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Oklahoma softball rewind: Sooners in Red River series sweep

By Chip Rouse

Clemson softball left fielder Arielle Oda dives for a fly ball during the first practice on their new field in Clemson Monday, September 30, 2019.Clemson Softball Practices On New Field For First Time
Clemson softball left fielder Arielle Oda dives for a fly ball during the first practice on their new field in Clemson Monday, September 30, 2019.Clemson Softball Practices On New Field For First Time /
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The top-ranked Oklahoma softball team made short work of a very good Texas team this weekend, sweeping the three-game series, all by run rule.

The three wins, all in dominant style, gives the Sooners a 33-0 record, just two away from the all-time NCAA Division I record for the best start to a season. As they have all season, the Sooners used strong pitching, power bats and flawless fielding to totally handcuff their Red River rival and make it 21 consecutive wins over the No. 8-ranked Longhorns.

Texas was never in any of the games past the second inning, and two contests were pretty much over after the first inning. That’s how dominant Oklahoma was in making a good Texas team look very ordinary.

Oklahoma continued to pound the long ball, getting nine home runs by six different players in the series. The Sooners now have hit 102 home runs to lead the nation, one of multiple offensive categories in which Patty Gasso’s 2021 Sooner team ranks No. 1.

The Sooners outscored Texas 30-3 in the three games and outhit the Longhorns 32-12. The OU pitching staff came two outs short of producing three complete games of the five-inning variety because of the run rule.

Left-hander Giselle Juarez went the distance in game one, an 11-1 OU victory, for her 12th win of the season. Senior Shannon Saile did the same in Oklahoma’s 10-2 win in game two, posting her ninth win, and freshman Nicole May faced 19 of the 21 Texas batters in a 9-0 Oklahoma victory on Sunday’s series finale. It was May’s 11th win.

This Oklahoma team is very special and they are underscoring that notion with every outing and every weekend series. The pitching in rock solid, and there really isn’t a weak spot offensively anywhere in the lineup. Four of the top-six hitters in Division I softball, based on batting average, are Oklahoma Sooners. All four are hitting above .500 and two of the four are true freshmen.

The Sooners have a short turnaround from over the weekend. They have a doubleheader at No. 20 Georgia on Tuesday. OU can tie the Division I record for the most consecutive wins to begin a season (35) with a pair of wins on Tuesday.

Oklahoma remains the only undefeated team in Division 1 softball and is a unanimous No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA rankings.

Here are other highlights from weekend series sweep over Texas:

  • Freshman second baseman Tiare Jennings had a big weekend, slugging three home runs (one in each game) and going four or seven at the plate with five runs batted in.
  • Oklahoma has won 40 consecutive games dating back to the 2020 season (the OU program record is 41).
  • The Sooners extended their current winning streak against Big 12 teams to 52 consecutive games. OU has not lost a Big 12 series since 2017. They are 53-0-4 over than four-year span.
  • The Oklahoma pitching staff recorded 15 strikeout in the three games while OU hitters struck out just three times in 77 at bats. No OU batter struck out in Sunday’s finale.
  • Senior Jocelyn Alo added a home run on Friday to her nation-leading total of 23. She ranks second in OU history with 77 career home runs and is 14th all-time in NCAA history.
  • Alo had four hits in the Texas series and has hit safely in 45 of the Sooners’ last 46 games dating back to last season.
  • Freshman Jayda Coleman, the No. 1 recruit in nation, has hit safely in 19 consecutive games.
  • All three wins over the weekend were decided after five innings by run rule. Twenty-five of the Sooners’ 33 games this season have ended early in this fashion.
  • The 9-0 shutout on Sunday gives OU 18 for the season.
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