Opening Day at Marita Hynes Friday

^5/5 Oklahoma

Courtyard Marriott Tournament

Friday, Feb. 28-Sunday March 1 / vs. Northwestern, Abilene Christian, North Texas / Norman, Okla.

SoonerSports.tv / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

Courtyard Marriott Tournament
Day	Opponent	Time (CT)
Friday	Northwestern	3 p.m.
Friday	Abilene Christian	5:30 p.m.
Saturday	North Texas	12:30 p.m.
Saturday	TBD	3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.
Sunday	TBD	9:30 a.m. or 12 p.m.

NORMAN — The No. 5/5 Oklahoma softball team opens its home slate with the Courtyard Marriott Tournament, Fri. Feb. 28-Sun. March 1, welcoming in Northwestern, North Texas and Abilene Christian for the round-robin bracketed tournament.

The Sooners are slated to take on Northwestern (3 p.m. CT) and ACU (5:30 p.m.) on Friday and North Texas (12:30 p.m.) on Saturday before seeded play begins with games at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. and noon on Sunday.

WEEKEND STORYLINES

• OU hosts the Courtyard Marriott Tournament for the sixth time in the past seven seasons this weekend. The Sooners are undefeated in the tourney since its founding in 2014, compiling a 18-0 record. In 2019, OU defeated No. 25/23 Oregon State (3-0) and No. 11/11 Louisiana (9-1 [5 inn.]) in an abbreviated version of the tournament due to inclement weather.

FOR THE FANS

• Promotions for this weekend's home-opening slate include free posters on Friday for OU's two games and free OU "4" pens on Sunday, representing Oklahoma's four national championships.

• Tickets are still available and can be purchased online or by phone at (800) 456-GoOU.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Sooners made their annual voyage to Palm Springs, Calif., last weekend to compete in the renowned Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic for the 15th consecutive year.

• OU went 3-2 on the weekend, with wins over old Big 12 foes Nebraska (10-2 [5 inn.]) and Texas A&M (2-1) and a Saturday victory over Seattle University (2-1). Oklahoma dropped their second and third games of the season to No. 2/2 Washington (12-2) and Wisconsin (3-2). The Badgers are receiving votes in both the NFCA and USA Softball polls.

• A trio of Sooners led OU at the plate. Junior Jocelyn Alo went 7-for-16, batted in two runs and blasted one home run, freshman Kinzie Hansen continued the hot start to her career with an 8-for-14 performance that included two RBIs. Sophomore Grace Lyons got her bat going on the season, finishing the MNCC weekend 6-for-13 with five RBIs and one homer.

NEWCOMERS STEPPING UP

• Oklahoma's newcomers have quickly become one of the top storylines for the 2020 Sooners. OU has started eight fresh faces across the lineup in the early part of the season.

• Freshman Kinzie Hansen out of Norco, Calif., has shown power at the plate early for OU. Out of Sooners that have played at least five games, Hansen ranks first on the team in batting average (.447), hits (21) and RBIs (16) and boasts a .596 slugging percentage and .481 on-base clip.

• In the circle, three freshmen have started games for the Sooners: redshirt frosh Brooke Vestal and true freshmen Macy McAdoo and Olivia Rains. McAdoo leads all OU pitchers with four wins and holds second in opposing batting avg (.164). Another true freshman, Allana Thiede, out of Carlsbad, Calif., has made three appearances, striking out two in 3.0 innings pitched.

• Junior transfer Taylon Snow has made an impact at second base in her first season as a Sooner. Snow is batting .351 on the year in the leadoff spot and has contributed in the field with 13 putouts and 16 assists in 11 starts. The Auburn transfer hit her second career home run in OU's win over Bryant on Feb. 14.

ONE, TWO, THREE

• Batting in the leadoff, two and three spots for 13 of OU's 14 games are juniors Taylon Snow and Jocelyn Alo and freshman Kinzie Hansen, respectively. The three lead OU in batting average and on-base percentage, with Hansen batting .447, Alo at .381 and Snow at .351. Alo leads in OB % at a .490 clip, while Hansen and Snow hold respective marks of .481 and .429.

• The three have combined for 33 RBIs, seven extra-base hits and seven home runs. Alo and Hansen lead the Sooners in total bases with 32 and 28, respectively.

LAST TIME THEY MET

• Northwestern: Oklahoma leads the all-time series with the Wildcats, 16-2, including a 3-0 mark in Norman. The schools last met in the NCAA Super Regionals last season with the Sooners sweeping NU in two games (3-0, 8-0) to advance to their 13th Women's College World Series.

• North Texas: The Sooners have never lost to the Mean Green, holding a 30-0 all-time mark against UNT. The two programs faced off last season on March 20 in Norman, an 8-0 Sooner victory in five innings.

• Abilene Christian: OU holds the all-time series lead over ACU, 2-0, with both wins coming in 2018 at the Courtyard Marriott Tournament in Norman. The Sooners beat the Wildcats 8-0 in five innings and 8-1.

UP NEXT

The Sooners continue their 2020 home slate with their first mid-week matchup of the season vs. Wichita State on Wednesday, March 4 at 6 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online or by phone at (800) 456-GoOU.

For updates and more information on Oklahoma softball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Softball) and like Oklahoma Softball on Facebook.