Friday before wrapping up Saturday and Sunday in dominant fashion, posting three straight shutout victories to move to 14-0 on the season as the team heads home to Oklahoma for the debut of the new cathedral of collegiate softball that sits on the corner of Jenkins Ave and Imhoff Rd, also known as Love’s Field. 

Friday

We had some late night softball to kick the weekend off. Oklahoma faced off with a tough No. 20 Mississippi State team led by Sooner legend Samantha Ricketts in what was originally slated for a 7:30pm CT first pitch that ended up starting a little over one hour later than scheduled. The Bulldogs got the scoring going in the top of the first inning on a two-run home run by Jessie Blaine that had the MSU crowd fired up early. Kinzie Hansen was quick to silence them, as she blasted a game-tying home run of her own that cleared the left field fence with plenty of room to spare. Mississippi State showed why they have become a perennial contender in recent years as they chipped away a run to take the lead back in the second. Coming into the season, the senior class was obviously a group that grabbed the headlines with names like Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, Nicole May, Tiare Jennings, and Rylie Boone. However on Friday night and all weekend long, it was the freshman phenom Ella Parker that showed out, igniting the Sooner rally in the third with the first of back to back singles before Rylie Boone delivered yet again with the go-ahead two RBI double that put Oklahoma in front. Tiare Jennings continued to etch her name into the Sooner record books as she moved past Lauren Chamberlain recording her 255th career RBI, good for second in program history behind former teammate Jocelyn Alo. In the circle, Nicole May struggled early on but was able to limit damage later on as she went four innings before Patty Gasso called upon the emerging SJ Guerin to pitch out of a jam against the heart of the Bulldog order in the fifth. That big moment was not only huge for SJ, but gave the team a huge momentum boost as OU rolled to a 9-3 victory. 

Wisconsin was a team I wrote about last week that had come off of playing some tough competition very close leading up to the Mary Nutter. Getting started late again (around 11:40pm CT), both teams ended their half of the first inning still scoreless. Once again, the youth movement stepped up with freshman Kasidi Pickering delivering the first Sooner run of the game with a single that was followed up by Rylie Boone to give the Sooners a 2-0 lead. Wisconsin would not lay down easy to the No.1 team in the country as they tied things back up at two a piece. From there, the Sooner lineup would take advantage of some costly Badger errors as they entered a familiar place; run-rule territory. In the circle, Kelly Maxwell gave Oklahoma a strong four innings of work before handing the ball to Liberty transfer Karlie Keeney. The senior was lights out in her lone inning of work in the 5th, as she ended this game “early” at around 1:30am CT giving the Sooners a 10-2 victory to move to 2-0 on the weekend. 

Saturday

About twelve hours after the Wisconsin victory, Oklahoma was right back on the diamond for a matchup with a very talented San Diego State team. With the late night and quick turnaround, this game had all the makings of a so called “trap” game. Enter sophomore Kierston Deal, who we saw last year emerge in a big way during the Bedlam series in Stillwater and on into the postseason. After what she called a rough first outing in Mexico to start the season, Deal was about as good as you can get in the circle. The standout sophomore took after her last name and was dealing all day long, throwing a complete game shutout while only surrendering three hits in a 7-0 victory. At one point, Deal had retired 16 straight Aztec hitters on a very efficient 86 pitches in the win. On the offensive side of things, Tiare Jennings continued to destroy the softball, going 3-4 on the day while driving in four on a double and a moonshot home run. The Oklahoma lineup came out sharp and continued to pressure reigning Mountain West Pitcher Of The Year Allie Light, pounding out twelve hits and left no doubt in yet another dominant victory. 

Sunday

Oklahoma finished up the weekend in dominate fashion again, starting off the day with a 9am local time first pitch against Seattle University. Riley Ludlam got the scoring started as the senior transfer hit a solo home run in the second inning to put Oklahoma up 1-0. Once again, it was the play of the freshman that stood out as Ella Parker continued her red hot start, blasting two no doubt home runs and driving in five runs to lead the Sooner offense in the first game on Sunday. Jayda Coleman showed off why she is the best outfielder on the planet, gunning down a Seattle runner trying to stretch a double and making an outstanding diving catch that has become routine for the All-American. Karlie Keeney got the start and was lights out again in the shutout before handing the ball to Paytn Monticelli, who struck out three of the four hitters she faced as Oklahoma rolled to another run-rule victory, this time in six innings by a score of 8-0. 

In the final game of the weekend, Nicole May was given the start against a familiar opponent in Loyola Marymount out of the West Coast Conference. It was no secret that the senior wanted to rebound from a somewhat shaky start against Mississippi State, and that is exactly what the veteran did. May was dominant from start to finish as she struck out seven LMU hitters in her four innings of work, retiring the final 11 batters she faced. On offense, Oklahoma wasted very little time as Jayda Coleman sent her first home run of 2024 to dead center that began a five run second inning. Rylie Boone was impressive all weekend, as she picked up an RBI double before Alyssa Brito and Alynah Torres both hit two-run home runs that put the Sooners in the all too familiar run-rule territory yet again heading into the bottom of the fifth. This was the end of the day for Nicole May, as Patty Gasso gave the ball to Kelly Maxwell who threw a scoreless bottom half of the fifth that gave the Sooners their third straight shutout and ended the weekend a perfect 5-0 with two run-rule victories on Sunday. 

            All weekend long, Oklahoma got contributions from every spot in the lineup, something that was missing over the first two weekends, and was able to compliment the stellar pitching staff. Tiare Jennings drove in nine runs over the five game weekend as she continues to inch closer to the all-time RBI mark in school history, while Rylie Boone continues to be the spark plug for this offense like she has been for her entire career in Norman. With freshman like Ella Parker and Kasadi Pickering emerging like they did this weekend, Coach Gasso has now been given a multitude of options with her lineup like we saw this weekend. It is very easy to say that this team can’t improve anymore than what they have shown to start the season. When you ask the players and coaching staff however, it is obvious as to why this dynasty has continued each year despite the roster turnover. With a leader like Patty Gasso at the helm, you know this team will continue to be challenged each day in practice as we get closer to conference play and ultimately, into postseason play. Now, the attention turns to the first home game of 2024, and the long awaited debut of the 4,500 seat, $50 Million new facility in Love’s Field that begins this Friday, March 1st at 2pm CT against Miami (OH).