For the second time this season, the sixth-ranked Oklahoma softball team ended the week undefeated after four or more games.
The Sooners (20-4) opened up the week with an 8-5 win over Wichita State. The Shockers scored four times in the opening inning as OU freshman starter Olivia Rains failed to record an out. Oklahoma scored six of their eight runs on home runs by Jocelyn Alo, Kinzie Hansen and catcher Lynnsie Elam.
Senior right-hander Shannon Saile took over in relief of Rains and finished out the game, going 7.0 innings, allowing one run in five hits, to record her sixth win of the season to go with three losses.
Oklahoma remained at home over the weekend, winning a pair of games at Marita Hynes Field on Friday, defeating Mercer 10-5 and following that with a 10-2 run-rule victory over Utah. The Sooners used the long ball in their two-game Friday sweep, with five home runs, highlighted by a pinch-hit home run by senior captain Nicole Mendes against Mercer and sophomore Kinsey Koeltzow’s first career roundtripper in the win over Utah.
Rains rebounded from her horrific start earlier in the week, going 4.2 innings in relief for the win against Mercer. Saile went the distance in the five-inning, shortened game with Utah for her seventh win.
The Sooners completed the weekend with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday behind a pair of sparkling pitching performances by two freshman hurlers. Redshirt freshman Brooke Vestal pitched a complete-game, three-hitter in a 6-1 OU win over Murray State, and Rains followed that giving up just two hits over five innings to Missouri State.
With the Missouri State game tied 2-2 after five, Saile relieved Rains and shut the door on the Bears, allowing no hits and striking out six of the eight hitters she faced over the final three innings.
Senior Lynnsie Elam stroked a single driving in Kinzie Hansen in the bottom of the eighth to give the Sooners a hard-earned 3-2 walk-off win over Missouri State and earn Saile her eighth win.
The Sooner homestand continues next weekend as Oklahoma hosts New Mexico, Houston and Kent State for five games.