Softball Concludes Regular Season with Bedlam

NORMAN – The No. 2-ranked Oklahoma softball team hosts No. 4 Oklahoma State at Love's Field this weekend for the final Big 12 regular-season edition of Bedlam Presented by Phillips 66 beginning Friday, May 3.

First pitch for Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on FS1 with a noon CT Saturday start on ESPN and a 3 p.m. CT Sunday finale on ESPN 2. All three games will be aired on 1560 AM/103.3 FM The Franchise 2 and 107.7 FM The Franchise.

The weekend series marks the final three games of the regular season. OU's "magic number" stands at two (combined Oklahoma wins and Texas losses) for a share of its 12th-straight Big 12 regular season championship and three for the outright title.

Oklahoma owns a 103-72 advantage all-time in Bedlam including a 45-21 mark in Norman and a 74-14 record under head coach Patty Gasso. The Sooners have won nine of their last 10 games against OSU, last falling on May 14, 2022 in the Big 12 Championship. Over the last five meetings, Oklahoma owns a 25-13 run differential vs. the Cowgirls, outscoring their rival by 2.4 runs per game.

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS

Oklahoma State enters the series 42-8 on the year and 19-5 in Big 12 play, two games behind the Sooners in the conference standings. The Cowgirls have won eight straight games including back-to-back home sweeps of Texas Tech and Kansas. OSU has dropped just one series this season, falling in two-of-three at Iowa State.

The OSU lineup bats .310 with a .949 OPS entering the series, averaging 6.26 runs per game. Transfer catcher Caroline Wang is the leading hitter at .380, adding a Cowgirl-best 16 home runs and 46 RBIs. First baseman Karli Godwin shares Wang's double lead at 10 while producing 12 homers and 42 runs batted in and hitting .331. Six Cowgirls bat .300 or better on the season.

OSU's pitching staff is anchored by Lexi Kilfoyl (19-3, 1.16 ERA), Ivy Rosenberry (13-3, 1.60 ERA) and Kyra Aycock (7-2, 3.17 ERA). Kilfoyl has thrown 14 complete games and six shutouts while striking out 109 and walking just 25 across 132.1 innings of work, limiting opponents to a .173 average. Rosenberry adds an 83:30 K:BB ratio over 91.2 frames while Aycock has tossed two complete games and logged 70.2 innings. The staff has combined for 13 shutouts, holding opponents to a .205 average while pitching to a 1.92 ERA as a team.

LAST TIME OUT

No. 2 Oklahoma 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 recorded their seventh sweep of the year with the road series win over UCF. 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 hammered two home runs to lead the lineup while Kinzie Hansen reached in all four trips and Rylie Boone provided OU with a third multi-hit effort. Kasidi Pickering reached four times and Tiare Jennings recorded her 300th collegiate RBI on a solo home run in the fifth.

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.

BOTH SIDES OF BEDLAM

Sooner ace Kelly Maxwell faces off against Oklahoma State for the first time in the Crimson and Cream this weekend, meeting her former program in a pivotal weekend series.

Maxwell joined the Sooners as a transfer last summer following a terrific four-season stretch with the Cowgirls. The lefthander won 58 games at OSU while posting a 1.58 ERA and striking out 746 batters over 494.2 innings pitched (10.6 K/7). A two-year All-America selection, Maxwell earned second-team honors in her final season in Stillwater after going 16-7 with a 1.91 ERA and 229 strikeouts in 142.2 innings.

TIARE'S LEGACY CONTINUES

Senior shortstop Tiare Jennings' legacy continues to grow in her final collegiate season. The Sooner captain added two major milestones to her resume last weekend at UCF, recording her 300th RBI and 90th home run. She enters Bedlam seventh across the NCAA record books with 91 career homers and is sixth in RBIs with 300.

Jenny Dalton is the NCAA's all-time leader in RBIs with 328, putting Jennings 30 RBIs away from tying the national career record.

Jennings is Oklahoma's career leader in doubles, ranks second in RBIs and extra-base hits while standing third in batting average, hits and home runs.

BIG 12 STANDINGS

Oklahoma enters the final week of conference play holding a 1.0-game lead over Texas and is 2.0 games ahead of third-place Oklahoma State.

The Sooners' magic number to clinch the outright title is three entering the weekend, meaning OU needs a combined three Oklahoma wins and Texas losses to secure a 12th consecutive Big 12 Championship. OU's magic number for a share of the conference title is two.

CELEBRATING THE SENIOR CLASS

OU honors perhaps the greatest senior class in NCAA Softball history this weekend as the collegiate careers of Kinzie Hansen, Rylie Boone, Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings, Nicole May, Alyssa Brito, Alynah Torres, Kelly Maxwell, Karlie Keeney and Riley Ludlam come to a close in 2024.

Since 2021, Oklahoma is 221-12 for a .948 winning percentage, standing as the winningest stretch in NCAA history. The 2024 OU senior class has produced three NCAA Championships, three Big 12 regular season titles, two Big 12 postseason titles and a +1,807 run differential. Oklahoma's senior class is 72-5 (.935) in Big 12 play and 76-2 (.974) at home since 2021. OU will honor its seniors with a postgame ceremony following Sunday's series finale.

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE

Oklahoma's dangerous lineup has taken its collective approach to another level in 2024, posting some of its best walk and strikeout marks in program history.

The Sooners are walking in 16.9% of their plate appearances, up from 12.6% in 2023, which would also stand as the program's second-highest clip all-time. OU's walk rate is the highest since it drew walks at a program-record 17.5% rate in 2013.

As a lineup, Oklahoma strikes out in just 7.8% of its trips, currently standing as an all-time best mark in program history. The OU K rate is down from 8.7% in 2024 as the Sooners hold a 123:265 K:BB ratio at the plate.

SHE'S DEALING

Sophomore left-hander Kierston Deal has enjoyed a phenomenal stretch over her last 12 starts, continuing her rise as one of the Big 12's top young talents in the circle. Deal has won 11 of her last 12 starts, going 11-0 with a miniscule 0.37 ERA across 57.0 innings in that span. She has struck out 57 while walking just 11, holding opponents to a .109 average and a meager four extra-base hits.

The OU sophomore was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for a second-straight week on Tuesday, becoming Oklahoma's first hurler to earn consecutive league pitcher-of-the-week honors since Giselle Juarez claimed the nod in four-straight weeks April 16-May 7, 2019.

LEADERBOARDS

The Sooners enter the week ranked highly across the national leaderboards in multiple statistical categories. OU leads the nation in batting average (.372) and on-base percentage (.480), is top-three in slugging percentage (2nd, .673), shutouts (21), OPS (2nd, 1.153), runs per game (2nd, 8.36), home runs (3rd, 95) and fielding percentage (3rd, .983) while ranking fifth in ERA (1.66). Senior outfielder Jayda Coleman is eighth in the NCAA in on-base percentage (.543) and sophomore left-handed pitcher Kierston Deal is third nationally in ERA (1.00).

For updates and more information on Oklahoma Softball, follow the Sooners on Twitter/X and Instagram (@OU_Softball) and like Oklahoma Softball on Facebook.