What You Need to Know About Oklahoma Softball After Two Months

For those Sooner fans who are a little disappointed about Oklahoma softball this season after winning the Women’s College World Series a year ago and beginning the 2017 campaign ranked No. 1 in the nation, you might want to take a breath and consider this:

The Sooners are 31-7 through what amounts to two-thirds of their 2017 schedule and 3-0 against Big 12 opponents. That is the exact same as their overall mark at this same stage a year ago.

Oklahoma is ranked No. 9 in the most recent ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25. With the same 31-7 overall record last season, the Sooners were ranked 14th in the country. From that perspective, things do not appear to be that much different from what turned out to be a highly successful year last season.

The OU softball schedule has already included five games against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time the game was played and at least two more teams (Arkansas and Baylor) that were ranked at one time in the season remain on the schedule going forward.

More from OU softball

• Oklahoma softball: Sooners add a fourth top-ranked 2025 commitment
• Oklahoma softball: Sooners pick up three elite 2025 commitments this month
• Oklahoma softball: Sooner star Grace Lyons is Big 12 Scholar Athlete of the Year
• Oklahoma softball: Sooners add Oklahoma State ace pitcher via transfer
• Oklahoma softball: Sooners add veteran starting pitcher via transfer

So far, the Sooners have won one of the five games against ranked teams this season.

Here are some other things you should know about Oklahoma softball heading into the final five weeks of the regular season:

• The Sooners are 15-0 at home this season and have won 30 consecutive games at Marita Hynes Field.
• Following Oklahoma’s three-game sweep of Iowa State last weekend, the Sooners are 3-0 to begin the Big 12 season for the fourth time in the last five years.
• The Sooners are 34-0-4 in their last 38 games against teams from the Big 12.
• OU put up a nine spot in the second inning of Sunday’s game against Iowa State. They have scored nine or more runs in an inning in three of their last four games.
• Junior center fielder Nicole Pendley hit her team- and Big 12-best 10th home run of the season in the series with Iowa State.
• Senior utility player Macey Hatfield became the sixth Sooner to receive Big 12 weekly honors this season, being named Player of the Week for her performance this past week. Hatfield had five RBI and a home run in a 20-0 run-rule-shortened game against Iowa State. She has reached base in 10 of her last 11 plate appearances. Hatfield’s batting average for the week was .800 with a 1.400 slugging percentage.
• This is the third week in a row that an Oklahoma softball player has been named Player of the Week (junior third baseman Sydney Romero, March 22; freshman Nicole Mendes, March 29). Junior Paige Parker and freshman Mariah Lopez previously have been named Pitcher of the Week.
• The Sooners are second in the Big 12 in both hitting and pitching. OU hitters are batting .326 as a team, and the Sooner pitchers have a collective ERA (earned run average) of 1.69.
• Sophomore second baseman Caleigh Clifton leads the Big 12 in runs scored (41) and on-base percentage (.562).
• Sydney Romero is second in the Big 12 in runs scored (41) and leads the conference in total bases (78).
• Nicole Pendley tops the Big 12 in runs batted in (36) and is second in total bases (75).
• Paige Parker leads the conference in strikeouts (133) and is second in complete games (9).
• Mariah Lopez has the best opponents’ batting average as a Big 12 pitcher (.170).