Oklahoma softball: OU powers through rival Cowgirls, clinches 10th straight Big 12 crown
By Connor Pasby
For the 10th year in a row, the Oklahoma softball team clinched a Big 12 regular season title, and once again they did it in Bedlam style against in-state foe, the 7th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
The No 1. ranked Sooners (47-1, 16-1) beat Oklahoma State 6-0 on Friday night in Norman to capture the series win and the Big 12 regular-season championship in the process.
It was a night of historic numbers for the Sooners before an over-capacity crowd at Marita Hynes Field. With the series win over Oklahoma State, OU softball has now gone 11 years without losing a regular season series, regardless of non-conference or conference play.
In Game 2 in this year’s Bedlam softball series, it was catcher Kenzie Hinson who broke the door open for the Sooners in the third inning. After a walk to Jana Johns to load the bases, Hanson stepped up with a double to left center that drove in three runs, scoring Tiare Jennings, Alyssa Brito and Jana JohnsBrito, and Johns, pushing the Sooners’ lead to 5-0.
The third inning was all the Sooners needed to finish off the visitors due to the dominant performance from senior pitcher ope Trautwein. Trautwein, who leads the nation with an absurd 0.09 ERA, was automatic in the circle for the Sooners.
Through five innings, the North Texas transfer only allowed three hits, along with striking out four Cowgirls. After a heartwarming ovation from the heavily partisan OU crowd, Trautwein was greeted by her teammates at the end of the fifth, knowing that it could be the final regular season game in her college career.
Freshmen Jordy Bahl entered the game in relief in the 6th inning and continued her early-career supremacy with two strikeouts and no hits in the final 1 1/2 innings. With the shutout win, the Sooners have now won 28 of their 48 games by shutout, which represents over 60 percent of their wins this season.
Outfielder Rylie Boone spotlighted the 5th inning with a perfect throw to Hanson at the plate preserving the shutout. The improvement in the field has been sensational for Oklahoma late in the year, a correction that makes them close to unbeatable.
The late game excitement and celebration from the Sooners’ was well deserved and rewarding, after beating the country’s 7th-ranked team in Norman. Head coach Patty Gasso thought her team responded well to the late season challenge.
"“Really proud of this team,” Gasso said. “It was nice to win the title in front of our home crowd. Thought we played really well both games, timely hitting, different stars each game.”"
The Sooners have a chance to carry on their historic run, and go for a Bedlam sweep on Saturday afternoon. The regular season finale will take place at 4 p.m. CT and be televised on ESPNU.