Oklahoma softball: Giselle Juarez wins 4th Big 12 Pitcher of the Week award
By Chip Rouse
For the second consecutive week and the fourth time this season, Oklahoma softball pitcher Giselle Juarez has been named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week.
The junior southpaw starter was 2-0 last week in two appearances on the road this past weekend at Texas.
She started the Friday night opener against No. 10 Texas and pitched a complete-game, five-hitter, striking out 10 and yielding just one walk in a 3-1 Oklahoma win over the Lady Longhorns.
The 10 strikeouts was the sixth time this season that the Arizona State transfer has fanned 10 or more batters in a game. It was also her sixth complete-game performance of the season.
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In game two of the Texas series on Saturday, Juarez came on in relief of starter Mariah Lopez in the fifth inning and finished out a second straight Sooner win over the Longhorns, 4-3 in extra innings. In four innings of relief, Juarez allowed two runs on six hits and was credited with the win when OU scored twice in the top half of the eighth.
Juarez is second in the Big 12 with 140 strikeouts and an opponents’ batting average of .155. She owns the fourth best ERA at 1.49.
In two appearances and 13.0 innings of work against Texas, Juarez posted a 1.27 ERA and held the Longhorn hitters to a collective .267 batting average.
With the two victories over the weekend, Juarez’s record improved to a Big 12-best 18-0.
Three different Oklahoma pitchers( Maria Lopez two times, Juarez four times and Shannon Saile once) have won Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors in seven of the 11 weeks the award has been given out this season. In addition three OU position players Caleigh Clifton and Grace Green two times each and Sydney Romero once) have been named Player of the Week in five of the 11 weeks.