Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma softball: No. 1 Sooners at KU for last regular-season road trip

By Chip Rouse

OU celebrates Grace Lyons' (middle) walk-off double in the fifth inning of an 8-0 win against Baylor on March 26 in Norman.jump
OU celebrates Grace Lyons' (middle) walk-off double in the fifth inning of an 8-0 win against Baylor on March 26 in Norman.jump /
facebooktwitterreddit

A week ago, the Sooner baseball squad swept a weekend series at Kansas. This weekend, the top-ranked Oklahoma softball team will be in the Sunflower State to do battle with the Jayhawks.

Patty Gasso’s squad continues its historic season run with a three-game series against the bottom-dwelling Jayhawks (15-28, 2-10). Kansas’ two Big 12 wins were on the road at Texas Tech and at home against Baylor.

Oklahoma leads the all-time series with Kansas 72-24 and is 23-12 against the Jayhawks in games played in Lawrence, Kansas. The Sooners have won 70 of their last 72 Big 12 games and have won 64 consecutive series against conference opponents.

Friday’s game has been moved up to 3 p.m. because of inclement weather in the area. That will be followed by a game at 2 p.m. on Saturday and first pitch for Sunday’s series finale will be at 12 noon.

The series with Kansas will serve as a tune up for next weekend’s in-state Bedlam showdown between the Sooners and Oklahoma State, the two best teams in the conference. No. 7-ranked Oklahoma State currently leads the Big 12 with a 14-1 record. OU can match that record with a series sweep at Kansas this weekend, setting up a de facto Big 12 regular-season championship series.

What fans need to know about the weekend softball series between OU and KU

  • Statistically speaking, the series with Kansas is a matchup of polar opposites. OU leads the Big 12 in hitting and pitching, while the Jayhawks are next to last with a team batting average of .278 and at the bottom of the league in pitching with a staff ERA of 5.17.
  • The Sooners are hitting a league-best .380, which also ranks No. 1 in the country.
  • Oklahoma leads the Big 12 and all of NCAA Division I softball averaging 9.35 runs per game along with 114 home runs a .489 on-base percentage, a .776 slugging percentage and an incredulously low staff ERA of 0.73 through 43 games.
  • Thirty-four of OU’s 43 wins have been decided by run rule and 25 by shutout.
  • Two of the top five batting averages nationally belong to Oklahoma Sooners. Jocelyn Alo is hitting .486, second best in the country, and Jayda Coleman ranks fifth with a .456 average. In addition, Alo leads the nation with 22 home runs and a 1.1193 slugging percentage and is the NCAA career home-run leader.
  • Three Sooners rank in the top-15 in the country in home runs: Jocelyn Alo is second with 22, followed by No. 8 Tiare Jennings (18) and No. 12 Grace Lyons (17).
  • Four OU players are top-25 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year: Jocelyn Alo and Grace Lyons, both seniors, sophomore Jayda Coleman and true freshman pitcher Jordy Bahl.
  • The reigning national champion Oklahoma Sooners have won 105 of their last 110 games and have been ranked No. 1 in the country since March 2, 2021.

Prediction

Stranger things have happened in major mismatches such as this, but the Sooners are too good to stumble at Kansas. OU should take all three games rather comfortably, setting up the showdown series at home against Oklahoma State next weekend. The Sooners are 11-0 at home this season and 37-1 over the last three seasons.

Home/OU softball