Sooners Hit the Road for Easton Tournament

Easton Tournament
March 16-19 | Fullerton, Calif. | Anderson Family Field

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Weekend Schedule
Day	Opponent	Time (CT)
Friday	Cal State Northridge	12 p.m.
Friday	DePaul	2:30 p.m.
Saturday	RV/NR Nebraska	12:30 p.m.
Sunday	No. 17/18 Ohio State	12 p.m.
Sunday	Cal State Fullerton	2:30 p.m.
Monday	Cal State Northridge	2 p.m.

On the Air
Radio	1560 AM \| Chris Plank

NORMAN — No. 5/5 Oklahoma softball hits the road this weekend as it heads to Fullerton, Calif., for the Easton Tournament on March 16-18. The Sooners will then extend their trip as they travel to Northridge, Calif., for a Monday afternoon matchup with Cal State Northridge.

OU is slated to face Cal State Northridge and DePaul on Friday (Noon and 2:30 p.m. CT, respectively), Nebraska on Saturday (12:30 p.m.) and Ohio State and host Cal State Fullerton on Sunday (Noon and 2:30 p.m., respectively) in the tournament. The Sooners and the Matadors will play again on Monday at 2 p.m. CT.

All five games at the Easton Invitational will be streamed via FloSoftball for a fee. Additionally, all six contests this weekend will be available on air through KEBC 1560 AM in Norman or online via the Franchise 2.

Hot Start

With a 19-2 record this season, the Sooners are off to their best start through 21 games since 2013, when OU opened the year 20-1. The 2013 squad went on to finish 57-4 and claim the program's second national championship.

Oklahoma has outscored its opponents 134-20 this season. The Sooners have blanked their opponents in over half their games, 11 total times, marking the fastest an OU team has reached 11 shutouts since the 2013 team did so in 16 games. Additionally, the Sooners have earned seven run-rule wins in 2018.

Sooners' Offense in National Rankings

Oklahoma has started the season with strong performances at the plate. The team's on-base percentage (.440) and slugging percentage (.561) all rank second in the Big 12 while its batting average (.345) ranks third. Additionally, OU is ranked nationally sixth in on-base percentage, ninth in batting average and 11th in slugging percentage.

Junior Sydney Romero is third in the conference in batting average, hitting .508 (31-for-61) so far this season, which is also good for ninth nationally. Freshman Jocelyn Alo is ranked second in the Big 12 in home runs per game (0.43) and home runs (nine), which rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in the nation. Alo's slugging percentage (1.000) is also ranked nationally, coming it at No. 6, while ranking second in the Big 12.

Commanding the Circle

The Oklahoma pitching staff has returned in full force in 2018. Through 21 games, the Sooners have a combined ERA of 0.78, ranked first in the Big 12 and fourth in the nation.

Senior lefty duo Paige Lowary (2-1) and Paige Parker (10-1) are ranked second and third in the conference with ERAs of 0.26 through 27.0 innings and 0.52 through 54.1 innings, respectively. The pair trails Oklahoma State's Logan Simunek (0.24 ERA) in conference standings. Additionally, they are ranked fifth and ninth nationally, respecitvely.

Lowary leads all active Division I pitchers with 19 career saves.

Sophomore Mariah Lopez is second the Big 12 in strikeouts per seven innings (9.2) and is ranked 27th nationally, while Parker is second in the conference (9.1) and 28th in the country. Against Montana, Lopez threw her first career double-digit strikeout game with 11 Ks, matching a single-game high in the conference this season. Lopez leads the nation in walks allowed per seven innings as she is the only DI pitcher averaging 1.0 inning per team game who has yet to walk a batter.

Missouri transfer Parker Conrad earned her first OU win against Illinois State on March 11, retiring 18 of 20 batters faced in a six-inning shutout while striking out a career-high six. Conrad, who earned her first Sooner start against BYU, has tossed 13.2 innings this season with an ERA of 1.02.

Right-handed sophomore Melanie Olmos made her first career start against ACU on March 4, striking out a career-high four batters in 2.2 innings. She has thrown 3.2 total innings this season.

Sophomore utility player Nicole Mendes has made four appearances in relief this season, totalling 6.0 innings and garnering one win. She has yet to give up a run this season.

Last Time Out

The Sooners were undefeated through five games at the OG&E Tournament in Norman, taking down Indiana once and Illinois State and then-No. 18/17 South Carolina twice each.

The tournament marked the conclusion of a season-long 10-game homestand for the Sooners. The perfect weekend secured a 10-0 start at home for the Sooners and extended its home winning streak to 14 games, dating back to 2017.

On Friday, OU took down ISU 9-0 in five innings before defeating Indiana 9-3. Against the Redbirds, OU scored seven runs in the bottom of the first, marking the most runs in an inning this season by the Sooners. In the second game of the day, the Hoosiers jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Sooners responded with three runs in the bottom of the third, highlighted by Jocelyn Alo's go-ahead two-run home run. OU added five runs in the fourth and another in the sixth to secure the victory.

Senior Nicole Pendley's first-inning grand slam proved the difference maker in OU's 4-2 win over South Carolina on Saturday night. It was Pendley's fourth career grand slam and her fourth homer of the season.

The Sooners secured a perfect weekend with a 5-1 win over South Carolina and an 8-0 win over Illinois State in six innings on Sunday. Although the Gamecocks got on the board first with a solo home run, the Sooners responded with a five-run third inning to claim their third win over a ranked opponent this season. In the next contest, pitcher Parker Conrad earned her first win as a Sooner, tossing a one hitter and retiring 18 of 20 batters she faced over six innings as the Sooners run-ruled the Redbirds.

This Weekend's Opponents

In all-time meetings, OU holds a 7-6 record over Cal State Northridge. The two programs last met in a double header in March 2010 as CSUN won the first contest 1-0 before the Sooners claimed the second 4-1 in eight innings. In 2017, the Matadors went 31-22, including an 11-10 mark in conference play. This season, CSUN stands at 10-19 and is currently on a six-game losing streak after dropping four contests at the CSUN Tournament on March 9-11 and two midweek games on Wednesday.

The Sooners hold an 11-6 advantage over DePaul in all-time meetings. Most recently, the Sooners shut out the Blue Devils 6-0 at the LMU Tournament in March 2017. Last year, the Blue Devils finished 29-23 with a Big East title and a NCAA Regional appearance. DePaul is 16-7 in 2018, most recently going 2-2 at the Rebel Classic in Las Vegas.

OU trails former Big 12 member Nebraska 43-44 in series history. The Sooners and Huskers last met at the 2017 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge as OU won 6-0. After going 24-29 in 2017, the Huskers are off to a 17-7 start this season and are currently receiving votes in the latest NFCA poll.

Sunday's contest with Ohio State will be the seventh all-time between OU and OSU. The Sooners have never lost to the Buckeyes, last facing off in February 2007 as OU claimed a 7-2 victory. A finalist in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, the 2017 Buckeyes finished their 35-18 season with two games at an NCAA Regional. Currently ranked No. 17/18, Ohio State has started the 2018 season 17-2.

Oklahoma enters Sunday's game against Cal State Fullerton trailing the Titans 5-11 in all-time meetings. In the last game between the two programs in March 2016, Fullerton claimed a 7-5 win. The Titans finished 2017 with a 35-23 record, going 16-5 in Big West play, as their season ended at NCAA Regionals.

Up Next

The Sooners begin their hunt for their unprecedented seventh straight Big 12 regular season title on March 23-25 as they begin conference play against Texas Tech. OU hosts the Red Raiders on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT, on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT and on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.

Friday's contest is scheduled to be streamed through SoonerSports.tv while the Saturday and Sunday games will be broadcast on Fox Sports Oklahoma and Fox College Sports Central. All games can be heard on air through KEBC 1560 AM in Norman or online through the Franchise 2, and general admission tickets for all three games are available.

In all-time meetings, OU holds a 53-7 advantage over Texas Tech, including a 24-4 mark in Norman.