Conference Play Begins as OU Hosts Texas Tech

March 23-25 | Norman, Okla. | Marita Hynes Field

Texas Tech

^3/5 Oklahoma

KEBC 1560

NORMAN — No. 3/5 Oklahoma begins its hunt for an unprecedented seventh straight Big 12 regular season title as it hosts Texas Tech at Marita Hynes Field this weekend.

The Sooners are 17-5 all-time in Big 12 openers, including winning their last six. In that span, OU has outscored its opponents 46-7. The Sooners have opened conference play against Texas Tech three times previously, defeating the Red Raiders 7-0 in 2007, 6-1 in 2009 and 9-1 in 2015.

Friday's game, slated for a 6:30 p.m. CT start, will be streamed on SoonerSports.tv for premium subscribers. Saturday and Sunday's contests – scheduled for 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively – will both be broadcast via Fox Sports Oklahoma and Fox College Sports Central. Additionally, all three games this weekend will be available on the air through KEBC 1560 AM in Norman or online via the Franchise 2

Saturday's game is sold out. Limited tickets remain for Friday and Sunday and can be ordered online or by calling (405) 325-2424 or toll-free at (800) 456-GoOU.

Promotions

Friday is Paige Lowary Day, and the first 250 fans will receive a Lowary poster. Additionally, there will be postgame fireworks.

Saturday is Hannah Sparks Day with Sparks posters for the first 250 fans.

Sunday is Strike Out Cancer Day. The first 300 fans will receive pink OU Softball shirts.

Conference Play Begins

Winners of the past six regular season titles, the Sooners are the favorites to finish first in 2018 as each of the other six head coaches placed the Sooners in the top spot in the preseason poll (coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams).

This is the sixth straight year and ninth in the last 10 that OU has topped the Big 12's preseason poll. OU had 36 points in this year's poll and was followed by Baylor, which received the other first-place vote, at 31 points, Texas (24 points), Oklahoma State (23 points), Kansas (12 points), Iowa State (11 points) and Texas Tech (10 points). The Sooners went 17-1 in conference play in 2017, including a 7-1 mark at home. 2017's record matched 2016's mark for Oklahoma's best conference finish in program history.

OU has finished first in the Big 12 over the past six seasons with a combined record of 98-13. Prior to OU's current run of six straight regular-season titles, no team had ever won more than two consecutive titles.

Overall, the Sooners have 15 Big 12 titles with 10 regular season crowns and five Big 12 tournament championships, all under current OU head coach Patty Gasso. OU claimed the 2017 postseason championship, which was held for the first time since 2010.

Returning first-team All-Big 12 selections are Shay Knighten, Paige Lowary, Nicole Mendes (unanimous pick) and Paige Parker. Returning second-team All-Big 12 honorees are junior outfielder Falepolima Aviu, Caleigh Clifton, Nicole Pendley and Sydney Romero. Mendes and Mariah Lopez were members of the 2017 Big 12 All-Freshman Team. Knighten was named 2017 Big 12 Player of the Year, Parker was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year for the third time, and Gasso was named Big 12 Coach of the Year for the 10th time.

No Place Like Home

The Sooners are undefeated at home this year with 10 wins at Marita Hynes Field. OU has won 14 consecutivehome games, with its last loss coming in the NCAA Regionals against North Dakota State, 3-2 in nine innings. OU finished the 2017 season with a 24-2 record at home, including a 20-1 mark in regular-season contests.

The Sooners opened their 2018 home slate with a season-long 10-game homestand. Oklahoma was dominant in its opening weekend of home games, outscoring opponents 31-1 over four contests at the Courtyard Marriott Tournament March 2-4. On Friday, OU downed Missouri State 6-0, before earning two run-rule victories on Saturday, taking down Abilene Christian 8-0 and Missouri State 9-0, both in five innings. The Sooners closed the weekend with an 8-1 win over ACU.

Oklahoma hosted Saint Francis (PA) in a midweek contest on March 7, run-ruling the Red Flash 8-0 in five innings. Senior pitcher Paige Parker threw a shutout and recorded a season-high 12 strikeouts against Saint Francis to earn her 100th career win.

The homestand concluded at the OG&E Tournament on March 9-11. On Friday, OU took down Illinois State 9-0 before defeating Indiana 9-3. Against then-No. 18 South Carolina on Saturday, senior Nicole Pendley's first-inning grand slam proved the difference maker in OU's 4-2 win. The Sooners secured a perfect weekend on with a 5-1 win over South Carolina and an 8-0 win over Illinois State in six innings on Sunday.

Overall, the Sooners are hitting .374 at home, slugging .572, and recording an on-base percentage of .457. They've outscored opponents 74-7, holding foes to a .130 batting average while the pitching staff has posted a 0.80 ERA.

Streaking

The Sooners have won 16 consecutive games with their last defeat coming on Feb. 24 at the hands of then-No. 13 Arizona as OU lost 2-0 in the final game of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Sooners' current streak is tied for ninth-best in program history, matching a pair of 16-game streaks from April 19, 2014, to May 23, 2014, and from May 20, 2017 to Feb. 11, 2018.

With a sweep this weekend, the Sooners' 19-game winning streak would rank sixth all-time in school annals.

The Sooners are undefeated at home this year (10-0) and have won 14 consecutive home games, dating back to last season. The current run ties for 10th best in program history. Three wins against Texas Tech this weekend would extend the streak to 17 home wins, which would be sixth-best all time.

OU has not lost a true road game since a 7-5 setback at Cal State Fullerton on March 18, 2016, a streak of 33 consecutive road wins. The current streak is a program record with the second-best run lasting from March 18, 2002 to March 20, 2003, a total of 16 road games.

Freshman Jocelyn Alo has reached base in 17 consecutive games, which leads the team this season. Additionally, she is on a four-game hit streak. Senior Lea Wodach has reached base in six straight contests, while junior Shay Knighten is on a five-game streak.

Senior pitcher Paige Parker has earned a win in her past nine appearances, with her sole loss this season coming in a complete-game effort against Arizona on Feb. 24.

Alo Me to Introduce Myself

Freshman utility player Jocelyn Alo enters her first conference series with an impressive start under her belt due to her power at the plate. The Hauula, Hawaii, native leads OU in slugging percentage (1.000), home runs (12), and on-base percentage (.567).

Alo leads the conference in slugging percentage, home runs and homers per game. Nationally, Alo is fourth in home runs, fifth in home runs per game and sixth in slugging percentage.

Sensational Syd

Junior Sydney Romero has been exceptional at the plate this season. She is currently hitting .500 (41-for-82), one of just six players nationally to be at or above .500. She has struck out just twice in 82 at-bats, ranking second in the Big 12 and 23rd nationally as the toughest to strikeout.

Romero leads the Big 12 with 33 RBIs this season, ranked 15th in the nation. She has also scored a team-high 28 runs, and her 1.04 runs per game rank third in the conference and 30th in the nation.

With seven doubles and seven home runs, Romero has totaled 14 extra-base hits this season. Half of those (three doubles and four homers) came at the Easton Tournament on March 16-18.

Last Time Out

Last weekend, the Sooners extended their winning streak to 16 games with six victories. The team was perfect at the Easton Tournament in Fullerton, Calif., on March 16-18, as it took down CSUN, DePaul, Nebraska, No. 17 Ohio State and Cal State Fullerton. The Sooners wrapped up their trip with an extra-inning win at CSUN on March 19.

The Sooners opened the Easton Tournament with a pair of wins on Friday, defeating CSUN 7-1 before run-ruling DePaul 9-1 in five innings. Caleigh Clifton and Falepolima Aviu hit back-to-back solo homers against CSUN, marking the first time Sooners hit consecutive home runs since Nicole Mendes and Clifton did so on May 12, 2017 against Texas Tech. Against DePaul, Sydney Romero drove in four runs, including a solo homer in the first inning. Nicole Pendley also recorded a solo shot in the contest.

Romero was 2-for-3 at the plate in OU's 8-0 run-rule of Nebraska on Saturday as she and Jocelyn Alo both homered in the contest. The win came in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded, Raegan Rogers singled to left field to drive in Romero and Eliyah Flores. The hit gave Rogers the first multi-RBI game of her career.

OU opened Sunday's competitions as it shut out No. 17 Ohio State 5-0. Alo led the Sooners in the game as she went 2-for-four at the plate and drove in three runs. OU finished the tournament with a 14-3 win over host Cal State Fullerton. Romero hit two three-run home runs in the game, marking her first career game with multiple blasts and a single-game career high of 6 RBIs, while Pendley also hit a three-run shot and Alo drilled a solo homer.

Overall, Romero was exceptional at the plate for OU at the tournament. She finished the event 10-for-16 (.625), recording seven extra-base hits with three doubles and four homers. She drove in 13 runs at the event, leading the Big 12 and recording four more than the second-best athlete with an average of 2.60 RBI per game. Romero also led the conference in hits per game (2.0), runs (10), runs per game (2.0) and total bases per game (5) this week. Her total bases (25), slugging percentage (1.563) and on-base percentage (.700) at the tournament were all team highs. She was named Big 12 Player of the Week for her efforts.

The Sooners traveled to Northridge, Calif., to take on CSUN on Monday, winning 2-1 in 11 innings, OU's first extra-innings game of the season. Aviu delivered the game-winning single in the top of the 11th that scored Alo from first base. The junior's perfectly placed single split the gap in right center to put OU in front. With the win, the Sooners have now won 33 consecutive road contests, dating back to the 2016 season.

Senior Paige Parker shone in the circle on the week, improving to 14-1 on the season with a trio of wins in four appearances. She did not give up a run, either earned or unearned, over 21.2 innings pitched. She recorded 28 strikeouts for an average of 9.25 strikeouts per seven innings pitched. Overall, Parker only allowed six hits all weekend while walking just one batter. She was tabbed Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on Monday, prior pitching 7.0 innings at CSUN.

Facing Texas Tech

In all-time meetings, the Sooners hold a 53-7 record over Texas Tech, including a 22-4 mark in Norman. In 2017, OU defeated Texas Tech three times, sweeping the Red Raiders in the regular-season series and downing them in the Big 12 Tournament. The Sooners run-ruled the Red Raiders twice and shut Tech out twice last season.

Overall, Oklahoma has won 17 straight in the series, as it has not lost to TTU since a 5-4 setback on April 6, 2012, in Norman. The win streak is tied for Oklahoma's fourth longest active streak against a Division I opponent. OU has defeated Wichita State in 34 straight games, Iowa State in 30 straight, North Texas in 29 straight and Oklahoma State in 17 straight.

The Sooners claimed a 4-2 win in 2017's first contest, led at the plate by Nicole Mendes' 3-for-3 performance with a walk and two runs scored. Paige Lowary earned the win while Mariah Lopez got her second save of the season.

OU's offense exploded in the next games. In game two, Shay Knighten, Sydney Romero and Macey Hatfield all homered to lead the Sooners to a 12-0 run-rule in five innings. Paige Parker allowed just one hit over 4.2 frames.

In game three, the Sooners drilled three home runs for the second straight game. Knighten recorded the second multi-homer game of her career, going yard twice, and Nicole Pendley also drilled a homer. Throughout the three-game series, the Sooners slashed (AVG/OBP/SLG) .411/.490/.722 while holding Texas Tech to a line of .167/.231/.200 and outscoring the Red Raiders 30-5 on the weekend. OU pitchers had a 1.65 earned run average and 22 strikeouts in 17.0 innings, while TTU posted a 12.35 ERA and just three strikeouts.

The Sooners' home run hitting carried into postseason as OU recorded four homers against the Red Raiders in the Big 12 Tournament, cruising to an 8-0 win. Caleigh Clifton recorded her first career game with multiple home runs, while Mendes and Romero both homered as well in the game.

Up Next

Oklahoma goes back on the road on March 29-31 as they travel to Waco, Texas, to face Baylor, which is currently ranked No. 13/14. The Sooners and the Bears will face off on Thursday and Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT and on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. Saturday's contest is scheduled to be televised nationally on ESPN.

OU will put its 33-game road winning streak on the line in the series. In all-time meetings between the two schools, Oklahoma leads Baylor 56-13, including an 18-5 mark in Waco.