No. 1 OU Completes Sweep of Texas

Sunday, April 18

Norman

4 PM

University of Oklahoma

33-0, 0

Texas

31-6, 0

Texas

Oklahoma

April 18, 2021 | Softball

Box Score Box Score: OU 9, UT 0 (5)Highlights #LaunchPad Photo Gallery

By: Patrick Dunn

NORMAN — The No. 1 Oklahoma softball team (33-0, 9-0) completed the series sweep over No. 7/8 Texas (31-6, 6-3) with a 9-0 run-rule victory in five innings Sunday. The Sooners won every game of the series by run rule, beating UT 11-1 (5) Friday and 10-2 (5) Saturday.

Freshmen Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman, along with seniors Lynnsie Elam and Jana Johns all went yard in Sunday's finale to bring OU's season home run total to 102.

Freshman right-handed pitcher Nicole May collected her 11th win in the circle, pitching 4.1 shutout innings to go with no runs, one walk and four strikeouts. The frosh scattered six UT hits on the day but battled to leave the bases loaded twice in the game (second and third innings).

After May put the Horns down in order to start the game, OU went scoreless in the first inning for the first time of the series after registering a combined nine first-inning runs in Friday and Saturday's matchups.

Senior Taylon Snow opened the scoring in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice-fly RBI to left field to plate Coleman. Johns ripped her seventh homer of 2021 in the frame, blasting a two-run shot to deep center.

Coleman took her turn going deep in the third, hitting her sixth and OU's then-100th home run of the season on a three-run shot to left center. Elam made it back-to-back blasts in the next at-bat, ripping a solo homer to left.

In the top of the fourth, Coleman showed her defensive prowess with a throwout from center field after UT's McKenzie Parker hit a ball off the wall and tried to stretch the hit for two.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jennings brought the game into mercy-rule territory with her 20th home run of her freshman season. The two-run round-tripper was her third of the weekend, hitting homers in every game of the series.

Coleman led OU at the plate, finishing a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Senior Jocelyn Alo continued her tear in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with one run scored while Jennings finished 1-for-3 with two runs batted in.

Sophomore LHP Alanna Thiede closed for the Sooners in the circle, quickly retiring the two batters she faced in the fifth to finish the game.

Oklahoma outscored Texas 30-3 in the series and outhit the Horns 32-12 while OU's pitching staff struck out 15 to UT's three. OU's batters did not register a strikeout in the box in Sunday's finale.

The top-ranked Sooners make a quick turnaround to play a doubleheader in Athens, Ga., Tuesday April 20 at No. 20 Georgia. The games will be available to watch on SEC Network+ and can be heard on The Franchise 2 (103.3 FM, 1560 AM) in Oklahoma and nationwide on the TuneIn app.

NOTES & NUMBERS

• Oklahoma has beat teams by run rule in 25 of its 33 games.

• The OU pitching staff has tossed 17 shutouts on the season and has not allowed more than seven hits to an opponent in a single game this season.

• Freshman Tiare Jennings homered in every game of her first OU-Texas series while senior captain Lynnsie Elam hit a long ball in two of the three contests.

• Jennings has hit 20 home runs on the season and homered in four of OU's last five games.

• The Sooners eclipsed the century mark for home runs on the season with four blasts Sunday, bringing their NCAA-leading total to 102.

• Six different Sooners combined to hit nine home runs in the series (Jennings [3], Elam [2], Alo, Coleman, Donihoo, Johns). 13 Sooners have hit a home run this season, with 10 players blasting at least two.

• Oklahoma has hit back-to-back home runs 11 times in 2021 and two-plus home runs in one inning 23 times on the year.

• Freshman Jayda Coleman extended her team-best consecutive game hit streak to 19 games with her perfect performance at the plate Sunday.

• Senior Jocelyn Alo has successfully reached base in 45 of OU's last 46 games dating back to 2020.

• OU is outscoring opponents 387-42 on the season and outhitting teams 403-91.

• Oklahoma improves its NCAA-best win streak to 40 games dating back to 2020 and is just one game shy of tying the program record (41, 2019) and seven games short of the NCAA Division I record (47, Arizona 1996-97).

• With the win, OU has defeated Texas 21 consecutive times and swept the Longhorns in six straight Big 12 conference series. Texas has not beat OU since 2014.

• Oklahoma has won 52 consecutive Big 12 regular season games and 57 straight Big 12 conference series (53-0-4 in the span). OU has not lost a conference series since 2011.

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