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Oklahoma softball: What fans need to know about OU’s Red River Showdown

ByChip Rouse|
Oklahoma's Tiare Jennings (23) scores a run as Jayda Coleman (24) celebrates in the second inning of a college softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Monday, March 13, 2023. Oklahoma won 8-0 in five innings.Ou Sotfball
Oklahoma's Tiare Jennings (23) scores a run as Jayda Coleman (24) celebrates in the second inning of a college softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Monday, March 13, 2023. Oklahoma won 8-0 in five innings.Ou Sotfball

It’s a huge weekend for the top-ranked Oklahoma softball team.

For one thing, the Sooners (30-1, 3-0) are playing another top-25 team. But more importantly, the opponent in OU’s biggest rival, the Texas Longhorns.

The Lady Longhorns (30-5-1, 3-0), ranked No. 8 this week in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings, are coming off of a three-game sweep of Texas Tech in their Big 12 opener last weekend. They have won nine of their last 10 games and allowed their opponents just 16 runs total during that stretch.

The last time these two longtime rivals met was in the championship round of the Women’s College World Series won by the Sooners for a second consecutive season. Friday night’s game will be held before another sellout on that same field at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Friday’s game will be available on ESPN+. On Saturday and Sunday, the venue shifts to Norman and Marita Hynes Field, where Oklahoma has not lost since the 2020 pandemic shortened season.

Oklahoma owns a 53-25 all-time advantage against the Longhorns in softball, including 27 of the last 28 games. The one game the Sooners lost in that span was in the final game of the series a year ago in Austin. Texas won that game 4-2, snapping OU’s 40-game win streak and handing the Sooners their first loss after 38 wins to open the 2022 season.

The Sooners have won 10 consecutive conference series against Texas.

Five things fans need to know about the 2023 Red River Showdown series:

  • The Sooners have 10 wins this season over teams ranked in the top-25, including a 14-0 win over then-No. 1 UCLA.
  • Oklahoma ranks No. 1 in the Big 12 and in the country in hitting (.391 team batting average), is No. 1 in the conference in pitching (1.00 staff earned run average) and in fielding (.991 with just 6 errors in 31 games). Texas ranks second in the league in hitting (.351), third in pitching (1.89 ERA) and third in fielding (.961 and 38 errors in 36 games).
  • Six Oklahoma players rank in the top-10 in the Big 12 in hitting, led by sophomore center fielder Jayda Coleman with a .500 batting average. Also ranked in the top-10 are Alyssa Brito (.440), Jordy Bahl (.435), Haley Lee (.427), Tiare Jennings (.422) and Jocelyn Erickson (.419).
  • Oklahoma ranks third in NCAA Division I softball with 57 home runs so far. The Sooners have hit long balls in 26 of their 31 games. Jayda Coleman leads the team with eight this season.
  • All four of OU’s starting pitchers have ERAs under 2.00. The staff has led the country the past two seasons (23 in 2021 and 33 last season) and rank No. in the country this season with 19 in 31 games. Sooner pitchers have three no-hitters to their credit already this season.
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