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Oklahoma softball: Five big things from Sooners’ WCWS win over Baylor

By Chip Rouse

Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners fans hold up a number one prior to the game against the Texas Longhorns during Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners fans hold up a number one prior to the game against the Texas Longhorns during Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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A big part of Oklahoma’s softball success this season has been the Sooners’ ability to get on the scoreboard early and often.

That was the case again on Thursday night as the Sooners put up a four-spot in the opening inning against No. 15 Baylor and cruised from there in posting a 6-3 first-round victory in the Women’s College World Series.

Oklahoma advances to the winners’ bracket in its side of the draw, where No. 6 Washington will be the opponent in a round-two contest on Friday night at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. Washington defeated No. 3 Oregon 3-1 in the game preceding the Sooners’ victory over Baylor.

Oklahoma has beaten Baylor in three of the four games the two teams have played this season and in eight of the last nine games between the two Big 12 schools.

More from OU softball

In case you missed it, here are the five big things I saw in the OU-Baylor game, as well as what to look for on Friday night when the Sooners face Washington.

  • Over the first three innings against Baylor in the WCWS, Oklahoma scored five times on five hits. The Sooners only had nine hits for the game. When OU scores first in the game, its is 48-4 this season. Oklahoma has scored over half of its run production for the entire season (419) in the first three innings (215).
  • Nicole Pendley powered a three-run home run to left field in the first inning to give OU a 3-0 lead after six batters. Pendley also delivered the winning hit, a three-run round-tripper in the second inning,  in the Sooners’ Super Regional championship win over Auburn last weekend.
  • Oklahoma led the Big 12 and ranks fourth in the nation in fielding percentage this season. Yet the Sooners committed four errors in their WCWS win over Baylor. That is the most errors OU has committed in a single game in four seasons.
  • Paige Parker went six innings and allowed Baylor just one run on five hits in winning her 24th game of the year to go with five losses. The OU pitching ace has now won 14 consecutive decisions in postseason play.
  • Eight different Sooners accounted for Oklahoma’s nine hits in the game. As a reminder, when Oklahoma out-hits its opponent (which the Sooners did Thursday night, nine to six), the Sooners are 53-1 this season.

What to look for against Washington:

  • Oklahoma lost to Washington (49-12) 1-0 in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on the opening weekend of the 2017 season. At the time, the Sooners were the top-ranked team in the country; Washington was ranked 13th. The Huskies’ starting pitcher, Taran Alvelo, outdueled Paige Parker and Paige Lowary of OU in that game.
  • Washington held the Sooners to just five hits in the earlier game this season. That has happened just a dozen times all season.
  • Washington’s Avelo was the winning pitcher in the WCWS win over Oregon, allowing the eighth-best hitting team in Division I NCAA to just five hits. Her season record is 33-7.
  • This is Washington’s 12 Women’s College World Series appearance. Oklahoma is making its 11 WCWS appearance, all coming since 2000 and sixth in the last seven years.
  • Oklahoma is 11-3 in its last three trips to the Women’s College World Series, including two national championships
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