ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 2-ranked Oklahoma softball team blasted five home runs and plated 11 runs on 11 hits in an 11-7 sweep-securing win over UCF on Sunday afternoon in Orlando.
The Sooners (45-4, 21-3 Big 12) recorded their seventh sweep of the year with the road series win over UCF (28-21, 10-14). OU's "magic number" moves to three for an outright Big 12 championship and two for a share of the title entering the final week of the regular season.
Ella Parker (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI) hammered two home runs to lead the lineup while
Kinzie Hansen (3-for-3, BB, 2 R, 2 RBI) reached in all four trips and
Rylie Boone (2-for-4, R, RBI) provided OU with a third multi-hit effort.
Kasidi Pickering (1-for-2, 3 BB, 3 R, HR, RBI) reached four times and
Tiare Jennings (1-for-5, R, HR, RBI) recorded her 300th collegiate RBI on a solo home run in the fifth.
Down 2-0 after one complete, Parker launched an opposite-field two-run home run in the second to knot things at two each. UCF retook a short-lived two-run lead in the home half before the Sooners plated four in the third to make it 6-4 OU through three complete.
A well-executed squeeze bunt from
Jayda Coleman (0-for-3, BB, R, RBI) plated Pickering to open the scoring in the third, then a go-ahead two-run
Alyssa Brito (1-for-3, BB, 2 RBI) single was followed by a Boone RBI knock to push the lead to two.
Pickering added insurance with a towering solo shot in the fourth. The Sooners posted another four-spot in the fifth on three home runs courtesy of Parker, Jennings and Hansen. Jennings' blast registered her 300th collegiate RBI, making her the fifth player in NCAA history to reach the milestone.
Kelly Maxwell earned the win in relief, improving to 16-1 on the season with 4.1 innings of two-run ball. She scattered four hits and did not walk a batter, striking out one while throwing 38 of her 60 pitches for strikes.
Up Next
OU returns home to host Oklahoma State for its final Big 12 regular-season series. Bedlam presented by Phillips 66 begins Friday, May 3 at Love's Field with a 6:30 p.m. CT first pitch on FS1.
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