Big 12 Championship Begins Friday in OKC

Friday, May 14

Oklahoma City, Okla.

2 PM

University of Oklahoma

Baylor

Tickets

Big 12 Championship Begins Friday in OKC

May 13, 2021 | Softball

Big 12 Championship Tickets Championship Central Watch Listen Live Stats Game Notes

¹ Oklahoma

Big 12 Championship

May 14-15 / Hall of Fame Stadium / Oklahoma City, Okla.

Big 12 NOW on ESPN+/ESPN2 / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

WEEKEND STORYLINES

• No. 1 Oklahoma opens postseason play this weekend at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship, May 14-15, in Oklahoma City.

• The top-seeded Sooners start pool play Friday with fourth-seeded Baylor at 2 p.m. CT before a 7:30 p.m. matchup with six seed Texas Tech. The winners of each pool will face off in the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m.

• OU's first two games of the weekend will be shown on Big 12 NOW on ESPN+ while the conference championship game will air on ESPN2. All the action can be heard on The Franchise 2 (103.3 FM, 1560 AM) in Oklahoma and nationwide on the TuneIn app.

• The Sooners are aiming to sweep Big 12 titles for the fourth straight season. OU finished the 2021 regular season 16-1 to claim its ninth consecutive regular season crown.

• A limited amount of tickets are still available for the championship via Big12Sports.com

LAST TIME OUT

• Oklahoma collected its ninth straight regular season conference crown with a series victory over No. 7/9 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

• After dropping game one to OSU, the Cowgirls first win over the Sooners since 2011, OU bounced back with two victories Saturday and Sunday to win the conference title and secure the No. 1 seed in this weekend's Big 12 Championship.

• Jayda Coleman hit Oklahoma's program-record 116th home run of the season in game one, before OU hit four more homers throughout the weekend to bring its season total to 120.

• Freshmen Jayda Coleman and Nicole May played like veterans to help guide OU to its 19th overall conference title.

• May got the game three win in the circle after entering in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded and collecting the third out via strikeout to leave the runners stranded. May finished with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing three hits and just one run to go with four strikeouts and zero walks. She retired 13 of the 16 batters she faced in game three

• May concluded her first Bedlam series with one win, one save and six strikeouts, allowing OSU to hit just .133 off her.

• Coleman batted in three runs in Sunday's finale to go with one hit by pitch. The freshman finished the weekend batting .625 with six RBIs, one home run, one double and nine putouts from centerfield.

• The third member of OU's freshman trio, Tiare Jennings, hit her 23rd home run of her first-year campaign on a solo shot in the fourth inning Sunday to go with two RBIs on the day.

CONFERENCE DOMINANCE

• The top-ranked Sooners finished the Big 12 regular season 16-1. OU swept Iowa State (March 26-28) in Ames while sweeping Kansas (April 1-3), No. 7/8 Texas (April 16-18) and Texas Tech (April 24-25) in Norman and topping Baylor in two (April 27).

• Oklahoma State gave OU it's first conference loss since April 23, 2017, last Friday. It snapped OU's streak of 57 consecutive Big 12 regular season games. The streak was the longest in conference and program history.

• OU remains undefeated in their last 60 conference series (56-0-4 in that span) and have not lost a conference series since 2011.

• OU has finished first in the Big 12 over the past nine seasons with a combined record of 144-14. Prior to OU's current run of nine straight regular season titles, no team had ever won more than two consecutive.

• Overall, the Sooners have 19 Big 12 titles with 13 regular season crowns and six Big 12 tournament championships, all under head coach Patty Gasso.

• OU claimed the last completed tournament championship in 2018 for the second year in a row (tournament was not finished in 2019 due to inclement weather).

A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE FOES

• Two-seed Oklahoma State comes in to the championship after dropping its regular season series finale to OU. The Cowgirls are 40-8 overall and 15-3 in conference play.

• Three-seed Texas enters this weekend 38-9 overall and 12-6 in conference play. Most recently, the Longhorns swept Baylor.

• Four-seed Baylor is 27-18 on the year and 8-9 in the Big 12. Baylor comes to the tourney after getting swept by Texas.

• Fifth-seeded Iowa State comes to OKC 31-19 and 6-12 in conference. The Cyclones swept Kansas, May 7-9, in Lawrence.

• Six-seed Texas Tech is 19-25 overall and 3-15 in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders were off the final weekend of the regular season, most recently taking one of three games from Iowa State in Lubbock.

RECORD BREAKERS

• The Sooners broke the program record for home runs in a season last weekend in Stillwater, launching four more to bring the season total to 120, passing the 2019 team's 115. The 2021 squad hit the program mark in 23 less games.

• The 2021 Oklahoma Softball team has set the program record for most run-rule victories in a season with 30, surpassing the 2019 and 2013 teams' 25.

• The 2021 team currently holds the single-season program record for runs scored (498) batting average (.420), on-base percentage (.507) and slugging (.799).

• Senior Jocelyn Alo (80 career HRs) is 15 homers shy of the program and NCAA record 95 that 2015 OU grad Lauren Chamberlain hit throughout her career.

• Alo (26 HRs) and freshman Tiare Jennings (23) are quickly approaching the single-season program record for home runs (30) set in 2018 by Alo herself and 2012 and 2013 by Lauren Chamberlain.

• Freshman Tiare Jennings is seven home runs short of tying and eight away from breaking the NCAA freshman single-season home run record of 30, hit in 2012 by Chamberlain and 2018 by Alo.

• 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.

• The fourth inning of OU's game three vs. Texas Tech (4/25) marked the most runs scored in an inning in program history and tied for the second most in NCAA history, second only to College of Charleston's 29 on Feb. 11, 2004 (2nd inn.) vs. Savannah State and sharing the mark with Canisius' 18 mark on May 1, 1985 (2nd inn.) vs. Roberts Wesleyan.

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

• 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.

ALL THE NUMBERS

• Oklahoma's offense leads the country in every major offensive category:
    • Home runs: 120 (29 better than 2nd-place Arizona State's 91)
    • Home runs per game: 2.73 avg.
    • Batting average: .420
    • On base percentage: .507
    • Slugging percentage: .799
    • Runs: 498 (11.32 per game avg.)

• OU is outscoring opponents 498-74 on the season, scoring an average of 11.32 runs per game to opponents 1.68 clip.

• Oklahoma has won by run rule in 30 of its 44 games.

• OU has scored 10-plus runs in one inning six times in 2021.

• 13 Sooners have hit a home run this season, with 11 players blasting at least two.

• The Sooners hold three of the top six individual batting averages in the country out of players with at least 100 AB:
    • 2nd - Jayda Coleman - .500
    • 4th - Jocelyn Alo - .481
    • 6th - Tiare Jennings - .468

• Two of the top three home run hitters in the country reside in Norman, including the nation's leader.
• 1st - Alo: 26
• 3rd - Jennings: 23

• As a team, OU has hit at least one home run in 41 of its 44 games this season and has hit at least two in 35 of the 44 contests.

• Oklahoma has hit two-plus home runs in one inning 26 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 12 times in 2021 and back-to-back-to-back blasts three times.

• The Oklahoma defense holds first in the country out of teams that have played at least five games with a .987 fielding percentage and has committed just 13 errors on the season.

• OU's pitching staff leads the country with 21 shutouts. The staff ranks 11th with a 1.75 ERA.

ALO, JENNINGS TOP-10 FINALISTS FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Oklahoma senior utility player Jocelyn Alo and freshman infielder Tiare Jennings have been named two of the 10 finalists for the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, USA Softball announced May 4.

• No. 1 Oklahoma is one of three programs to have multiple top-10 finalists for the award, considered the most prestigious honor in NCAA Division I softball.

• Alo has paced the potent Oklahoma offense in 2021, holding the nation's lead in home runs (26) and slugging percentage (1.147) and ranks second in RBIs (71) and seventh in batting average (.481). In league play, Alo is batting .500 with seven home runs, 22 RBIs and a 1.042 slugging clip.

• The senior slugger has homered in 24 of OU's 44 games, including two grand slams and two multi-home run games. She has successfully reached base in 56 of OU's last 57 games, including going on a program record 40-game consecutive hit streak from Feb. 21, 2020 vs. Texas A&M to April 3, 2021 vs. Kansas.

• Additionally, Alo 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, March 26. The Hauula, Hawaii, native has 80 career homers, just 15 shy of the OU and NCAA career record for home runs, set by 2015 OU grad Lauren Chamberlain.

• Jennings has had one of the more impressive starts for a freshman in program and NCAA history in 2021. The San Pedro, Calif., native is one of two freshmen on the top-10 list.

• Jennings has blasted 23 home runs, good for third in the country, batted in a nation-leading 72 runs and ranks 10th with a .468 batting average. In the Big 12, Jennings ranks first in RBIs, runs scored (60) and shares the lead with 14 doubles. She's second in the country and conference to teammate Alo with a 1.057 slugging percentage. In the field, Jennings has started every game of her rookie campaign at second or third base and registered 44 putouts and 35 assists to two errors for a .975 fielding percentage.

• Jennings has homered in 19 of OU's 44 games and hit multiple home runs in a game three times, beginning with the season opener at UTEP where she tied a single-game program record with three home runs in her first collegiate game.

• The Top 10 will be narrowed down to three finalists (announced May 19) before the winner is announced June 1 prior to the start of the NCAA Women's College World Series.

• Oklahoma alumna Keilani Ricketts was a two-time recipient of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award in 2012 and 2013. Most recently, 2019 graduate Sydney Romero was a top-three finalist in 2019 and current redshirt senior Giselle Juarez was a top-10 finalist the same season.

SOONERS DOMINATE BIG 12 AWARDS

• Oklahoma Softball collected four of the five individual awards from the Big 12 conference and placed all eight nominees on all-conference teams with an additional three named to the freshman team. The league announced the honors Wednesday.

• Jocelyn Alo was named Big 12 Player of the Year, Grace Lyons earned Defensive Player of the Year, Tiare Jennings garnered Freshman of the Year and head coach Patty Gasso was voted Coach of the Year. The honorees were selected by a vote of the conference head coaches.

• Alo collects OU's 14th Big 12 Player of the Year award and fifth in the last six seasons. The top-10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year has paced the Sooners and NCAA at the plate in 2021. She leads the country in home runs (26) and slugging percentage (1.147) and ranks second in RBIs (71) and seventh in batting average (.481). In league play, Alo is batting .500 with seven home runs, 22 RBIs and a 1.042 slugging clip.

• Lyons, the anchor of OU's nation-leading defense, wins OU's fourth Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award of the last five seasons. The junior has started all 44 games of the season and all 131 games of her career at shortstop dating back to her freshman season. In 2021, she has registered 45 putouts and 50 assists to just three errors for a .969 fielding percentage. Additionally, the Peoria, Ariz., native has turned six double plays on the year. Lyons has been equally impressive at the plate with a .447 batting average, 12 home runs and 42 RBIs.

• One of two freshmen in the country named as a top-10 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Jennings wins OU's sixth consecutive Big 12 Freshman of the Year award and ninth overall. She was the unanimous choice for the award by the league's head coaches. The San Pedro, Calif., product has been exceptional at the plate and in the field in 2021. She's blasted 23 home runs, good for third in the country, batted in a nation-leading 72 runs and ranks 10th with a .468 batting average. In the Big 12, Jennings ranks first in RBIs, runs scored (60) and shares the lead with 14 doubles. She's second in the country and conference to teammate Alo with a 1.057 slugging percentage. In the field, Jennings has started every game of her rookie campaign at second or third base and registered 44 putouts and 35 assists to two errors for a .975 fielding percentage.

• NFCA Hall of Fame head coach Patty Gasso collects her ninth consecutive Big 12 Coach of the Year honor and 13th overall in her 27 seasons at Oklahoma. Gasso has led the Sooners to a 42-2 overall record and their ninth straight Big 12 regular season title, along with an 11-week hold on the No. 1 national ranking in both major polls. No other Big 12 coach has won more than three Big 12 Coach of the Year awards.

• OU collected a league-best 11 spots across the three all-conference teams. The Sooners placed five on the All-Big 12 First Team with freshman Jayda Coleman and redshirt senior Shannon Saile joining Alo, Lyons and Jennings. Alo and Saile were unanimous selections.

• Sophomore Mackenzie Donihoo, senior Lynnsie Elam and redshirt senior Giselle Juarez were placed on the All-Big 12 Second Team while Coleman, Jennings and Nicole May garnered unanimous All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors.

• Alo's first team accolade marks her third All-Big 12 First Team selection while Coleman, Lyons, Jennings and Saile collect their first selection. Saile was a second-teamer in 2019. Donihoo and Elam are awarded their first conference honor while Juarez wins her third after being named Pitcher of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team in 2019.

• OU's five first-team selection ties for second most in program history behind the six selections the 2000 and 2019 teams garnered.

COLEMAN, JENNINGS TOP-15 FINALISTS FOR FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

• University of Oklahoma softball freshmen Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings have been named two of the 15 finalists for the NFCA/Schutt Sports Division I National Freshman of the Year award, the NFCA announced Thursday.

• The versatile Coleman, named First Team All-Big 12 Wednesday, has been a force in the field and at the plate for OU, batting .500 to go with 40 RBI, six home runs and 18 stolen bases. Coleman has started every game of her first-year campaign across the outfield or at first base. She holds a team-best .603 on-base percentage, drawing 27 walks to just five strikeouts. The native of The Colony, Texas, went on a 19-game hit streak earlier in the year and currently holds an on-base streak of 34 games. Her 18 stolen bases is best on the team by 12 while her 52 hits ranks second among the potent OU offense.

• The Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Jennings, also a top-25 finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, has hit 23 home runs to go with 72 RBIs. Her RBI mark leads in the nation and she's third in the country for home runs, just three behind teammate Jocelyn Alo's 26. She holds an exceptional slash line of .468/.524/1.057. The San Pedro, Calif., product has homered in 19 of OU's 44 games and hit multiple homers in a game three times, beginning with the season opener at UTEP where she tied a single-game program record with three home runs in her first collegiate game. The frosh has started every game of the season at second or third base and holds a .975 fielding percentage with 44 putouts and 35 assists to just two errors.

• Additionally, Coleman and Jennings rank fourth and 10th, respectively, in the country in batting average.

• Oklahoma is the only program with two representatives on the top-15 list.

• Since the award was created in 2014, Oklahoma is the only program with more than one winner with Paige Parker garnering the honor in 2015 and Jocelyn Alo winning the award in 2018.

• The three finalists for the award will be announced May 27. The 2021 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year will be announced June 1.

AMAZING ALO

• Senior utility player Jocelyn Alo leads the country with 26 home runs in OU's 44 games. The Hawaii native has hit a homer in 24 of OU's 44 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 80. The NCAA HR record holder Lauren Chamberlain ranks first in program and NCAA history with 95.

• 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:
    • 1st in the country with 26 home runs.
    • Averaging 0.59 home runs per game and a home run ever 4.96 at-bats
    • Ranks fourth in the country out of players with at least 100 AB with a .481 batting average.
    • NCAA-leading 1.147 slugging percentage
    • Program record 40-game hit streak dating back to Feb. 21, 2020 vs. Texas A&M came to a close April 3 vs. Kansas. The streak goes down as the third best consecutive game hitting streak in NCAA history, falling just three games shy of the record.

• In conference play, Alo is batting .500 with seven HRs, 22 RBIs and a 1.042 slugging clip.

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

SOONER FRESHMEN SWEEP BIG 12 WEEKLY AWARDS

• Oklahoma softball swept the final Big 12 Weekly Awards of the regular season with OU's freshman duo of Nicole May and Jayda Coleman bringing home honors, the conference announced Tuesday.

• May wins her first conference Pitcher of the Week honor while fellow frosh Coleman received Player of the Week accolades for the first time of her career.

• The duo were instrumental in helping OU clinch the Bedlam series over No. 7/9 Oklahoma State and the Sooners ninth straight Big 12 regular season title.

• May got the win in the circle in game three after entering in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded, collecting the third out via strikeout to leave the runners stranded. May finished with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing three hits and just one run to go with four strikeouts and zero walks. She retired 13 of the 16 batters she faced.

• In game two, May collected the first save of her career, entering with two on base in the seventh inning and leaving them stranded with a pair of flyouts and a strikeout to end the game.

• May concluded her first Bedlam series with one win, one save and six strikeouts, allowing OSU to hit just .133 off her.

• Coleman finished the weekend batting .625 with six RBIs, one home run, one double and nine putouts from centerfield, making numerous diving catches to rob OSU of baserunners.

• Coleman hit her sixth home run of the season Friday before a 2-for-3, one RBI, one walk drawn performance in game two. In Sunday's finale, Coleman brought in three runs to go with one hit by pitch.

FRESHMAN PHENOMS

• Oklahoma's freshman trio of Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings and Nicole May have put together quite the first-year campaigns as Sooners.

• Jennings, the 2019-20 Gatorade California Softball Player of the Year, leads the country with 72 RBIs on the year and is second on the team and third in the country with 23 home runs. She's batting .451 in Big 12 play with eight HR, 25 RBI and 53 TB.

• Coleman, the 2019-20 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year out of The Colony, Texas, is first on the team with a .500 batting average and holds an on-base streak of 35 games as she leads the team with 27 walks drawn in 2021.

• Coleman also leads the team with 18 stolen bases on 21 attempts in 2021. She's tied for third on the team in doubles with eight on the year and has hit six home runs.

• May, the 2018-19 Gatorade California Softball Player of the Year, is third among the OU pitching staff with 12 wins on the season and third in strikeouts behind veterans Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile with 69 K's on the year to 18 walks. She holds a 1.72 ERA and opponents are batting just .187 against the Pleasanton, Calif., native.

JUAREZ, SAILE, MAY LEAD PITCHING STAFF

• The seven-deep Oklahoma pitching staff has put together a solid season, pitching shutouts in 21 of OU's 44 games and have tossed shutouts in four of OU's last nine 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.

• Along with two perfect games and one no-hitter, the staff has allowed just one hit in nine games this season.

• The staff holds a 1.75 ERA, good for 11th in the country, and has allowed 74 runs in 44 games to go with 317 strikeouts and 139 hits allowed to 88 walks.

• First Team All-Big 12 redshirt senior Shannon Saile boasts 102 strikeouts in 67.1 innings of work to go with 14 wins, two saves and no losses. Opponents are batting just .120 against the Land O'Lakes, Fla., native. In conference play, Saile has a 1.71 ERA with 54 strikeouts to 22 walks while opponents are batting .155 against her.

• Redshirt senior LHP Giselle Juarez paces OU with 108 strikeouts on the year in 86.1 IP to go with a team-best 15 wins. In conference play, Juarez is 7-1 with a 2.67 ERA to go with 47 strikeouts and just five walks. Opponents are batting .208 against Juarez in conference.

• Freshman Nicole May has impressed in her first season of collegiate competition, striking out 69 in 57.0 innings pitched and collecting 12 wins to one loss. May holds a 1.72 ERA and has struck out 22 in conference play to just six walks.

• Sophomores Olivia Rains (16.2 IP), Macy McAdoo (7.2), Alanna Thiede (10.1) and Brooke Vestal (7.1) have all seen action for the Sooners in 2021.

IN THE LYONS DEN

• Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Grace Lyons has been known for her savviness in the field, starting all 131 games of her career at short stop for the Sooners dating back to her freshman season in 2019.

• Lyons has a career fielding percentage of .964 and has committed just 13 errors in her OU career and just three in 2021 (.969 FLD%)

• Equally impressive at the plate, Lyons has blasted 12 home runs in 2021 for fourth on the team in a locker room full of big bats.

• Lyons is batting .447 on the year to go with 42 RBIs and 51 runs scored. The junior from Peoria, Ariz., has also hit 10 doubles on the year, good for second on the team.

#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.