OU Hosts UTA For Midweek Matchup

¹ Oklahoma

UT-Arlington

Wed. March 10 / Marita Hynes Field

MIDWEEK STORYLINES

• The No. 1 Oklahoma softball takes on UT-Arlington in its first midweek matchup of the season Wednesday night at Marita Hynes Field in Norman.

• The game will be available to watch on FOX Sports Oklahoma with OU play-by-play announcer Chris Plank and 2016 alum Erin Miller handling color commentary. Wednesday's action can also be heard on The Franchise 2 in Oklahoma, 1560 AM and 103.3 FM. Fans outside of Oklahoma can listen live on the TuneIn app.

• Attendance will operate at 25% capacity with 2020 season ticket holders and Sooner Club members receiving available tickets in priority order.

LAST TIME THEY MET

• UT-Arlington: The Sooners hold a narrow 23-19 advantage over UTA, including a 11-6 mark in Norman over the Mavericks. The teams have not met since May 17, 2003, a 6-2 NCAA Regional win for the Sooners in Gainesville, Fla. The teams have not met in Norman in over 25 years, dating back to a doubleheader on April 20, 1994, an OU sweep (2-0, 5-1).

BLAST OFF

• The Sooners pace the country in home runs to start the 2021 season, blasting an astronomical 61 round-trippers in 17 games that puts them in first by 17 home runs over Arkansas' 45. OU's 3.59 home run average per game also leads the NCAA DI along with its .479 team batting average.

• OU is averaging nearly 13 runs per game and is outscoring opponents 217-18 on the season.

• Oklahoma holds the top two run single-game run totals of 2021 with 33 in its victory over New Mexico Feb. 27 and 29 in its season opener over UTEP.

• Senior utility player Jocelyn Alo leads the country with 13 home runs in OU's 17 games and paces the NCAA with 39 RBIs. The Hawaii native has hit a homer in 13 of OU's 17 games, including two grand slams.

• Alo continues to move up the program record book for career home runs. She blasted three home runs last weekend at the Courtyard Marriott Tournament in Norman to bring her career mark to 67, moving past 2015 grad Shelby Pendley's 65 HRs. The NCAA HR record holder Lauren Chamberlain ranks first in program and NCAA history with 95.

• Twelve Sooners have hit a home run already this season, with eight players blasting at least two. Junior Lynnsie Elam and freshmen Paige Knight and Zaida Puni launched their first HRs of 2021 last weekend. It marked the first career round-trippers for Knight and Puni.

• Three Sooners (Alo, Jennings, Hansen) rank in the top-10 in the NCAA for home runs on the 2021 season. Alo paces the team and nation with 13, while Jennings holds a tie for second with 11 and Hansen holds a tie for ninth with nine. Jennings ranks second in the country in RBIs with 32, only behind Alo's 39.

• Oklahoma has won by run rule in 13 of its 17 games.

• Oklahoma set an NCAA single-game home run record with 13 in the season opener versus UTEP, a 29-0 (5 inn.) run-rule victory. The team tied the NCAA record for homers in an inning with five in the first and fifth innings of the game.

• Freshman Tiare Jennings and junior Grace Lyons tied the school record for home runs in a game with three a piece against the Miners in the season opener.

• Oklahoma registered a program-best 28 hits in its 33-4 victory over New Mexico on Feb. 27 in Phoenix.

SEVEN DEEP IN THE CIRCLE

• Not to be outshined by OU's hitters, the seven-deep Oklahoma pitching staff has put together a solid start to the season.

• The staff has put together two combined perfect games this season. Redshirt senior Giselle Juarez, redshirt sophomore Brooke Vestal and freshman Nicole May pitched a perfect game vs. Portland State (2/28). Three OU pitchers, Vestal, freshman Alanna Thiede and sophomore Olivia Rains, combined for OU's second perfect game of the season vs. Sam Houston, March 7.

• The staff holds a 1.18 ERA and has allowed 18 runs in 17 games to start 2021 to go with 130 strikeouts and 41 hits allowed.

• Redshirt senior LHP Giselle Juarez paces OU with 41 strikeouts on the year in 27.0 IP to go with six wins, including a dominant performance in OU's top-25 matchup with Missouri last weekend, striking out 11 in her first complete-game performance of the season.

• Redshirt senior Shannon Saile boasts 35 strikeouts in 21.0 innings of work to go with five wins and two saves. Opponents are batting just .079 against Saile and the Land O'Lakes, Fla., native holds a 0.00 ERA, allowing zero runs in her eight appearances on the season.

• Freshman Nicole May has impressed in her first season of collegiate competition, striking out 30 in 22.1 innings pitched and collecting five wins. May holds a 1.57 ERA.

• Sophomores Olivia Rains (10.0), Macy McAdoo (5.1), Alanna Thiede (4.2) and Brooke Vestal (4.2) have all seen action for the Sooners.

JENNINGS, SAILE EARN BIG 12 WEEKLY HONORS

• Two Oklahoma softball student-athletes collected Big 12 weekly honors for their performances over the weekend at the Courtyard Marriott Tournament, the conference announced Tuesday.

• Freshman Tiare Jennings claimed Player of the Week honors while redshirt senior Shannon Saile took Co-Pitcher of the Week accolades.

• Jennings continued her impressive start to her first-year campaign with the Sooners. The San Pedro, Calif., native finished 11-for-17 in the box for a .647 batting average and hit four home runs with 10 RBIs and 23 total bases.

• Jennings went 3-for-4 with two home runs in the series finale win over No. 18/17 Missouri. Additionally, the frosh did not register a strikeout all weekend and was perfect in the field (1.000), making appearances at second base, shortstop and third base, collecting seven assists and a pair of putouts.

• The honor marks Jennings' second Big 12 weekly accolade of the season after claiming the initial conference player of the week award following her 12-for-13, five home runs and 12 RBIs opening weekend at the Miner Invitational.

• Saile yet again didn't allow a run in her two appearances this weekend, and has not given up a single run all season for a 0.00 ERA. She struck out 12 in two starts, collecting wins versus Louisiana Monroe and No. 18/17 Missouri, allowing three hits.

• In OU's finale with Missouri, Saile struck out eight and allowed zero runs on just two hits and one walk, leading OU to a 11-0 run-rule, shutout victory. On the weekend, opponents batted .120 against the Land O'Lakes, Fla., native.

HOLDING DOWN THE TOP SPOT

• OU overtook the top spot in the country in both the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 after their Week Three performance in Phoenix, Ariz., and have held on to the top ranking for two consecutive weeks.

• The Sooners' No. 1 ranking in both polls marked the first time since the final week of the regular season in 2019 that OU has sat atop both polls.

• The Sooners entered the season No. 4 in the preseason polls.

• OU's No. 4 spot in the NFCA preseason poll marked the 11th straight year the Sooners have started in the NFCA's top 10, good for the nation's longest active streak. OU has been ranked in the top five eight of the past nine years, the most over that stretch.

• Overall, the Sooners rank third with 21 top-10 appearances in the NFCA preseason poll, trailing only Arizona (23) and UCLA (22).

• Oklahoma, Michigan, UCLA and Washington are the only programs to be ranked in every NFCA preseason poll, which dates back to 1995. OU also extended its streak of being ranked every week in the 27-year existence of the NFCA's poll.

• In the 2021 NFCA Preseason Poll, OU received 708 total points to rank No. 4 behind unanimous No. 1 UCLA (800), Washington (748) and Arizona (717). LSU (644) rounds out the top five, while Big 12 foe Texas (611) holds the No. 6 spot. Two other Big 12 schools make top 25 appearances with Oklahoma State (No. 11) and Baylor (No. 22).

• The Sooners received 420 points to also hold the No. 4 spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, UCLA took first at 492 with 19 of the 20 possible first-place votes, while Washington was second at 466 with the other first-place nod. Arizona (440) holds third and LSU (412) rounds out the top five.

• This marks the 14th straight season and 17th in the 19-year history of the ESPN.com/USA Today poll that Oklahoma is ranked in the preseason top 10.

HALL OF FAME CLASSIC TICKETS ON SALE

• Up next, the Sooners make the short trip up to Oklahoma City for three games at the newly-renovated USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. The Sooners will play Houston, Liberty, and UMKC in the inaugural Hall of Fame Classic, March 12-13.

• Tickets are on sale now and will be limited due to COVID-19 precautions. Tickets are available by session (Friday and Saturday) and can be found here or by visiting SoonerSports.com/tickets.

#LAUNCHPAD

• The Sooner Club recently launched a fun, new and creative way to support OU student-athletes and the OU Softball and Baseball stadium projects by offering fans the opportunity to join the #LaunchPad. The #LaunchPad is all about #homers. Pledge to donate your own customized dollar amount for every #homer that OU Softball and/or OU Baseball hit in 2021!

• All donations are 100% tax deductible and will be directed to help fund the facility project of your choice - the new OU Softball Stadium Project and/or the OU Baseball Stadium Renovation Project.

• How It Works: Donate an amount to be charged per home run for softball and/or baseball for the 2021 season.

• Include if you'd like to make a gift for every home run hit in the 2021 season or start your pledge as of today.

• Watch the Sooners and cheer us on to victory while supporting future OU facility projects for baseball and softball.

• #Homers hit prior to your gift date will be included in your pledge. Monthly updates on the Pledge Per Home Run Campaign and other important Sooner Club information will be shared throughout the season.

• All donations from the Pledge Per Home Run Campaign will be treated as charitable donations supporting either the OU Softball Stadium Project or the OU Baseball Stadium Renovation Project and are tax-deductible.

• Payment Dates: Each month, we will charge your card on the first business day of the proceeding month for the amount you have elected to pledge per home run multiplied by the number of home runs in that month. (Monthly Payment Dates: Thursday, April 1, 2021; Monday, May 3, 2021; Tuesday, June 1, 2021; Thursday, July 1, 2021)

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

MIDWEEK STORYLINES

LAST TIME THEY MET

BLAST OFF

SEVEN DEEP IN THE CIRCLE

JENNINGS, SAILE EARN BIG 12 WEEKLY HONORS

HOLDING DOWN THE TOP SPOT

HALL OF FAME CLASSIC TICKETS ON SALE

#LAUNCHPAD

Players Mentioned

Jocelyn Alo

Lynnsie Elam

Tiare Jennings

Giselle Juarez

Paige Knight

Grace Lyons

Nicole May

Macy McAdoo

Zaida Puni

Olivia Rains

Shannon Saile

Alanna Thiede

Brooke Vestal

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics