Completed Event: Softball at #12/14 Texas A&M on May 1, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 8
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at #12/14 Texas A&M
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Lowary, Knighten Claim Weekly Big 12 Awards
April 11, 2017 | Softball
NORMAN – Sophomore Shay Knighten was named the Big 12 co-Player of the Week, and junior Paige Lowary was tabbed the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.
The Sooners have now won Big 12 honors each of the last five weeks as junior Paige Parker was named Pitcher of the Week on March 14, sophomore Sydney Romero and freshman Mariah Lopez swept honors on March 22, freshman Nicole Mendes took home Big 12 Player of the Week honors on March 28 and senior Macey Hatfield picked up the Player of the Week award last week. It's the first time since March of 2015 that OU earned honors at least five weeks in a row from the Big 12.
Oklahoma has also had seven different honorees in a season for the first time in program history. Previously, the most in a single season was six in 2013 when Shelby Pendley, Lauren Chamberlain, Jessica Vest and Brianna Turang each won Player of the Week and Keilani Ricketts and Michelle Gascoigne took home Pitcher of the Week accolades.
With Parker and Lopez already winning, Lowary's honor this week makes Oklahoma just the second team ever to have three different Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honorees in the same season. The only other program to do it was Nebraska in 2001 with Leigh Ann Walker, Peaches James and Penny Cope.
Knighten, who shared the honor this week with Baylor's Lindsey Cargill, led the Big 12 over the week with six RBI and 10 total bases and tied for the league lead in hits (6), home runs (1) and slugging (1.000). She also led OU in average (.600), hits, RBI, walks (4), OBP (.714) and slugging for the week while tying for the top spot in doubles (1).
Knighten, who also won the award once last year, got the week started in OU's 4-2 win over Arkansas. After the Razorbacks took a 1-0 lead after the top of the first, Knighten delivered the game-tying hit in the bottom of the frame as the Sooners put up three runs and never looked back.
She was instrumental in the series-opening, 3-2 win at Texas Friday. The Longhorns led 2-1 after three innings, but Knighten pulled a 1-1 pitch off the foul pole in left field to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth. Knighten delivered again in the sixth to put the Sooners on top for good with an RBI single.
In Saturday's 3-1 victory, Knighten delivered the key hit again. Leading 1-0 in the fifth, Knighten blooped a two-run double beyond second base to pad the lead to 3-0. The runs proved crucial as Texas scored one run in the bottom of the frame.
In the series finale, Knighten reached in all four trips to the plate by going 2-2 with a pair of walks as OU won 6-0. She scored the game's opening run and then added an RBI single to mark her 11th straight game with an RBI and push her hitting streak to a season-best six straight games.
Lowary did not allow a single run in 9.2 innings last week, picking up two saves and a win in her three appearances. She struck out 10 and walked just one while giving up five hits and holding opponents to a .139 average.
A two-time SEC Pitcher of the Week while at Missouri, Lowary entered Wednesday's game against Arkansas in the sixth inning and picked up her third save of the year as she struck out three and walked one with no hits allowed. Lowary entered with a runner on second and no one out, but got a groundout before walking the next batter. With runners on the corners, she struck out the next batter before getting another groundout to stop the threat. She picked up two more strikeouts in the seventh to close out the game.
She made another relief appearance Saturday and picked up her fourth save of the year, tying Shelby Pendley's 2014 mark for the most saves in a season in Oklahoma history. Lowary struck out one and did not allow a run, hit or walk in 2.1 innings of work. Trailing 3-1, Texas put the tying run on base in the seventh behind an OU error and fielder's choice with one out, but Lowary got a 4-6-3 double play to end the game.
Lowary got the start and the win in game three Sunday. Now 9-1 on the year, she struck out six with no runs or walks while scattering five hits. Only one Texas runner got beyond second base.
The Dallas Center, Iowa, native has now gone 18.1 innings without allowing an earned run and she's only given up one over her last 29.0 innings covering 10 appearances, for a 0.24 earned run average.
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Saturday, May 23
Saturday, May 23
Friday, May 22
