By Taylor Thomas
As the end of the regular season approaches, the Oklahoma Softball team, like everyone else around the country, are finishing up non-conference matchups and setting their sights on the postseason. In what was a gorgeous night at Hall Of Fame Stadium, the Sooners took care of business against in-state foe Tulsa, earning another run-rule victory in front of the hostile crowd full of Sooner fans. With it being the final midweek matchup of the regular season, Patty Gasso and co. will now turn their attention to another new member of the Big 12 in the Houston Cougars as we enter the third to final week of regular season play.
There is only one place to start when recapping the victory over Tulsa, and that is in the circle as Kierston Deal recorded the first perfect game of her career in the 8-0 run rule victory. The sophomore sensation was dialed in from the first pitch as she recorded four strikeouts and commanded the zone all night long giving the Golden Hurricane no chance from the time the game started. Deal has been a revelation this season and looks primed to continue to improve being surrounded by the veteran leadership that the team possesses. With web gems made by Rylie Boone and Alyssa Brito, Deal cruised to the first historic mark of her young career in Norman. On offense, it took till the 3rd inning to put some pressure on Tulsa starter KyLee Nash as Ella Parker drove in the games first run on an RBI single in the third that was followed up by a 2-RBI double by Alynah Torres. In the sixth inning is where the knockout blow was delivered as Cydney Sanders blasted a grand slam to the opposite field to make the score 7-0. Tiare Jennings sent the fans home early after Alyssa Brito and Rylie Boone reached base, driving in Boone on a rocket to the left-center field gap to give OU the 8-0 victory.
Enter the Houston Cougars into Norman, Oklahoma this weekend for one of the final Big 12 regular season series of the year as Houston will bring a record of 23-20 into the matchup. Houston has struggled as of late having dropped back to back series to UCF and No. 6 Oklahoma State, but also holds victories over No. 1 Texas and a BYU team who we all saw play the Sooners well over the three game series last weekend. Looking at the offensive side of this Houston team, it is clear to see that the lineup will be no pushover at all, as they hold a team average of .311 and are led by the table setter in Kennedy Thomas, who comes in with a .388 average and has stolen thirteen bases so far this season. A name some Sooner fans will remember is Turiya Coleman, who was a freshman on the 2022 Oklahoma team that won a national title. Now in her second season in Houston, Coleman has fit in well to the tune of a .364 average and sits second on the team with seven home runs and thirty-nine RBI. Each spot in this lineup poses its own kind of threat, and the middle of the order provides enough pop to put up some big runs. In the circle is where the Cougars have dropped some games this season, as they rely heavily on Shelby Smith and Paris Lehman, who have combined to throw over sixty percent of the innings this season. As a staff overall, the Cougars have issued more walks than strikeouts and have a team ERA just under 6, so once again the Sooners will need to be selective at the plate and make the two starters work for everything across the three game series.
Sitting at an overall record of 39-4, the Sooners will need to handle their business again at home this weekend in order to further position themselves for the upcoming Big 12 Tournament and ultimately the NCAA Tournament. First of course comes this matchup with Houston, as each opponent will always bring their best when playing a team and program as elite as the Sooners are. It should be a big weekend for athletics in Norman also, as the OU Spring Game is scheduled for 1pm inside the palace this Saturday and should make for an overall incredible weekend celebrating OU Athletics. You can catch all of the action this weekend on ESPN+ with all times central beginning tomorrow at 6pm, Saturday at 6pm and finishing up the weekend with a 1pm first pitch from Love’s Field.
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