Deal Named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week

NORMAN – Sophomore left-handed pitcher Kierston Deal has been named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week following a lights-out week in the circle, the conference announced Tuesday.

Deal opened the week by firing her first collegiate no-hitter on April 16 against Tulsa, allowing just two baserunners on a hit batsman and a catcher's interference while striking out four across 6.0 innings of work. The southpaw followed by spinning a complete-game shutout on April 21, securing a sweep of Houston with 7.0 scoreless frames of two-hit, one-walk softball. She matched her career best of 10 strikeouts, earning her second win of the week.

OU's talented sophomore threw a combined 13.0 scoreless innings while going 2-0 on the week and striking out 14. Opponents went just 2-for-41 off Deal for a minuscule .049 batting average and managed a meager .142 OPS. Deal worked at a 32.6% strikeout rate and walked just 2.3% of batters faced on the week.

Currently in her second season with the Sooners, Deal is 10-1 with a 1.01 ERA across 16 appearances and 12 starts. She has fanned 55 over 55.1 innings pitched with just 13 walks and a .146 batting average against.

The weekly honor is the first of Deal's career. Oklahoma has earned three conference pitcher-of-the-week honors in 2024 and 90 overall under head coach Patty Gasso.

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Players Mentioned

Kierston Deal

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