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Oklahoma softball: Sooners begin quest for 9th straight Big 12 title

By Chip Rouse

TOKYO, JAPAN - JUNE 25: Keilani Ricketts #10 of United States pitches against Japan during the game three between Japan and United States at the Tokyo Dome on June 25, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN - JUNE 25: Keilani Ricketts #10 of United States pitches against Japan during the game three between Japan and United States at the Tokyo Dome on June 25, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma softball is vying with OU football and gymnastics, all of which can lay claim to the title of Big 12 dynasty.

Patty Gasso’s Sooner softball team has won eight consecutive Big 12 championships, and they begin their quest for number nine this weekend in a three-game series at Iowa State. Over the last eight OU championship seasons, the Sooners are a combined 134-13 in the Big 12.

Outside of Oklahoma, no Big 12 team has won more than two consecutive softball championships in the league’s 24-year history.

Both the OU women’s and men’s gymnastics teams have matched the eight consecutive Big 12 titles of the softball program, while their football brethren have notched six straight conference championships and are seeking a seventh in the fall.

Earlier this week, I wrote about the incredible offensive numbers that the Sooners are putting up this season on the softball diamond. As impressive as their offensive totals are, though, the Sooners aren’t winning games on offense alone.

For the second straight week, Oklahoma is the unanimous choice as the No. 1-ranked team in Division I college softball.

They’re playing total complimentary baseball, combining outstanding hitting with solid pitching and flawless fielding. The Oklahoma pitching staff leads the country with 13 shutouts in 22 games, and the staff ERA of 1.30 ranks 12th nationally. The Sooners have committed just eight errors in 371 fielding chances and their .984 fielding percentage is the fifth best in the country.

Oklahoma is averaging 12 runs a game so far this season and has allowed just 25 runs total to its opponents.

Here are some other compelling OU softball facts that underscore the Sooners’ dynasty status in the Big 12 and why they have been so dominant 22 games into the 2021 season:

  • Oklahoma leads the country in six major offensive categories.
  • The Sooners have hit 77 home runs in 22 games. That’s 24 more than the next best team, Arkansas).
  • Senior Jocelyn Alo leads the nation with 19 home runs. She has hit a home run in 18 of the Sooners’ 22 games.
  • Thirteen different Sooners have hit home runs this season.
  • Sixteen of OU’s 22 games have ended early by run-rule.
  • In a 12-3 win over Team Mexico this past weekend, the Sooners produced 28 hits, an all-time OU softball record.
  • Five different Oklahoma players are hitting .500 or better.
  • Two Oklahoma freshman, Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman, rank fourth and fifth in the country, respectively, in batting average. Sophomore Kinzie Hansen is second nationally in that same statistical category.
  • The Sooners have won 43 consecutive Big 12 games. The last time they lost to a Big 12 opponent was April 2017 to Baylor.
  • The last time Oklahoma lost a Big 12 softball series was 2011. Over that time, the Sooners are 50-0-4.
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