Lopez Earns Second Straight Big 12 Weekly Honor

NORMAN — For the second week in a row, Oklahoma softball junior Mariah Lopez has been named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, the conference office announced Tuesday.

This is the third career Big 12 weekly honor for Lopez.

A native of Saugus, Calif., Lopez threw her second career no-hitter on Friday against Florida Atlantic. She faced just three batters above the minimum en route to the 51st no-hitter in program history.

She struck out a career-high 13 batters against the Owls, marking the most strikeouts by a Big 12 pitcher in a single game in 2019. Entering her junior year with one career game with double-digit strikeouts, Lopez has already thrown three this year.

Additionally, Lopez has now thrown three shutouts in four starts this season.

Over the weekend, the junior allowed just two hits, both against No. 18 Kentucky. She led the Big 12 with a .045 opponent batting average.

Currently, Lopez leads all conference pitchers with a 0.27 ERA and a .048 opponent batting average during her junior campaign.

Up next, the Sooners face another stout tournament field Feb. 22-24 as they head to Palm Springs, Calif., for the annual Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. OU will face BYU, UCLA, Arizona, Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara at the event.