Oklahoma softball: Sooners labor early before dismissing Baylor upset bid
By Chip Rouse
It took the top-ranked Oklahoma softball team a little longer than usual to get things rolling before putting the upset-minded Baylor Bears in the rearview mirror.
The Sooners (39-1, 15-0) rolled to a rare midweek doubleheader sweep over Baylor on Tuesday at Getterman Stadium in Waco. OU won the opening game 7-1 behind a complete game by senior starter Giselle Juarez and followed that up with an 11-0 run-rule win in the second game of the twin bill.
Baylor pushed across a run in the home half of the first inning in game one on a double and a single to take an early 1-0 lead, and Bears starting pitcher Gia Rodoni made that hold up through three innings, holding the nation’s best offensive lineup hitless through the first three frames.
Baylor threatened to score a couple more times in the third inning, but heads-up plays by the Oklahoma defense resulted in a pair of putouts at home plate.
The Sooners finally broke through in the top half of the fourth, loading the bases with two outs. Senior Nicole Mendes picked on the first pitch from Rodoni and cleared the bases with a long grand-slam home run to right field. Just like that, Oklahoma had flipped the scoreboard and gone ahead 4-1.
Rodoni actually pitched a good game for Baylor, going the distance and allowing the Sooners just four hits in the game. The trouble was three of the hits were home runs. Ironically, Rodoni was the last Big 12 pitcher to beat Oklahoma. That was 66 games and four years ago.
In addition to the deciding base-clearing blow by Mendes, Tiare Jennings and Jocelyn Alo, the first two hitters in the OU lineup hit balls out of the park. For Alo, it was her Division I-leading 25th of the season, and for the freshman Jennings, it was number 22.
Oklahoma starter, Giselle Juarez pitched a complete game for the Sooners, earning her 15th victory of the season without a loss. She allowed just the one run on five hits, but only one after the third inning, and struck out six.
The Sooners were back to true form in the second game, scoring twice in the first, three times in the second and twice more in the third to open up a 7-0 advantage. A trio of OU pitchers held Baylor scoreless with just two hits in an 11-0 Sooner victory by run rule.
The Oklahoma offense was efficient, scoring 11 runs on 10 hits, but only one of the 10 hits were for extra bases. Alo went three-for-four at the plate, and seniors Jana Johns and Lynnsie Elam drove in a pair of runs apiece.
Shannon Saile, the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, got the start for Oklahoma and the win, her 12th without a loss, in game two. She went the first four innings, allowing no runs on two hits, striking out six and giving up just one base on balls. Olivia Rains and Nicole May pitched the final two innings, setting down the side in order in both innings.
The Sooners are off until next Tuesday, when they will play a game at Wichita State, followed that weekend by the Bedlam series against in-state rival Oklahoma State.