Oklahoma Baseball, Softball Stay on Opposite Courses

Oklahoma baseball and softball are both off to stellar starts in their respective seasons, but lately their momentum has been headed in very different directions.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in the Sooners’ baseball nine, who have dropped four of their last five, all on the road.

It was all about pitching good and bad – on Thursday. In a Big 12 contest at Kansas, junior Paige Parker registered a career-high 15 strikeouts as the OU softball squad defeated the Jayhawks 4-1 for its 13th consecutive victory and 19th straight road win. The defending national-champion Sooners have also won 22 consecutive games against Big 12 opponents.

Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Mich., starting right-hander Dylan Grove did not even last through the first inning, despite not giving up a hit. Grove faced eight Michigan batters in the opening frame. He walked five and hit one batter with a pitch and allowed three to cross the plate before being relieved after two were out in the first.

Ryan Madden came on in relief for the 16th-ranked Sooners, now 27-10 overall, and went the next five and a third innings, yielding two more runs on just two hits, but by then the first-inning carnage was all the 17th-ranked Wolverines would need in a 5-2 win. The sophomore right-hander struck out a career-high six batters.

Southpaw Austin Kerns closed out the final two innings for the Sooners, appearing in his 20th game of the season.

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The Wolverine’s two-run fifth inning broke a scoreless streak of 13 consecutive innings recorded by the Sooner bullpen.

In its four losses over the past week, Oklahoma has managed more than five hits just once,

The one offensive highlight for the Sooners in Thursday’s game with Michigan was a solo home run by senior first baseman Austin O’Brien in the sixth inning. It was his second home run since returning to action a week ago from an injury and fourth of the season. O’Brien also had a single in the game, accounting for two of OU’s five hits.

Michigan third baseman Drew Lugbauer lived up to his reputation as the big bat in the Wolverine lineup, going two for three, including a home run.

Oklahoma and Michigan play again on Friday and Saturday. Sophomore right-hander Nathan Wiles is the scheduled starter on Friday.

At Kansas on the softball diamond, OU’s Parker pitched a complete game, winning her 14th to go along with five losses. She gave up just three hits over seven innings and did not walk a batter.

Parker gave up a one-out double in the first inning and then retired the next 17 batters he faced, striking out seven.

Freshman Alissa Dalton and junior Kelsey Arnold both went two for three at the plate and accounted for a combined four of the Sooners seven hits in the game.

Next: Paige Parker a Finalist for 2017 USA Softball Player of the Year

Oklahoma is 61-44 all-time against Kansas and has won five of the last six games in the series. The eighth-ranked Sooners have two more games scheduled against the Jayhawks this weekend, on Friday and Saturday.