No. 1 OU Louisiana Bound for Two Games

¹ Oklahoma

Mississippi State

Louisiana Tech

Saturday, April 10 / 12:30 p.m./3 p.m. CT / Ruston, La.

Tickets / CUSA.TV / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

WEEKEND STORYLINES

• Following the postponement to its Big 12 series at Baylor this weekend, the No. 1 Oklahoma softball team picked up a pair of games against Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech (13-16) this Saturday, April 10, in Ruston, La.

• The Sooners will play Mississippi State at 12:30 p.m. CT Saturday before turning around to face off against Louisiana Tech on their home field at 3 p.m.

• The games will be available to watch via CUSA.tv (subscription required) and can be heard on The Franchise 2 (103.3 FM, 1560 AM) in Oklahoma and the TuneIn app nationwide with OU play-by-play announcer Chris Plank on the call.

• Limited quantity tickets are available via Louisiana Tech's ticket office (318-257-3631 or LaTechSports.com/tickets).

• OU is the only unbeaten team in the country. With a 28-0 mark in 2021 and wins in their final seven games of 2020, the Sooners hold a NCAA-best win streak of 35 games.

• Oklahoma's 28-0 start is the best unbeaten streak to start a season in program history.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS

• Mississippi State: The Bulldogs (19-15, 0-9 SEC) are coached by 2009 Oklahoma alum and All-American Samantha Ricketts. 2021 marks Ricketts second season at the helm of the program after taking the position following four seasons as an assistant coach in Starkville.

• Also on staff with the team is former 2018 OU graduate and two-time national champion Nicole Pendley. Pendley is in her second season as a graduate assistant with the Bulldogs in 2021.

• MSU is coming off a walk-off win Wednesday night over Central Arkansas, 4-3. Their weekend SEC series with Tennessee was postponed for COVID concerns within the UT program.

• The Bulldogs boast power at the plate, hitting .286 as a team with seniors Fa Leilua (12 HR, 32 RBI, .362 BA) and Mia Davidson (10 HR, 23 RBI, .330 BA) leading the charge.

• Senior Annie Willis paces the team in the circle with a 2.56 ERA and an 11-4 record. Willis has registered 95 strikeouts to 20 walks in 79.1 inning pitched in 2021.

• Last Time They Met OU: The Sooners are undefeated against the Bulldogs, boasting a 3-0 mark with the last matchup coming in Norman on March 24, 2017, a 5-3 OU victory. Oddly enough, the teams first met in Ruston, La., the site of this weekend's matchup, on April 16, 1983, with OU shutting out MSU 4-0.

• Current redshirt senior Nicole Mendes helped the Sooners to the 2017 win with a triple, one run driven in and a run scored as she batted in the leadoff spot.

• Louisiana Tech: The Lady Techsters (13-16, 3-1 CUSA) are guided by Bianca Duran in her first season as interim head coach and fifth year with the program.

• La Tech comes into the weekend off a 1-7 loss to McNeese State in Lake Charles, La., on Wednesday night and a narrow 4-6 loss to No. 17/15 LSU Tuesday evening in Baton Rouge.

• The Lady Techsters are batting .252 as a team and have four players with two home runs. Freshman infielder Caroline Easom leads the team with 14 RBIs while fellow frosh KB Briley paces the team with a .293 batting average.

• Senior Bre Hernandez (4.05 ERA) leads the pitching staff with six wins in the circle to five losses and 45 strikeouts to 37 walks. Fellow senior Audrey Pickett has four wins and leads the team with 49 strikeouts.

• Last Time They Met OU: The Sooners hold a 8-4 record over La Tech with the last meeting coming in Oklahoma City, a 5-1 OU win on March 25, 2017. Then a freshman, Nicole Mendes hit her first career home run against the Lady Techsters, finishing the game 3-for-4 with a double, home run and two runs scored.

• The teams have met just once in Ruston on April 15, 1983, a 2-1 game in La Tech's favor. Coincidentally, the same weekend that OU met Mississippi State for the first time in program history.

LAST TIME OUT

• Oklahoma swept Kansas in its second Big 12 series of the season to improve its conference series win streak to 56 straight (52-0-4 in that span). The Sooners have not lost a conference series since 2011 and have won 49 consecutive regular season Big 12 games dating back to April 23, 2017 vs. Baylor.

• Oklahoma won game won in shutout, run-rule fashion, 14-0 in five innings. OU took game two 6-2 and the finale 10-2 in five innings.

• The Sooners blasted five home runs in game one including three in the first inning. Senior captain Lynnsie Elam hit two while freshman Tiare Jennings, sophomore Kinzie Hansen and senior Jocelyn Alo all hit solo shots. Shannon Saile was magnificent in the circle, collecting her eighth win of the season in shutout fashion with eight strikeouts, no runs, two hits and one walk.

• Redshirt senior pitcher Giselle Juarez guided the Sooners to the game two win with a six-inning, nine strikeout performance that featured no walks, four hits and one run allowed. Freshman Jayda Coleman continued to impress at the dish and on the base path with a 2-for-2 day with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Fellow freshman Tiare Jennings and sophomore Mackenzie Donihoo each batted in a pair of runs.

• Junior Grace Lyons and sophomore Mackenzie Donihoo led the Sooners at the plate in a 10-2 series finale win, each ripping home runs with Lyons racking up four RBIs on the day. Redshirt senior Giselle Juarez (10-0) got the win in the circle for the second time in as many days, going three innings and allowing no runs, hits or walks and registering one strikeout. Freshman Nicole May finished the job, collecting five strikeouts and scattering four hits and giving up just one run.

• Freshman Tiare Jennings was named Big 12 Player of the Week for her performance, her third weekly conference honor of the season, the most of any Big 12 player in 2021. Jennings finished 6-for-9 (.667 BA) with one home run and three extra-base hits to go with six RBIs and 11 total bases versus Kansas.

ALL THE NUMBERS

• Oklahoma's offense leads the country in...
    • Home runs: 91 (28 better than second-place Arkansas' 63)
    • Home runs per game: 3.25 avg.
    • Batting average: .457
    • On base percentage: .533
    • Slugging percentage: .894
    • Runs: 338 (12.07 per game avg.)

• OU is outscoring opponents 338-39 on the season, scoring an average of 12.07 runs per game to opponents 1.39 clip.

• OU has scored 10-plus runs in one inning five times in 2021.
• 13 Sooners have hit a home run this season, with 10 players blasting at least two.

• OU holds three of the top four individual batting averages in the country among players who have started at least 20 games:

    • 1st - Alo: .566
    • 2nd - Jennings: .527
    • 4th - Coleman: .513

• Three of the top four home run hitters in the country reside in Norman.
    • 1st - Alo: 22
    • 3rd - Jennings: 16
    • T4th - Hansen: 15

• As a team, OU has hit at least one home run in 27 of its 28 games this season and has hit at least two in 25 of the 28 contests.

• Oklahoma has hit two-plus home runs in one inning 21 times this season, including three or more seven times and four-plus in one inning four times.

• The Sooners have hit back-to-back home runs nine times in 2021 and back-to-back-to-back blasts three times.

• Oklahoma has won by run rule in 20 of its 28 games.

• The Oklahoma defense holds third in the country with a .985 fielding percentage.

• OU's pitching staff is tied for first in the country with 14 shutouts. The staff ranks eighth with a 1.45 ERA.

• 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.

• 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.

AMAZING ALO

• Senior utility player Jocelyn Alo leads the country with 22 home runs in OU's 28 games. The Hawaii native has hit a homer in 20 of OU's 28 games, including two grand slams and two multi-HR games.

• Alo has moved up the OU record book for career home runs to second in program history with 76. The NCAA HR record holder Lauren Chamberlain ranks first in program and NCAA history with 95. Alo's 76 blasts is already good for a share of 12th all-time in NCAA history.

• The slugger tied the NCAA record for consecutive games with a home run at seven from March 7 vs. Sam Houston through OU's first matchup with Iowa State on March 26.

• Alo and Chamberlain share the OU single-season HR record at 30 home runs, Chamberlain doing so twice ('12, '13) and Alo hitting the 30 mark her freshman season in 2018.

• More of Alo's eye-popping numbers:

• First in the country with 22 home runs.

• Averaging 0.78 home runs per game and a home run ever 3.45 at-bats

• Has homered in eight of OU's last 12 games and 20 of OU's 28.

• Ranks first out of players that have played at least 20 games with a .566 batting average.

• NCAA-leading 1.513 slugging percentage.

• Last Saturday's game versus Kansas ended her 40-game hit streak dating back to Feb. 21, 2020 vs. Texas A&M. The streak goes down as the third best consecutive game hitting streak in NCAA history, falling just three games shy of the record.

• Alo recently announced she will be returning for her extra year of eligibility in 2022 as a redshirt senior.

NO LET UP IN OU LINEUP

• Along with Alo's astronomical offensive output, plenty of other Sooners are showing their power at the plate in 2021 to help OU pace the country in every major offensive category.

• Five Sooners who have registered at least 40 AB are hitting .500 or better:
    • Jocelyn Alo - .566
    • Mackenzie Donihoo - .537
    • Tiare Jennings - .527
    • Jayda Coleman - .513
    • Kinzie Hansen - .500

• A look at freshman Tiare Jennings' offensive numbers:
    • Third in the country with 16 home runs, first out of all NCAA freshmen and one of just three freshmen with 10-plus home runs.
    • Fourth in the country in hits with 48.
    • Second in the country in batting average (out of players that have played 20 or more games): .527

• A look at freshman Jayda Coleman's offensive numbers:
    • Fourth in the country in batting average (out of players that have played 20 or more games): .513
    • Fourth on the team in hits with 40
    • Career-best 14-game consecutive hit streak
    • Leads the team with 12 stolen bases, eight better than second place.

• A look at sophomore Kinzie Hansen's offensive numbers: • Tied for fourth in the country with 15 home runs.
    • Third on the team with 41 hits.
    • Tied for ninth in the country in batting average: .500
    • Has homered in 12 of OU's 28 games

• A look at junior Grace Lyons' offensive numbers:
• Tied for 20th in the country with 11 home runs
• Ranks fifth on the team in hits with 37

• A look at sophomore Mackenzie Donihoo's offensive numbers:
    • Tied for fifth on the team with five home runs
    • All five of her career home runs have come in 2021
    • Ranks second on the team in batting average out of players with at least 40 at-bats: .537
    • Has had an unparalleled turnaround in the batter's box after hitting .145 as a freshman in 2020.
    • Has stolen four bags in 2021, good for a share of second on the team

JUAREZ, SAILE LEAD SEVEN-DEEP CIRCLE

• The seven-deep Oklahoma pitching staff has put together a solid 2021 season, pitching shutouts in 15 of OU's 28 games.

• The staff has put together two combined perfect games this season plus a no-hitter. 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. Juarez, Rains and Shannon Saile combined to throw a no-hitter versus New Mexico Feb. 26, an 8-0 run-rule OU victory.

• The staff holds a 1.45 ERA and has allowed 39 runs in 28 games to go with 211 strikeouts and 77 hits allowed to 47 walks.

• Redshirt senior Shannon Saile ranks fourth in the country with a 0.41 ERA, giving up her only two earned runs of 2021 March 27 at Iowa State. Saile boasts 61 strikeouts in 34.0 innings of work to go with eight wins and two saves. Opponents are batting just .085 against the Land O'Lakes, Fla., native.

• Redshirt senior LHP Giselle Juarez paces OU with 71 strikeouts on the year in 55.0 IP to go with a team-best 10 wins.

• Freshman Nicole May has impressed in her first season of collegiate competition, striking out 49 in 35.1 innings pitched and collecting nine wins. May holds a 1.58 ERA.

• Sophomores Olivia Rains (13.2), Macy McAdoo (7.2), Alanna Thiede (8.2) and Brooke Vestal (4.2) have all seen action for the Sooners.

UNANIMOUS NO. 1

• This week (4/6) marked the fourth consecutive week that Oklahoma has been the unanimous choice for No. 1 in the country in the the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll. The team received 19 of the 20 possible first place votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 for the second straight week after being unanimous in the poll for two straight weeks.

• OU overtook the top spot in the country in both polls after their Week Three performance in Phoenix, Ariz., and have held the No. 1 ranking for six consecutive weeks since.

• The Sooners' No. 1 ranking in each poll on March 2 marked the first time since the final week of the 2019 regular season that OU has sat atop both polls.

#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.