Oklahoma softball: Sooners employ shock and awe in burying Wichita State
By Chip Rouse
The top-ranked Oklahoma softball team exploded for eight runs in the top of the fifth inning against Wichita State on Tuesday on the way to a 14-3 run-rule victory.
It was the Sooners’ 40th win of the season to go with one loss and their 30th win a game shortened by a lead of eight or more runs after five innings. Tuesday night’s win sets the stage for a giant three-game Bedlam series at No. 9 Oklahoma State this weekend to close out the regular season.
Oklahoma and in-state rival Oklahoma State sit one-two in the Big 12 standings. Just one-half game separates the two teams. OU enters the weekend series with a 14-0 conference record and 55 consecutive wins against Big 12 opponents. The Sooners have won 59 consecutive Big 12 series dating back to 2011.
The Sooners pounded out 13 hits against Wichita State pitching, six of them coming in the eight-run fifth along with a pinch-hit grand slam by junior Grace Green, the second in her Oklahoma career and her fourth home run of the season. The Sooners now have a nation-leading 116 home runs in 2021, 25 more than Wichita State, which ranks second best.
OU starter Shannon Saile allowed just one hit over 4.0 innings to capture her 13th win of the season without a loss.
Sooner super freshman Tiare Jennings added to her top-five Division I batting average, going three for four at the plate and driving in four runs. Junior shortstop Grace Lyons collected three hits in three at bats, and sophomore Mackenzie Donihoo had a couple of hits, drove in three and scored twice.