Oklahoma softball: Sooners sweep Texas Tech; 28th straight Big 12 win
By Chip Rouse
The No. 2-ranked Oklahoma softball Sooners opened its Big 12 season with a three-game sweep on the road at Texas Tech over the weekend, extending OU’s conference win streak to a program record 28 games.
The Sooners (29-2, 3-0) capped off its series sweep over the 14th-ranked Lady Red Raiders with a 13-1 run-rule victory on Sunday. Junior left-hander Giselle Juarez picked up her second win of the weekend and 13th of the season without a loss, allowing just one hit in 5 1/3 innings of work. Juarez also was the winning pitcher in OU’s 5-1 victory in the series opener on Friday.
Fourteen of the Sooners’ 29 wins this season have been decided by run-rule (when a team is ahead by eight or more runs after five innings).
Oklahoma has now won its last 19 games and has not lost to a Big 12 opponent since April 23, 2017, a 4-3 loss to Baylor. That was the Sooners’ only conference loss that season.
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Senior outfielders Nicole Mendes and Falepolima Aviu had two hits and two RBI apiece in OU’s 5-1 win on Friday, and one of Aviu’s two hits was a two-run homer.
In Saturday and Sunday’s OU wins, the Sooners hit eight home runs, four each day.
Freshman Grace Green was 3 for 4 with a pair of home runs (No. 5 and 6 on the season) in an 8-3 Oklahoma win on Saturday. Mendes and Sydney Romero also cleared the fence. It was the third home run this season for Mendes and number 10 for Romero.
Mariah Lopez started Saturday’s game for OU, but lasted just an inning a two-thirds after giving up three runs in the second inning. Shannon Saile came on in relief and allowed no runs on just two hits the rest of the way to pick up the win.
Green hit her seventh home run in the Sunday run-rule rout of the Red Raiders. Romero (11), sophomore Jocelyn Alo (9) and senior first baseman Shay Knighton (5) also left the yard. Knighton collected four hits in four at bats in the game.
The Sooners do not return to Big 12 action until a week from Friday, when they host Baylor for three games. Oklahoma has a game at home on Wednesday against Tulsa, and will travel to Salt Lake City for single games with Utah on Saturday and Sunday.