Oklahoma softball: Takeaways from a door-slamming series win

The fact that Oklahoma softball won yet another Big 12 series over the weekend is not news — they have not lost a Big 12 series since 2011. That Texas Tech did something against the Sooners that no one else has is newsworthy.

For the first time in a three-game weekend series, Oklahoma did not score in double digits and did not record at least one run-rule victory in one of the three games. The Red Raiders, hardly as talented or as good as Oklahoma, should take some solace in that accomplishment.

The Sooners, who average close to nine runs per game, scored just 16 in the three games this weekend with Texas Tech on 19 combined hits Eleven of the 19 11 came in the final game of the series. And all three games were played at Marita Hynes Field in Norman.

Not to be overlooked in this series was another brilliant Sooner pitching performance. Oklahoma was held far below their season average in both runs and hits, but Texas Tech did not score a single run in the series and did not get more than three hits in any game and just nine hits total.

Michigan Transfer Alex Storako threw a complete game in OU’s 3-0 win in the series opener for her 12th win of the season without a loss. Jordy Bahl went 6.1 innings, allowing just one hit, in a 6-0 win on Friday, and Nicole May gave up just two hits while striking out eight in the 7-0 Sooner win on Saturday.

The Sooners, now 36-1 on the season, have played 13 games this season against teams ranked in the nation’s top 25. They now turn their attention to another ranked opponent in 11th-ranked LSU. Oklahoma will play a midweek game at LSU on Tuesday.

This may be the biggest challenge yet for Patty Gasso’s two-time defending national champion Sooners. The Lady Tigers are 33-7 this season and will be hosting OU on Tuesday. Oklahoma is 10-8 all-time against LSU. The last time the two teams met was in 2016 in the Women’s College World Series. The Sooners won that game 7-3 and went on to win the national championship that season.

Three takeaways from Oklahoma’s three-game sweep over Texas Tech

• This is the third straight year Oklahoma has shut out the Red Raiders in all three regular-season games. Over the last two seasons OU has outscored Texas Tech 83-0.
• Haley Lee, who transferred to Oklahoma after four seasons at Texas A&M, hit three home runs in the Texas Tech series, two in the series finale, to tie her for the team lead with Jayda Coleman at 11. Over the past two weekends (series sweeps of Texas Tech and Texas). Lee has gone 9 for 17 at the plate, a .529 batting average, with five home runs and eight runs batted in.
• Oklahoma has won 82 of its last 84 regular-season Big 12 games and has won 51 consecutive Big 12 series, 42 of which have been series sweeps.