The 17-game winning streak and 33-game home winning streak may have come to an end, but by taking two of three games and the series from the 13th-ranked Baylor Bears over the weekend, the Oklahoma softball team put itself in strong position to defend the Big 12 crown the Sooners have owned for the past five seasons.
The Sooners took the rubber game in the three-game series between two of the Big 12 title contenders this season, posting a 6-0 shutout in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader as a result of Friday’s postponement because of bad weather.
Baylor won the first game of the doubleheader 4-3, which snapped several OU winning streaks, including a 25-game win streak against Big 12 opponents.
The Sooners won the series opener on Saturday 3-2 on a two-out, two-run, walk-off double by sophomore Fale Aviu in the bottom half of the 10th inning. Baylor had taken a 2-1 lead in the top half of the 10th.
By winning two of three from Baylor, Oklahoma is currently tied with Oklahoma State for a share of the Big 12 lead. Both teams are 11-1 in conference play.
The major difference is, all of Oklahoma State’s conference wins have come against teams in the bottom half of the league standings. The Cowboys’ remaining conference games are against Baylor, this weekend in Waco, and they close out the season with three games against the Sooners next weekend.
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Two of the Bedlam games are in Stillwater and one is in Norman.
Before getting to the Bedlam series with Oklahoma State, however, the Sooners have three games at Texas Tech this weekend. The Red Raiders are 4-11 in the Big 12.
Here are some of the notable numbers from the series win by the Sooners over Baylor this past weekend:
.355 – Oklahoma’s team batting average in nine games against Big 12 teams this season. That is second to Baylor, which is hitting a league best .360 in conference games only.
1.45 – The ranking are reversed in the pitching category, with the Sooners posting a collective staff earned-run average of 1.45. Baylor’s staff is second in the conference with a 1.51 ERA.
6 – Oklahoma had an error in the second game of the doubleheader on Sunday, but it was only their sixth in Big 12 play, which leads the conference.
11 – Junior outfielder Nicole Pendley hit a first-inning grand slam home run in OU’s 6-0 shutout over Baylor in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader. It was her team-leading 11th home run of the season.
14 – Number of shutout by Sooner softball pitching this season.
19-1 – Oklahoma’s home record this season. The Sooners had won 33 consecutive home games prior to Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Baylor.
26 – Junior Paige Parker pitched a complete-game, 6-0 shutout over Baylor on Sunday. It was Parker’s 26th career shutout, which places her seventh on the all-time OU softball list.
41 – One Oklahoma team streak that remained active after Baylor’s 4-3 win over the Sooners in game one of the doubleheader on Sunday was the number of consecutive Big 12 series wins. By taking the Baylor series two games to one, the Sooners are 37-0-4 in their last 41 Big 12 series. OU is 9-0-4 in its last 13 series against Baylor.
1,743 – Sunday’s attendance figure, the third largest ever at Marita Hynes Field.