By Taylor Thomas
Dominant. A word that is synonymous with the Oklahoma Softball program in the last decade, and that is exactly how to describe the performance this weekend in what was the first and final opening weekend of Big 12 Conference play in Norman. We heard last week after the run-rule victory against Texas A&M Commerce that Patty Gasso wanted to see her team kick it into another gear, and the Sooners responded in the weekend sweep as they outscored Iowa State 29-3 over the three game set. Oklahoma has a quick turnaround due to weather postponing the series to Saturday-Sunday as they will prepare for a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday night at Love’s Field against Tarleton State, which we will preview here as Oklahoma continues on into the 2024 season.
Oklahoma got the weekend started with an impressive 4-0 victory in Game 1 on Saturday as Kelly Maxwell got the ball to start off the series looking to rebound on a somewhat shaky performance last weekend by her standards. Maxwell was lights out as she finished a complete game shutout surrendering only four hits while striking out eight. At one point in the middle innings, the senior had retired four consecutive Cyclone hitters via a strikeout and definitely had some of her best stuff so far in the early days of the season. Alyssa Brito got the scoring started in the third inning as she drove in Avery Hodge on an RBI single to right. Powered behind the performance in the circle by Maxwell, the Sooners felt like they were in control, and a name you will see often in this article in Cydney Sanders blasted a three-run home run over the wall in right-center field for what would be the dagger as Oklahoma took Game 1.
Like mentioned earlier, some nasty weather rolled through Norman on Friday and forced the Saturday double-header. Game 2 was much of the opposite from the first, as Oklahoma rolled to an 11-2 run-rule victory. Nicole May got the start in the circle and delivered a solid performance after giving up two early runs in the first inning to Iowa State. May went four innings while striking out three, but the offense was in control from start to finish. Oklahoma tied things up quickly in the home half of the first as both Alyssa Brito and Ella Parker recorded RBI doubles and were followed up by a Jayda Coleman two-run blast that would be the first of four Sooner home runs in the game. Cydney Sanders hit her second home run of the day to push the OU lead to three after the first inning. In the second inning, Rylie Boone showed off her power (and a sweet air guitar celebration) as she sent her first home run of the season over the right field wall and has continued to impress like she has her entire career. From there, Oklahoma would get RBI’s by Coleman and Riley Ludlam before Sanders would hit her second bomb of the day, this time being a three run shot to extend the lead to what would be the final score of 11-2.
OU would continue to dominate in Game 3 recording their second straight run rule victory in a 14-1 five inning performance. Oklahoma would blast five more home runs in the game and looked like the offense of old. Tiare Jennings sent her 80th career home run out to right field for a three run shot in the first inning to set the tone early on for the game. Kinzie Hansen got in on the fun as she hit a missile out to left field for a three run home run of her own in a big third inning that was followed up by an RBI double by freshman Kasadi Pickering. Iowa State definitely does not want to see the name Cydney Sanders again as she weathered the Cyclones all weekend, hitting her fourth home run in two days to extend the Sooner lead to 9-0. Sanders currently has six home runs in March alone as we sit only 11 days into the start of the month. Freshman Ella Parker hit her fourth home run of the season to end the scoring in the third inning and give OU an 11-0 lead. Kierston Deal was lights out yet again against a very good lineup, as she gave up only one hit and struck out four in three innings of work. The sophomore has been incredible over her last five starts and continues to impress and show Sooner Nation why she was so highly touted out of high school. Quincee Lilio wanted to join the home run club and sent a three run shot over the wall in the fourth to give Oklahoma a 14-1 lead as they recorded a much needed three game sweep.
Tarleton State will make the trip north of the Red River to Norman on Tuesday night for a mid-week doubleheader coming off of a rain shortened trip to Jacksonville, Florida that saw them go 1-2. This will be the first matchup between the two programs in school history and like most opponents, this will be the biggest test TSU will face all season as they come in with a 12-13 record. Tarleton State competes in the WAC conference and are led on offense by Kelci Hill, who comes in with an incredible .470 average and was a second team All-WAC selection in 2023. The senior has recorded a multi-hit game in 15 of the Texans 26 games on the season already and could finish as conference player of the year when we look up in May. With this being a double header, look for multiple arms to be used in both games as TSU will look to keep this potent Sooner lineup off balance. Hannah Blincoe and Alexa Rehmeier lead the way in the circle with both having recorded over fourty innings so far this season and will surely see more time in tomorrow’s matchup. Kendall Daniel currently leads the team with a 3.67 ERA while having recorded a complete game shutout earlier in the year against Mississippi Valley State. Expect to see a lot of these three arms tomorrow over both games as Tarleton State. You can catch all of the action once again on ESPN+ Tuesday, March 12th at 4:30 and 6:30pm from the beautiful Love’s Field in what should be a great night for college softball.
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