Sooners Sweep Saturday Action

Saturday, March 9

Norman

1:00 PM

University of Oklahoma

Drake

March 09, 2019 | Softball

By: Athletics Communications

^RV/NRDrake

^3/3Oklahoma

Box Score

Highlights

Photos

GCU

^3/3Oklahoma

Box Score

Highlights

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
DU	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	5	2
OU	0	3	0	0	2	0	X	5	8	0

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Juarez (8-0)	5.0	4	2	2	3	10
L - Timmons (7-6)	6.0	8	5	3	2	1
S - Saile (2)	2.0	1	0	0	1	4

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
DU - Frank	3	0	1	2	0	0
OU - Romero	4	1	1	1	0	0

NORMAN – The No. 3/3 Oklahoma softball team extended its home winning streak to 40 games with a pair of wins on Saturday, taking down Drake 5-2 before shutting out Grand Canyon 1-0.

Overall, 40 straight home wins ranks second in program history. The Sooners improved to 19-2 on the season with the victories, and their shutout against GCU marked their ninth of the season.

In game one, junior pitchers Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile combined to strikeout 14 batters, the second-highest total by the Sooner pitching staff this season.

Juarez fanned 10 batters, good for her third showing with double-digit strikeouts as a Sooner and the 18th of her career. Overall, Juarez surrendered two runs on four hits while walking three over 5.0 innings on Saturday afternoon.

Saile earned her second save of the season, scattering one hit and striking out four over the final 2.0 innings.

OU out-hit the Bulldogs (12-11) 8-5 on Saturday as eight different Sooners registered a hit, including a pair of doubles from Sydney Romero and Falepolima Aviu.

Aviu's double led off the second before Grace Green singled up the middle. An error by Drake's catcher then gave Aviu space to reach home and put the Sooners on the board.

With runners on the corners, Lynnsie Elam laid down a squeeze bunt that brought Green home. Another throwing error by the defense plated Grace Lyons and gave the Sooners a three run-lead.

Drake cut into that advantage in the next half inning. With the bases loaded, Kennedy Frank singled to right to score a pair.

In the bottom of the fifth, Sooner seniors delivered two insurance runs. After Raegan Rogers led off the inning with a single, Romero doubled down the left-field line to bring Rogers around.

Shay Knighten then singled up the middle to drive in Romero from second.

Inning-by-Inning
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
GCU	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
OU	0	1	0	0	0	0	X	1	4	0

Pitching
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
W - Lopez (8-1)	5.1	2	0	0	2	8
L - Aguilar (2-3)	6.0	4	1	1	0	3
S - Saile (3)	1.2	0	0	0	0	4

Individual Leaders
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	HR
GCU - Smith	3	0	1	0	0	0
OU - Aviu	2	1	1	1	0	1

Aviu hit a solo home run in the nightcap that proved the difference maker in OU's victory. She led off the bottom of the second with a shot to left field, good for her third of the season and the 21st of her career.

The Sooners were led by the pitching performances of Mariah Lopez and Saile. Lopez improved to 8-1 on the season, allowing just two hits over 5.1 innings while striking out eight and walking two.

Saile claimed her second save of the day and third overall this year. She entered the game with one out in the top of the sixth, striking out both batters she faced. She then fanned the first two Lopes in the top of the seventh before forcing a flyout to seal the win.

Overall, the Sooners out-hit the Lopes (12-13) by a 4-2 clip. In addition to Aviu's home run, Jocelyn Alo also tallied an extra-base hit with a double.

"It was a tight ballgame," OU head coach Patty Gasso said of her team's win against GCU. "Grand Canyon played really well tonight. Their pitcher was really, really good... Usually our hitters are the ones that win ballgames for us, or a combination, but tonight was the pitchers' night and Fale's night.

"A team that knows how to win close games is a team that will win a lot of games," she continued. "We weren't at our best, but a win is important right now."

The Sooners close out the weekend with a 1 p.m. contest against Northwestern on Sunday. The matchup marks the end of a seven-game homestand for the Sooners, the longest of OU's season.