Softball Starts Road Swing at Memphis

NORMAN — No. 4 Oklahoma Softball begins a season-long seven-game road swing with a single game at Memphis Wednesday, March 18 at 6 p.m. The Sooners are coming off a stretch of 14 of their last 15 games being played at home, with seven of the final eight games of March being played on the road.

FIRST PITCH

• It's OU's first-ever trip to Memphis and just the third game against the Tigers. The Sooners won a pair of run-rule decisions in 2008 against Memphis at Marita Hynes Field.

• OU is currently on a 17-game winning streak dating back to February 21. The Sooners are coming off a three-game sweep of (RV) Auburn last weekend.

• Wednesday's game is being streamed on ESPN+, with Jeff Brightwell providing play-by-play and Tyler Springs handling color commentary. The game will also be broadcast on KEBC/KRXO (1560 AM / 104.5 FM), with Chris Plank providing play-by-play.

• The Sooners are 28-2 and 3-0 in SEC play and ranked fourth in the most recent ESPN.com/USA Poll as well as sixth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll. The Sooners are only one game off their pace from the 2025 season through 30 games, with OU going 29-1 in the first 30 games of the season.

• OU is 6-1 on the road this season, with its true road games coming at (RV) Arizona State (won, 2-1) No. 17/20 Arizona (won the series, 2-1), at New Mexico State (won, 18-6), at UTEP (won, 34-0) and at North Texas (won, 16-4).

• Oklahoma posted two more double-digit scoring performances last weekend against Auburn, winning by run-rule fashion, 13-5, and, 14-2. Oklahoma paces the nation with 21 run-rule victories, while scoring 10 or more runs 19 different times this season. Twice this year OU has scored more than 30 runs.

• The Sooners have hit at least one home run in 29 of 30 games this season, with the lone game without a homer coming in a 7-5 win against California February 21. The Sooners have posted multi-homer games in 27 of 30 contests and have hit seven home runs or more three times.

• Oklahoma has scored 386 runs, 136 more than it scored through 30 games a year ago. OU finished with 121 home runs last year, good for fourth more in OU history. The Sooners are six shy of that right now and have 55 more than it had through 30 games a year ago. Gabbie Garcia and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas were tied for the team lead in homers with 10 apiece through 30 games. Garcia has 14 at this point in 2026.

• Former OU Softball volunteer assistant Erin Arevalo is an assistant on Memphis' staff. Arevalo was with OU during the 2020-21 national championship season.

• OU has one of the most versatile lineups in the nation. Freshman Allyssa Parker and sophomore Sydney Barker have played every infield position this year, while Barker has made a start at each infield position.

• The Sooners have tallied 40 innings of at least four runs this season, while hitting five or more home runs in 12 of 30 games played.

OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT

• OU is on a historic pace in a number of offensive categories this season. The Sooners are hitting .453 as a team and for context, OU's program record is .405 in the 2021 season. The Sooners slashed their way to program records that season, slugging .778 in 2021 while reaching base at a .490 clip. The Sooners are leading the country with a .945 slugging percentage and tout a .541 on-base percentage.

• The Sooners have hit more home runs than 131 teams in Division I have for total runs scored. OU's 386 runs account for 85 percent of its total run total from all of last season. The Sooners set the NCAA single season runs record with 638 in 2021, doing so in 60 games. Oklahoma averaged 10.6 runs per game that season. The Sooners are averaging 12.8 runs per game through 30 contests this season, on pace for 702 runs alone in the 2026 regular season.

• OU's offense features 14 players with at least three home runs. Six players have at least nine home runs and four have 12 or more. In all of 2025 seven players had eight home runs or more. OU's batting averages range from .323 to .525, with 12 of 14 players with an at-bat batting above .400. Ella Parker hit .423 last year, the lone Sooner to hit above .400 in 2025.

• Oklahoma is slashing the national lead while pacing the country in 10 different offensive statistical categories this year. OU stands atop the country through 30 games in:

Batting average (.453)
Hits (386)
Home Runs (115)
Home Runs/Game (3.8)
On-Base Percentage (.541)
RBIs/Game (12.6)
RBIs (378)
Runs/Game (12.8)
Slugging Percentage (.945)
Runs (386)

EVERYBODY HITS

• OU's lineup has produced from every angle this season. All 14 Sooners that have had an at-bat this season have hit at least three home runs, while five Sooners have had a multi-home run game. Allyssa Parker, Ella Parker, Lexi McDaniel, Gabbie Garcia and Isabela Emerling are all in that group, while Emerling and Ella Parker have both hit three home runs in a single game.

• Each position player that's played has played in at least 19 of 27 games, while 11 of 14 players have greater than a .400 batting average and four have at least a .500 batting average.

BACK TO THE "WELLS" AGAIN

• Freshman Kendall Wells hit two home runs in Sunday's 14-2 win against Auburn, bringing her to 21 on the season. Wells' mark is one more than the team lead from last year and is currently tied for first in the nation for home runs (tied with UCLA's Megan Grant). Wells is on pace to break the OU freshman home run record set by Lauren Chamberlain and Jocelyn Alo (30). It is also tied for the NCAA single season freshman home run record.

FRESHMAN FEATURE

• OU owns the nation's top recruiting class in 2025 and this spring that group will take the field for the first time. Lexi McDaniel (INF, St. Joseph, Mo.), Kai Minor (OF, Irvine, Calif.), Allyssa Parker (RHP/UTL, Pocola, Okla.), Kendall Wells (C, Bogart, Ga.) and Berkley Zache (RHP, Niles, Mich.) round out the 2025 signing class. Freshman Jerrell "Ori" Mailo joins the Sooners early after signing this past November as part of the Sooners' top-ranked 2026 signing class.

• McDaniel, Parker, Wells and Minor have had staggering success at the plate this season. McDaniel and Minor are one and four on the team in batting average (.525 and .500). Allyssa Parker has been a huge contributor in the circle and at the plate, hitting nine home runs with a .378 batting average, while going 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA in the circle. Wells ranks fourth in the nation with her 1.159 slugging percentage.

SOPHOMORE ARMS

• Sophomore pitching duo of lefty Audrey Lowry and righty Miali Guachino have combined for a 20-1 record, 93 strikeouts and just 20 walks in 98 innings of work.