Softball Begins Big 12 Play with Iowa State

NORMAN – Oklahoma Softball begins its final season as a member of the Big 12 this weekend by welcoming Iowa State to Love's Field to open conference play.

The No. 2/1 Sooners (19-1, 0-0 Big 12) host Iowa State (9-10, 0-0 Big 12) for a three-game series beginning with a split doubleheader on Saturday, March 9 at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. Sunday finale.

All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ ($) and 1560 AM/103.3 FM The Franchise 2. Saturday's 5 p.m. game can also be heard on 107.7 FM The Franchise.

OU holds a 95-28 advantage in the all-time series vs. Iowa State including a 71-4 mark under Patty Gasso. The Sooners haven't dropped a game to Iowa State since April 22, 2006. Oklahoma has won each of its last 48 contests against the Cyclones and is 61-4 overall vs. ISU in Big 12 play.

LAST TIME OUT

A strong start from sophomore Kierston Deal and three key hits by freshmen led OU to a 9-0 run-rule win over Texas A&M Commerce on Wednesday evening at Love's Field.

Oklahoma received 3.0 excellent innings from Deal and 2.0 scoreless frames from sophomore Paytn Monticelli on the way to its 12th shutout of the season with the midweek win over the Lions. OU's two pitchers allowed just three baserunners, retiring 15 of 18 faced with eight strikeouts.

Freshmen Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker accounted for eight of the Sooners' nine runs in the win. Pickering went 2-for-2 with three RBIs, two runs scored and a pair of doubles while Parker blasted a three-run homer in the first.

A RECORD-BREAKING RUN

OU's NCAA-record winning streak was snapped at 71 games on Sunday, ending a truly historic run. The Sooners outscored opponents 578-72 for a plus-506 run differential over the 71-game stretch, earning wins over 42 different programs. The streak included 46 wins over Power Five opponents, 40 shutouts, 33 run-rule wins and 28 ranked wins.

SCOUTING THE CYCLONES

Iowa State enters the weekend a game under .500 at 9-10, fresh off a 2-3 performance at the Colorado Classic.

Cyclone junior and reigning Big 12 Player of the Week Angelina Allen leads the league in batting average (.543), hits (38), and doubles (8) and is second in both home runs (8) and OPS (1.590). The ISU lineup has plated double-digit runs four times this season, already doubling its output from a year prior.

Leadoff hitter Milaysia Ochoa has reached base at a .488 clip this spring while batting .365, forming a strong top of the order with Allen.

Six Cyclones have taken the circle this season with Saya Swain, Karlie Charles, Lauren Schurman and Aziza Rodriguez each having covered at least 20.0 innings. Swain leads the staff with a 4-1 mark and a 2.07 ERA while Charles and Schurman share the innings high mark at 29.1.

REFLECTING ON OPENING WEEKEND

Oklahoma opened Love's Field with wins over Miami (OH) and Liberty on Friday, March 1, earning its first two victories at the program's new stadium in front of a program-record home crowd of 4,450. Kinzie Hansen walked off Miami with a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh in the stadium opener, earning OU a 9-7 slugfest win.

OU closed the weekend with a 4-1 record, outscoring opponents 45-17 while batting .452 as a team. Jayda Coleman led the team with a .545 average across the five games, going 6-for-11, and Cydney Sanders drove in six to lead the club. The Sooners' weekend attendance mark hit 13,350 with a third-straight sellout on Sunday, establishing a new program record.

LEADERBOARDS

The Sooners enter the week ranked highly across the national leaderboards in multiple statistical categories. OU is top-five in shutouts (11, 2nd), fielding percentage (.986, 3rd), home runs (33, 4th) and runs per game (8.16, 5th) while landing sixth in ERA (1.39).

Senior third baseman Alyssa Brito is currently third in the Big 12 in home runs (7) while ranking fourth with 25 hits and 23 runs scored. Senior shortstop Tiare Jennings enters the weekend fourth in doubles (6) and home runs (6). In the circle, senior right-hander Nicole May ranks third in batting average against (.170), fourth in wins (6) and eighth in ERA (1.50). Sophomore southpaw Kierston Deal is fifth in ERA (0.97) and seventh in batting average against (.188).

LET'S GO POLLING

The Sooners remained at No. 1 in the NFCA/USA Today coaches poll this week, earning 24 of the available 32 first-place votes. OU slid back one spot to No. 2 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll despite taking 13 of 25 first-place votes, standing one point behind Texas.

KIERSTON'S DEALING

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Kierston Deal has been terrific over her last four starts, winning each while logging 19.0 scoreless innings. The southpaw has allowed just eight hits while maintaining a 23:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over her last four outings.

CHAMPS IN THE CLUTCH

Sooner seniors Alyssa Brito and Tiare Jennings have been extraordinary with runners in scoring position this season, powering a lineup that bats .416 with a 1.199 OPS in RISP situations.

Brito is 9-for-13 (.692) with runners in scoring position this spring, owning a 2.184 OPS with four extra-base hits (1 2B, 3 HR) and a 0:4 K:BB ratio. Jennings is batting .600 (12-for-20) with RISP, smashing four doubles and three home runs for seven extra-base hits and a 1.850 OPS.

Kasidi Pickering (.556), Jayda Coleman (.538) and Ella Parker (.500) are each batting .500 or better with RISP to give OU five regulars recording that mark.

FRESHMEN PHENOMS

Oklahoma freshmen Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker have provided immediate impact to the lineup as regulars in their debut season.

Pickering leads OU in batting average and slashes .458/.518/.708 for a whopping 1.226 OPS entering conference play. She has three doubles and three homers to go with 16 RBIs while logging strong defense in both outfield corners.

Parker is fourth among OU hitters with four home runs, slashing .395/.491/.721 for a 1.211 OPS. She has driven in 18 runs while drawing walks in 17.0% of her plate appearances.

Both Pickering and Parker have been especially effective with runners in scoring position, posting respective OPS marks of 1.442 and 1.546 in those situations. Both hit .500 or better with RISP and have combined for six extra-base hits in such chances.

ONE LAST RIDE IN THE BIG 12

The Sooners enter their final season of Big 12 competition with a 394-87 (.819) league record since the conference began in 1996, winners of 11 consecutive conference championships. They are 121-4 (.968) in Big 12 play since the beginning of the 2016 season and have not lost a conference series since 2011.

OU won both the regular season and conference tournament championships last season while going 18-0 in Big 12 play. The program has won 23 Big 12 titles (15 regular season and eight Big 12 tournament championships), all under head coach Patty Gasso.

Oklahoma will join the SEC on July 1, 2024.

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