University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Head to Lawrence for Final Road Swing
April 28, 2022 | Softball


WEEKEND BASICS
• No. 1 OU makes its final road swing of the season to Lawrence, Kan., to take on Kansas in a three-game conference series, April 29-May 1.
• Friday's first pitch has changed to a 3 p.m. CT start due to projected weather in the area, before a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and noon finale on Sunday. All three games can be seen via ESPN+. Saturday and Sunday's games can be heard in Oklahoma on 107.7 The Franchise, while Friday's game will be aired on 103.3 The Franchise 2 (1560 AM). All three can be heard nationwide on The Varsity app with OU play-by-play announcer Chris Plank calling the action.
• After 43 games played, the Sooners are batting .380 as a team with a nation-leading 114 home runs, 402 runs scored on 393 hits and 381 RBIs. They are outscoring opponents 402-36 with only 25 runs given up being earned. The team is slugging .776, holds a .489 on-base clip and has swiped 47 bases on 58 attempts.
• The pitching staff holds a nation-best 0.73 ERA and has 362 strikeouts, allowing opponents to bat just .139.
• The Sooners have won by run-rule in 34 of their 43 games (79% of games).
LAST TIME OUT
• No. 1 Oklahoma swept Big 12 foe Iowa State in a three-game conference set in Norman, winning game one 6-4 before a pair of 9-0 wins in five innings.
• In game one, OU recorded the most stolen bases in a game since 2014, swiping seven bags, just two shy of the program record. Taylon Snow led the way with a pair of SB. Jana Johns hit her 10th homer of the season to give OU separation in the 6-4 win.
• The Sooners collected run-rules No. 33 and 34 in games two and three, blasting a combined four home runs to propel OU to the sweep. Alyssa Brito continued her hot streak with a walk-off homer in game one, her first walk off at OU. Jocelyn Alo hit career homer No. 110 in game two.
• In the circle, OU's trio of Jordy Bahl, Nicole May and Hope Trautwein all saw action, with Bahl collected two wins and Trautwein throwing a one-hitter in game two. Bahl was nearly perfect in Saturday's game three, throwing a perfect game down to the final out before surrendering a walk and hit. The two shutouts brought OU's season total to 25.
SERIES HISTORY
• Oklahoma leads the all-time series over Kansas, 72-24, including a 23-12 mark in Lawrence.
• The Sooners have won 13 straight in the series dating back to 2016, the Jayhawks last win, on April 2, 2016 in Norman (5-2, KU).
• The teams last met in Norman a season ago, with OU sweeping KU in the three-game conference series (14-0 [5], 6-2, 10-1 [5]).
HISTORIC STREAK
• Oklahoma's 40-game win streak that came to an end at Texas on April 16 goes down as tied for third all-time in DI softball history, tying the Sooners own mark from 2020-21. The streak is second to OU's 41-game win streak in 2019 and 1996-97 Arizona's 47-game mark.
• OU's 38-0 start to a season goes down as the best start to a season in DI history.
LOVING THE LONG BALL
• In 2022, the Sooners pace the NCAA with 114 home runs and a 2.65 HR/game average.
• Three Sooners occupy the top-15 in the country in home runs: Alo is second in the NCAA with 22 blasts while Jennings (18) ranks eighth and Lyons (17) sits at 12th.
• 13 Sooners have went yard already in 2022 with 11 hitting multiple blasts and eight hitting four-plus.
• As a team, Oklahoma has hit homers in 37 of its 43 contests, including hitting two or more in 30 games, three-plus in 22 games, four-plus in 15 games, five-plus five times, six or more in four games and seven once.
• The team has hit two-plus home runs in one inning 23 times, three in one inning three times and four in one inning once.
• They have hit back-to-back home runs nine times on the year.
• 18 times this season a Sooner has hit two or more homers in one game. Jocelyn Alo and Tiare Jennings lead the way with five games of 2+ HRs, Alyssa Brito has done so three times, while Grace Lyons and Lynnsie Elam have done so twice and Jana Johns once. Alo, Elam and Lyons each have one game of three homers a piece.
PITCHING PACING THE NATION
• Oklahoma's pitching staff is not to be overlooked by the potent offense. The OU staff of Jordy Bahl, Nicole May, Hope Trautwein and Macy McAdoo leads the country with a 0.73 ERA, allowing just 25 earned runs (36 R) in OU's 43 games. Additionally, the staff holds a nation-best 25 shutouts on the season.
• OU is the only school with three pitchers in the top-ten nationally in ERA: Trautwein ranks first in the country with her 0.10, while May (0.90) holds sixth and Bahl (0.98) sits at eighth.
• The staff have a combined 362 strikeouts in 239.0 innings pitched, a product of OU's 34 run-rules.
• Freshman Jordy Bahl leads the group with 181 strikeouts in 114.2 IP, while Trautwein (69.0 IP) and May (54.2 IP) have 112 and 68 K's, respectively.
• Bahl has six games with double-digit strikeouts, including a 16-K performance vs. Tennessee and 15-K showing at Texas. Trautwein holds three double-digit K games while May has two.
• The staff has thrown two perfect games and four no-hitters. Bahl, May and Trautwein combined on a perfect game in the season opener, Trautwein threw a no-no vs. McNeese on Feb. 19 and Bahl tossed her first career perfect game Feb. 25 vs. CSU-Fullerton. May and Bahl combined on a no-hitter at Hawaii on March 12, Bahl threw a no-hitter in OU's 20-0 win over Iowa on March 20 and Bahl and May combined on a no-no at Texas Tech on April 10.
• The six no-hitters on the year is tied for the most in a single season in program history, matching 2013, 2015 and 2019's mark.
CONFERENCE DOMINANCE
• OU finished the Big 12 regular season 16-1 a season ago en route to winning its 13th regular season crown and seventh Big 12 tourney championship.
• The Sooners have won 70 of their last 72 Big 12 regular season games. Their streak of 57 consecutive that ended in Stillwater with a narrow loss to the Cowgirls in 2021 was the longest in conference and program history.
• OU is unbeaten in their last 64 conference series (60-0-4 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 155-15. 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 20 Big 12 titles with 13 regular season crowns and seven Big 12 tournament championships, all under head coach Patty Gasso.
FOUR NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR TOP 25 FINALISTS
• Four Oklahoma Softball student-athletes were named 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 Finalists, USA Softball announced the list last week.
• Redshirt senior Jocelyn Alo, freshman Jordy Bahl, sophomore Jayda Coleman and senior Grace Lyons combine for the most representatives from one school. Oklahoma leads the way with four finalists while UCLA and Arizona State are the next-highest with two finalists each.
• The reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Jocelyn Alo, has had another season for the record books in 2022. Alo broke the NCAA career home run record in early March in her home state of Hawaii, hitting career No. 96 vs. Hawaii on March 12. The Hauula, Hawaii, product now has 110 career home runs and 22 on the season to go with 52 RBIs and 11 doubles. She ranks second in the country with her .486 batting average, 1.193 slugging percentage and .636 on-base clip, drawing 38 walks on the year. Alo has five multi-homer games on the year including one game with three blasts.
• The freshman phenom, Bahl, has taken college softball by storm in her first-year campaign with the Sooners. In 114.2 innings pitched, Bahl has a 0.98 ERA with 181 strikeouts to 25 walks. Her earned run average ranks eighth in the country while her strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.24) ranks 14th. She has allowed just 16 earned runs on the season (21 runs total) and is allowing opponents to bat just .138. Bahl has surrendered 14 extra-base hits, with only three being home runs. The Papillion, Neb., product has one individual perfect game and one solo no-hitter on the year, along with combining on one perfect game and two no-hitters. Additionally, Bahl has six double-digit strikeout performances, including a career-high 16 vs. Tennessee on Feb. 26 and a 15-K game at Texas (4/14).
• The second-year centerfielder, Coleman, has brought the energy for the Sooners once again in 2022. An all-around performer for OU at the plate and on defense, Coleman is batting .456 on the year, good for fifth in the country, to go with a .612 on-base percentage that ranks second in the NCAA. She leads the team with 11 stolen bases on 13 attempts and has hit six home runs and an additional four extra-base hits. In the outfield, Coleman has started all 43 games in center field and holds a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 21 putouts and three assists.
• The defensive anchor for the Sooners, Lyons has had a career year at the plate. The shortstop has hit 17 home runs, good for 12th in the country and a single-season career high. The Peoria, Ariz., native has two multi-home run games including one game with three blasts. She's batted in 48 runs with a .440 batting average, .974 slugging percentage and .521 on-base clip. Lyons is second on the team with six stolen bases on six attempts and holds a .933 fielding percentage with 38 putouts and 46 assists. She has also assisted in turning nine double plays.
• OU's four finalists rank as a program high for the USA Softball Top 25 list, while the Sooners have had at least two representatives on the list for five straight seasons. It marks Alo's second time being a Top 25 finalist and first for Bahl, Coleman and Lyons. Coleman was a top-three finalist for NFCA DI Freshman of the Year a season ago.
• Alo won the award in 2021, joining Keilani Ricketts as the only Sooner to win the award, with Ricketts winning the prestigious trophy in consecutive seasons in 2012 and 2013.
• The Top 25 Finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be narrowed to 10 on May 4 before the three finalists will be revealed May 18. The 2022 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be announced prior to the NCAA Women's College World Series, slated for June 2-10 at USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City.
FOUR NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR TOP 25 FINALISTS
• Freshman Jordy Bahl has been named one of 25 finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, the NFCA announced the list Thursday.
• Bahl is the ninth Sooner to make the top 25 cut since the inaugural season of the award in 2014. Oklahoma has had at least one finalist represented every year since 2015, with a Sooner winning the award three times in its eight-year history: Paige Parker (2015), Jocelyn Alo (2018) and Tiare Jennings (2021). Last season OU had two of the final three finalists for the award in eventual-winner Tiare Jennings and classmate Jayda Coleman.
• Additionally, Oklahoma looks to become the first program to produce consecutive winners of the award.
• The list will be trimmed down to the top 10 on May 12 and the three finalists will be released on May 26. The 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year will be announced on May 31. The list of 25 was selected by the NFCA. The top 10, top three and winner are voted on by the NFCA Division I All-America Committee.
TOP RANKS
• Oklahoma holds the No. 1 ranking in nine major national categories as a team:
• Batting Average: .380
• Earned Run Average: 0.73
• Home Runs: 114
• Home Runs per game: 2.65
• Slugging Percentage: .776
• Scoring: 9.35 runs/game
• On Base Percentage: .489
• W-L Percentage: .977
• Shutouts: 25
• Individual Ranks
• Batting Average:
• Jocelyn Alo - 2nd (.486)
• Jayda Coleman - 5th (.456)
• Grace Lyons - 13th (.440)
• Taylon Snow - 24th (.425)
• ERA:
• Hope Trautwein - 1st (0.10)
• Nicole May - 6th (0.90)
• Jordy Bahl - 8th (0.98)
• Slugging Percentage:
• Jocelyn Alo - 1st - (1.193)
• Grace Lyons - 4th (.974)
• Tiare Jennings - 12th (.882)
• On Base Percentage:
• Jocelyn Alo - 1st (.636)
• Jayda Coleman - 2nd (.612)
• Home Runs
• Jocelyn Alo - 2nd (22)
• Tiare Jennings - 8th (18)
• Grace Lyons - 12th (17)
• RBIs
• Tiare Jennings - 5th (56)
• Jocelyn Alo - 10th (52)
• Grace Lyons - 19th (48)
• Strikeouts per 7 Innings Pitched
• Hope Trautwein - 8th (11.4)
• Jordy Bahl - 13th (11.0)
MORE NOTES & NUMBERS
• Oklahoma has won 105 of its last 110 games dating back to the start of the 2021 season.
• Of those 110 games, 69 have been run-rule victories (63%).
• The Sooners have gone on consecutive run-rule stretches of nine games (Feb. 13-26) and 13 games (Feb. 27-March 26).
• The top-ranked Sooners have three top-10 and six top-25 wins on the season and rank first in the NCAA DI RPI.
• Of their three top-10 wins, two have been by run-rule. Three of their six top-25 W's have also been mercy-rule wins.
• In their three top-10 wins, the Sooners have outscored opponents 23-4. The margin is 46-17 in OU's favor in their six top-25 victories.
• The OU offense has 114 home runs on the year to 112 strikeouts. Just five Sooners hold double-digit strikeouts this season.
• The pitching staff has sacrificed just 36 runs (25 ER) on the season to opponents. Individually, four Sooners have 36 or more runs scored.
• OU has 174 extra-base hits on the season to opponents' 33. Jocelyn Alo has 33 extra-base hits on the season by herself.
• OU's trio of Jocelyn Alo, Grace Lyons and Tiare Jennings have more combined home runs (57) than all but 21 NCAA DI teams.
HOME RUN QUEEN
• Jocelyn Alo is the new home run queen of college softball. In front of the home crowd of friends of family in Honolulu on March 12, Alo hit career home run No. 96 to break the tie with OU alum Lauren Chamberlain to be the NCAA career home run leader.
• After an eight-game stretch that saw Alo walk a combined 16 times including three intentional walks, the Hauula, Hawaii, native left no doubt when she finally saw the pitch she wanted.
• The historic homer came in the top of the sixth inning versus Hawaii, a two-run blast to right center on a 2-1 count. Alo went 3-for-3 in the game with three RBIs.
• Alo hit the 96 mark in 224 games and 651 at-bats, she hit the record-tying No. 95 in 215 games, less games than Chamberlain (220) and anyone else in the all-time top 10. Chamberlain registered 607 at-bats in her career, hitting home run No. 95 in her last career at-bat.
NO. 1
• OU has been the top-ranked squad since March 2, 2021, or 60 weeks, or 422 days.
• The Sooners have held the top spot in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 for 25 straight polls.
• OU spent a school-record 13 straight weeks at No. 1 during the 2021 season and currently hold a 11-week streak to start the 2022 season (every poll).
• Oklahoma was chosen as the unanimous No. 1 in both the NFCA Division I Preseason Coaches Poll and USA Softball Collegiate Preseason Top 25 and has held the top spot for all 11 weeks of the 2022 season.
• Oklahoma's No. 1 spot in the NFCA preseason poll marked the third time the Sooners enter a season in the top spot (2017, '18) and just the second time OU has been the unanimous choice in the coaches poll, joining the 2017 squad.
• Additionally, it's 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 nine of the past 10 years, the most over that stretch.
• Overall, the Sooners rank third with 22 top-10 appearances in the NFCA preseason poll, trailing only Arizona (24) and UCLA (23).
• 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 the only program ranked every week in the 28-year existence of the NFCA's poll (392 straight).
• It's the 15th straight season and 18th in the 20-year history of the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll that Oklahoma is ranked in the preseason top 10.
ALO WRECKING THE NCAA RECORD BOOK
• Along with her new title as the all-time NCAA Home Run Queen, Jocelyn Alo is in rare air with numerous other all-time softball records:
• Total Bases: 1st - 691 (Recently passed UCLA's Stacy Nuveman (1997-2002) total of 653)
• SLG %: 1st - .966 (Above Lauren Chamberlain's career .960)
• Consecutive Games with a HR: T1st - 7 games (3/7-26/21)
• Consecutive Game Hit Streak: 3rd - 40 games (2/21/20-4/3/21)
• RBIs: 7th - 290 (1st - Jenny Dalton [Arizona, 1993-96] 328)
THE TROPHY CLUB
• The Oklahoma softball program has announced the launch of its restructured booster club under a new name, The Trophy Club.
• The Trophy Club replaces the former Diamond Club as the program's premier booster initiative to continue to enhance the student-athlete experience at Oklahoma, both on and off the field.
• Softball fans can join now and take part in exclusive events, including the annual golf tournament, coaches luncheon and more.
For membership details and how donations will be utilized, visit The Trophy Club landing page on SoonerSports.com.
• Gifts to the Trophy Club and Oklahoma softball will be utilized for: resources for the development of our student-athletes, facility upgrades to enhance recruiting and student-athlete experiences and improved quality of travel to increase academic participation by our student-athletes.
#LAUNCHPAD
• The #LaunchPad is back in 2022! Cheer on your Sooners and support our student-athletes in a fun, new and creative way by joining the #LaunchPad. The #LaunchPad is all about #homers. Pledge to donate your own customized dollar amount for every #homer that OU Softball hits in 2022!
• All donations are 100% tax deductible and will be directed to help fund the facility project of your choice - the new Love's Field - 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 for the 2022 season.
• Include if you'd like to make a gift for every home run hit in the 2022 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. For example, if OU Softball hits 20 home runs in March after you pledged $10 per #Homer, on April 1 we will charge your card $200.
Monthly Payment Dates:
- Tuesday, March 1, 2022
- Friday, April 1, 2022
- Monday, May 2, 2022
- Wednesday, June 1, 2022
• Have fun along the way by interacting with @OU_Baseball & @OU_Softball on social media with your favorite term to use for #homers! Some of our favorites include #dingers #taters #bombs #ruthianblast #yack #fourbagger #jimmyjack
For updates and more information on Oklahoma softball, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Softball) and like Oklahoma Softball on Facebook.