Sooners Visit Texas Tech as Big 12 Winds Down

April 28-30 | Lubbock, Texas | Rocky Johnson Field

Texas Tech

^7/7 Oklahoma

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NORMAN - Winner of 18 of its past 19 games, No. 7/7 Oklahoma (41-8, 11-1 Big 12) leaves the Sooner state for the last time in the regular season with a trip to face Texas Tech (17-26, 4-11).

First pitch Friday is set for 6 p.m., while Saturday is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start and Sunday's finale begins at noon.

All three games will be streamed on TexasTech.com, though a subscription is needed. Each contest can also be heard on KEBC 1560 in Norman or online via the link above.

Facing Texas Tech

Oklahoma is 49-7 all-time against Texas Tech, including a 19-1 record in Lubbock. The lone road loss for OU in the series came on April 2, 2011. The Sooners have won seven straight in Lubbock since then.

Overall, Oklahoma has won 13 straight in the series and 15 of the last 16. During the current 13-game streak, OU has outscored TTU, 120-22. The Sooners have not lost to the Red Raiders since a 5-4 setback on April 6, 2012, in Norman.

The 13-game win streak is tied for Oklahoma's fifth-longest active streak against a D-I opponent:

Opponent	Streak	Series Record	Last Loss
Wichita State	34	47-7	3/21/90
Iowa State	30	74-28	4/22/06
North Texas	29	29-0	N/A
Creighton	16	17-11	3/8/91
Oklahoma State	13	83-70	4/27/11
Texas Tech	13	49-7	4/6/12

OU is also undefeated in its past 17 Big 12 regular season series against Texas Tech, going 14-0-3, and is 17-1-3 all-time in series vs. TTU.

OU has a higher winning percentage over Texas Tech than against any other Big 12 school.

Opponent	Pct.	Series Record
Texas Tech	.875	49-7
Baylor	.809	55-13
Iowa State	.733	77-28
Texas	.607	37-24
Kansas	.589	63-44
Oklahoma State	.542	83-70

In addition, the .875 win percentage is the best for the Sooners against any team it's faced at least 30 times.

OU has two Texans on its roster in freshmen Alissa Dalton (Cypress; Cy-Fair HS) and Nicole Mendes (Houston), while Texas Tech has three Oklahomans: Kierra Miles (Mustang), Cheyenne Powell (Blanchard) and Kassidy Scott (Piedmont).

Oklahoma and Texas Tech have faced eight common opponents this year: Mississippi State, North Texas, Tulsa and Wichita State in the non-conference and Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas in league action. The Sooners have gone 15-1 against the compeition with its lone loss coming last weeked to Baylor. Texas Tech is 6-12 against those teams, going 2-4 out of league and 4-8 vs. common Big 12 teams.

Last Time They Met

Last season, OU swept a three-game series in Norman by a combined score of 22-1 with two run-rules. Paige Parker threw two shutouts with 16 K in 12.0 IP, while the Sooners hit .408 as a team.

Eight Sooners had a hit in an 8-0, five-inning win in the opener. Erin Miller reached in all four plate appearances as she was 2-2 with a homer, two walks and three RBI. Parker struck out seven and gave up just three hits with no walks.

Parker faced the minimum 21 batters in a 4-0 shutout that clinched a share of the Big 12 title. She struck out nine with one hit allowed and no walks. Lea Wodach and Shay Knighten each hit two-run homers to key the offense.

OU won the Big 12 crown outright with a 10-1, five-inning victory in the series finale. Oklahoma scored four runs in each of the first two innings and added two more runs in the third. Caleigh Clifton scored three runs and homered, while Macey Hatfield added a two-run double.

The last time the teams met in Lubbock, OU swept the three-game series by a combined score of 43-12. Parker did not allow a run and struck out 18 in 10.2 IP, while Kelsey Arnold (7) and Nicole Pendley (5) combined for 12 RBI and the Sooners hit eight home runs as a team.

Sooners on Record Road Winning Streak

Dating back to April 8 of 2016, OU has won 21 straight road games, including all 11 road contests this year. The 21 straight wins on the road are the most in program history, bettering the old mark of 16.

Wins	Start Date	End Date
21	April 8, 2016	N/A
16	March 18, 2002	March 20, 2003

During the streak, Oklahoma has four top-25 wins, six shutouts and two run-rule wins. Thirteen victories have been against Big 12 teams, while eight have been non-conference matchups. Here's a stat breakdown during the streak.

OU Has Sights Set on Six Sixth Straight Big 12 Title

With an 11-1 record in league play, the Sooners are tied with Oklahoma State for the league lead while Baylor is two games back. The conference crown can't be decided this weekend, but there is a pivotal series in Waco as BU hosts OSU.

Team	Record	Games Back	Remaining
Oklahoma	11-1	--	3 at TTU, 2 at OSU, 1 vs. OSU
Oklahoma State	11-1	--	3 at BU, 2 vs. OU, 1 at OU
Baylor	9-3	2.0	3 vs. OSU, 1 vs. UT, 2 at UT

Oklahoma has won an unprecedented five straight Big 12 championships. Prior to this current run, no team in league history had even won three straight conference crowns. OU has won nine Big 12 regular season titles and four conference tournament championships. The 13 combined championships are the most in league history.

With five straight league crowns, the Sooners are tied for the second longest active regular season conference-title streak in the nation with North Dakota State (Summit). Only Michigan (9) in Big Ten has a longer stretch.

In the 21 seasons of Big 12 softball, Oklahoma has had a winning record in league play 20 times and finished first or second in the standings 17 times.

Best Big 12 Start

Oklahoma started 10-0 in the Big 12 this season for the first time in program history, bettering its old mark 9-0 done four times.

Year	Start	Finish	Place	Postseason
2017	10-0	N/A	N/A	N/A
2015	9-0	14-2	1st	Super Regional
2014	9-0	16-2	1st	WCWS
2002	9-0	14-2	2nd	Super Regional
2000	9-0	17-1	1st	NCAA Champs

Big 12 Win Streak Ends at 25 Games

Dating back to April 3 of 2016, OU won 25 straight Big 12 games before losing to Baylor in the second game of their series. The 25 straight wins mark the longest Big 12 win streak in program history.

Wins	Start Date	End Date
25	April 3, 2016	April 22, 2017
21	April 1, 2001	April 10, 2002

During the streak, Oklahoma had four top-25 wins, seven shutouts and six run-rule wins. Twelve victories came at home and 13 were on the road.

The Sooners are undefeated in their past 41 regular season Big 12 series, going 37-0-4. The last series loss for OU came to Missouri on April 16-17, 2011. The next longest Big 12 series unbeaten streak belongs to Oklahoma State at 4-0-0.

Since the Big 12 began in 1996, OU has the best all-time win percentage in conference play at .780 (301-85), while Texas is a distant second at .635 (230-132). Among the other teams currently in the league, Baylor is third at .511 (185-177-1), followed by Oklahoma State at .455 (175-210), Kansas at .385 (151-241), Texas Tech at .313 (121-266) and Iowa State at .212 (82-304).

Pitching Staff Nearing 2013 Levels

The Oklahoma pitching staff is having its best season statistically since the 2013 national championship team that was led by Keilani Ricketts and Michelle Gascoigne. The team's ERA (1.68), strikeout rate (7.57 per 7 IP) and opponent average (.177) are all at their best levels since 2013, while the walk rate of 1.50 walks per 7 innings pitched is actually better than 2013 (1.62).

The 2017 staff has been anchored by two-time All-American Paige Parker, but junior transfer Paige Lowary and freshman Mariah Lopez have emerged to form a powerful trio. Each pitcher has thrown at least 77.2 innings this year, while Parker has seen her inning total drop from 164.0 to 136.1 at this same point a year ago.

Entering the week, OU and LSU were the only teams in the country to have three pitchers who have thrown at least 77.0 IP and also have ERAs of 1.96 or better.

Lowary's numbers have improved significantly in Norman compared to her first two seasons at Missouri. Her ERA has improved from 3.32 to 1.96 while her strikeout rate has climbed from 6.11 per 7 IP to 6.42 and her walk rate has dropped from 3.51 per 7 IP to 2.04.

Lopez has a 1.71 ERA with 77 strikeouts to just 14 walks in 77.2 IP. As of 4/24, her 4.33 hits/7 IP ranked second in the country among freshmen, her ERA was third-best and her strikeout rate of 6.9 was 11th (min. 77.0 IP).

OU Stealing at Highest Rate in Last 12 Years

Through 49 games, Oklahoma is 83-99 on stolen base attempts. With 1.69 steals per game entering the week, OU ranked 34th in the country, but by their own standards, the Sooners are stealing at their highest rate in the past 12 years.

The 83 steals and 99 steal attempts are the most for OU at this point in the season since at least 2006.

SB	Year	SBA	Year
83	2017	99	2017
74	2007	98	2007
66	2016	82	2016
63	2010	77	2013
61	2013	75	2010

After stealing 6 bases all of last year, Sydney Romero leads the team with 15 this year, while Caleigh Clifton is second on the team by matching her total of 14 from a year ago. Nicole Mendes has 11 to rank third on the team. Eleven different players have at least one stolen base this year.

As a team, OU has 14 games this year with at least three stolen bases and nine games with at least four, including a season-high five against Iowa State (3/31). The 83 steals are seventh most in OU history.

Quick Hits

Through 4/23, Paige Parker is 10th among active pitchers in career shutouts (26) and wins (82), 12th in ERA (1.63), 14th in total strikeouts (667), 15th in strikeouts/7 IP (7.71), 16th in complete games (67), 29th in innings (605.2), 39th in starts (86) and 46th in appearances (118) ... Paige Lowary is 15th among active pitchers in saves (10), 33rd in wins (53) and 36th in strikeouts/7IP (6.18) ... Caleigh Clifton is 32nd among active players with 35 career HBP ... Nicole Mendes is 16th among active players in career batting average at .412 (min. 100 AB)

Parker leads the team with a 1.12 ERA in Big 12 matchups, while Lopez has a team-best 1.56 ERA in road games ... Shay Knighten leads the team in batting average in both Big 12 games (.326) and road contests (.429) ... three of Clifton's five home runs this year have come in the last six games ... Alissa Dalton is batting a team-high .471 (16-34) with runners in scoring position

Every pitcher on the OU staff has an ERA of 1.96 or better, and the staff ERA is 1.45 during conference games ... as a team, OU is 91-163 (.561) with a runner on third and less than 2 out ... after hitting 15 home runs in their first 32 games (0.47/game), the Sooners have hit 21 in their last 17 contests (1.24/game) ... conversely, OU pitchers have given up two home runs in the last 15 games (0.13/game) after after giving up 25 in the first 34 contests (0.74/game)