In-State Rivals Meet Wednesday in Norman

March 27 | 6 PM CT | Norman | Marita Hynes Field

Tulsa

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NORMAN — The No. 2/2 Oklahoma softball team returns to Marita Hynes Field on Wednesday, taking on in-state rival Tulsa in a midweek matchup at 6 p.m. CT.

OU Softball is partnering with OU Athletics' Student Athlete Innovative Leaders (SAIL) to host a Mental Health Game on Wednesday, part of a SAIL initiative to increase conversation and awareness around the importance of student-athlete mental health. The Sooners will wear green during their competition to create awareness and represent their support of breaking the stigma associated with reaching out to others for mental health support.

Wednesday's game will be aired on Fox Sports Oklahoma Plus and can be heard on the air via KEBC 1560 AM in Norman or online through the Franchise 2.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

FAN INFORMATION

Tickets for the remainder of the 2019 OU softball home season are sold out.

There will be bright green wristbands for the first 1,000 fans for OU's Mental Health Game. Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear green as well.

OU Athletics introduced a clear bag policy and walk-through metal detectors at all home events this season. More information can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT

Winners of the last seven Big 12 regular season titles, OU began its hunt for eight straight with a three-game sweep at No. 14/12 Texas Tech. With the wins, the Sooners set a program record for consecutive conference wins with 28 in a row.

The Sooners opened the series with a 5-1 win on Friday afternoon. With a 1-1 tie and two outs in the top of the third, Nicole Mendes drilled her first triple of the season to score a pair and put OU on top. Falepolima Aviu hit a two-run homer in the top of the fourth to seal the win.

Oklahoma claimed the series win behind an 8-3 victory on Saturday. Shannon Saile earned the win, allowing no runs and striking out nine in a season-high 5.1 innings in relief. Offensively, the Sooners registered four home runs as Grace Green crushed two and Mendes and Sydney Romero each hit one.

OU earned the sweep in run-rule fashion, earning a 13-1 victory in six innings on Sunday. Once again, four Sooners hit home runs, including Green's first career grand slam and blasts from Romero, Shay Knighten and Jocelyn Alo. Giselle Juarez remained undefeated in the circle, improving to 13-0 on the year.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME

After opening its home slate 8-0, Oklahoma is currently on a 42-game home winning streak, good for its second-best streak in program history. The longest is 45 games, held from April 14, 2000 to March 29, 2002. OU last lost at home on April 23, 2017.

The Sooners opened their home campaign with a pair of ranked wins at the Courtyard Marriott Tournament on March 1 before defeating McNeese 6-1 in an afternoon matchup on March 5 in their first midweek game. OU rounded out its longest homestand of the season (seven games) with four wins at its second home tournament March 8-10. Most recently, Oklahoma no-hit North Texas in an 8-0, five-inning win.

In 2018, the Sooners went 30-0 at Marita Hynes Field, including a 25-0 mark in the regular season. It marked the second perfect home record in school annals, also occurring in 2001 (18-0). Additionally, 30 home wins were the second-most in OU history behind the 2014 team's 32.

GREEN NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Freshman utility player Grace Green was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Tuesday. The honor is the first of Green's career and marks the eighth Big 12 weekly honor earned by a Sooner this season.

Last week, Green led the Big 12 in batting average (.667), slugging percentage (1.500), runs scored (7), RBIs (9) and total bases (18). She also ranked second among league players in hits (8), home runs (3) and on-base precentage (.667), leading Oklahoma in each of those categories.

A native of Oakdale, Calif., Green recorded her first career game with multiple home runs, crushing two against No. 14/12 Texas Tech on Saturday. She also doubled on Saturday to finish with 10 total bases, matching the most by a Big 12 player in a single game this season.

Green's three hits matched a single-game career high for the freshman. Overall, she had multiple hits in three of four games this week and extended her career-long hitting streak to seven straight games.

On Sunday, Green crushed her first career grand slam for her third homer of the weekend. She set a career high with five RBIs in the weekend finale, shattering her previous best of two. Green also had multiple RBIs in three of four games last week.

Behind Green's performance, OU led the Big 12 in batting average (.390), on-base percentage (.493) and slugging percentage (.781) last week.

FACING TULSA

Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Tulsa 44-10, including a 25-4 mark in Norman. The two teams met twice last year, once in Tulsa and once in Norman, with OU winning both.

Jocelyn Alo's third-inning solo homer proved the difference maker in the regular season matchup as the Sooners claimed a 1-0 victory in Tulsa. Mariah Lopez and Paige Lowary combined on a three-hit shutout, totaling eight strikeouts.

The two teams met again in the postseason at the NCAA Norman Regional in May. Lowary tossed a one-hit shutout as the Sooners claimed an 8-0 run-rule win in six innings. Alo, Falepolima Aviu and Nicole Pendley all homered, accounting for OU's first four runs.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma continues a brief break from conference play as it heads to Salt Lake City for two games at Utah March 30-31.

In-State Rivals Meet Wednesday in Norman