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Oklahoma softball: No. 1 Sooners more than motivated for weekend series at Baylor

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma outfielder Jayda Coleman (24) hits while at bat during a softball game between University of Oklahoma (OU) and Florida State at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.Ou Vs Florida State Softball
Oklahoma outfielder Jayda Coleman (24) hits while at bat during a softball game between University of Oklahoma (OU) and Florida State at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.Ou Vs Florida State Softball /
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No. 1-ranked Oklahoma softball is riding a nation-best 31-game winning streak. The last team to beat the Sooners was the Baylor Bears, the team the Sooners will face for three games this weekend in Waco.

Baylor, defeated OU 4-3 on Feb. 19 as part of the Getterman Classic, hosted by Baylor. The Sooners have not lost since. The Bears are 34-10 overall and ranked 19th in the latest ESPN. That loss is Oklahoma’s only one of the 2023 season and just the fourth in two seasons for the two-time defending national champion Sooners.

Prior to the game earlier this season with the Bears, Oklahoma had won 16 consecutive games against Baylor and 22 of the last 24. The Sooners have an overwhelming 70-14 advantage in the all-time series with Baylor. The last time OU lost at Baylor before the February game this year was in 2014.

The Sooners fell behind 4-1 in the game earlier this season. OU battled back to within one, scoring two runs in the sixth, but left the tying run stranded at third base and was retired in order in its last at-bat in the seventh inning. Baylor scored all four of its runs in the third inning, three coming on a home-run blast by Shaylon Govan, who leads the Bears in long balls with nine.

Oklahoma has won 51 consecutive Big 12 regular-season series, including 43 series sweeps.

The strength of the Baylor team this season appears to be in the pitching circle. The Bears own the fourth-best ERA in the Big 12 (2.21) but are averaging just 5.6 runs per game, and the Bears’ .305 team batting average is third worst in the conference. The Baylor pitchers should have their hands full trying to stop the country’s best offensive team, averaging 9.34 runs per game.

The Sooners complement the nation’s most prolific offense with a pitching staff that leads Division ! softball with an ERA of 1.05 and the best fielding percentage in the nation.

After the Baylor series, Oklahoma has just two Big 12 series remaining vs. Kansas at home and at No. 3-ranked and second-place Oklahoma State) before the conference tournament.

What fans should know about the OU softball series at Baylor

  • Oklahoma will see Baylor right-handed pitcher Dariana Orme again, Orme got the win in the earlier game this season against the Sooners, allowing just one run and six hits. The Baylor ace is 14-5 this season and leads the Big 12 in innings pitched (131.2), is second in strikeouts (119) and fifth in ERA (1.49).
  • The Sooners have played 14 games against top-25 teams this season and won all 14. Five of those wins over ranked teams have been by run-rule. OU has outscored ranked opponents 111 to18 this season.
  • Oklahoma’s biggest inning has been the second, where it has outscored its opponents 93-2 this season.
  • Nearly 40 percent of the Sooners’ 342 runs this season have been when two were out.
  • OU leads the nation and the Big 12 in at least seven major statistical categories: Batting average (.380), scoring (8.55 runs per game), on-base percentage (.466), slugging percentage (.694), fielding percentage (.988 with 11 errors), ERA and won-lost percentage (39-1, .975).
  • Three Oklahoma hitters rank in the top 33 in the country in batting average: 6. Jayda Coleman (.477), 19. Tiare Jennings (.436) and 33. Haley Lee (.426).
  • Three Sooner starting pitchers rank in the top 16 in Division I softball in ERA: 2. Nicole May (0.51), 5. Alex Storako (0.80) and 16. Jordy Bahl (1.27).
  • Oklahoma leads the country this season with 21 wins by run-rule and 23 by shutout.
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