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Oklahoma softball: No. 1 Sooners sweep 5 games allowing just a single run

By Chip Rouse

Jun 10, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners utility Jocelyn Alo (78) stands on the plate after hitting a home run in first inning met by Nicole Mendes (11) and catcher Kinzie Hansen (9) against the Florida State Seminoles during game three of the NCAA Womens College World Series Championship Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 10, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners utility Jocelyn Alo (78) stands on the plate after hitting a home run in first inning met by Nicole Mendes (11) and catcher Kinzie Hansen (9) against the Florida State Seminoles during game three of the NCAA Womens College World Series Championship Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /
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It was the fourth game of the Oklahoma softball season before a team managed to score a run as the No. 1-ranked Sooners opened the 2022 season with five consecutive wins.

The Sooners swept five games over the weekend — four by shutout — and allowed just one run total for all five games.

The reigning national champions opened the season with a 14-0 perfect-game win over UC Santa Barbara. A trio of Oklahoma pitchers shut out the Gauchos, allowing no runs, no hits and no base runners in a game shortened to five innings by run rule.

The Sooners scored their 14 runs in the opener with UCSB on 13 hits. Tiare Jennings, the very first batter in the game, opened the scoring for the Sooners with a home run to center field, the first of nine, first-inning runs. Jennings hit a second fence-clearing solo blast in the fifth.

Patty Gasso’s crew then moved on to Irvine, California, for the Mark Campbell Invitational Tournament, which featured four teams — Loyola Marymount, No. 3-ranked UCLA, Mississippi State and UC San Diego — in a weekend tournament.

OU defeated Loyola Marymount 5-0 and Mississippi State 9-0 in a run-rule win on Friday, downed UCLA 4-1 on Saturday and finished off the weekend sweep with a 9-0 victory over UC San Diego.

The Sooner pitching was outstanding in all five games. The combination of newcomers Hope Trautwein and Jordy Bahl along with sophomore Nicole May – held OU’s five opponents to just a single run and 12 hits total.

The four shutouts in five games ranks second in the country after the opening weekend (Louisiana posted five no-run games in as many games). Bahl, the No. 1 recruit un the 2021 class, and North Texas transfer Trautwein each recorded a couple of wins. Bahl allowed one run, four hits and struck out 18 in her two starts. Meanwhile, Trautwein did not allow a run, surrendered five hits and struck out 13 hitters in her two wins.

Oklahoma was efficient at the plate over the opening weekend, scoring 41 runs on 45 hits. The Sooners batted .360 as a team in the five wins. Ten home runs, including four by Jennings, and 84 total bases in the five games contributed to a slugging percentage of .672, 10th best in the nation to start the season.

The Sooners’ next action will be in Texas this weekend at the Houston Classic. OU will play a couple of games each against host Houston and McNeese State on Friday and Saturday and a single game Sunday against Texas State.

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