Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma softball: Hofstra no match for top-seeded Sooners in Norman Regional

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma's Kinzie Hansen (9) celebrates in front of Texas' Leighann Goode (43) after hitting a double in the second inning of the Big 12 softball tournament championship game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Saturday, May 13, 2023. Oklahoma won 6-1.
Oklahoma's Kinzie Hansen (9) celebrates in front of Texas' Leighann Goode (43) after hitting a double in the second inning of the Big 12 softball tournament championship game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Texas Longhorns at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Saturday, May 13, 2023. Oklahoma won 6-1. /
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Nicole May pitched a sparkling one-hit shutout and Kinzie Hansen went three-for-three with four runs batted in as the No. 1 ranked Oklahoma softball team rolled to a 11-0 run-rule victory in the opening game of the NCAA Norman Regional on Friday.

The Sooners improved to 52-1 on the season and moved within four wins of setting a new NCAA record for consecutive wins with their 44th consecutive victory. Arizona won 47 consecutive games in 1996-97.

Hofstra, winners of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship, used five different pitchers in the circle in an attempt to keep the Sooners from becoming comfortable with one pitcher or pitching style, but it did very little to slow down the high-octane Oklahoma offense.

Seven players in the Sooner starting lineup recorded hits in the game and senior captain Grace Lyons and junior center fielder Jayda Coleman accounted for four of OU’s 11 runs with multi-run fence-clearing blasts against a wind that was blowing in from right field.

OU pounded out a dozen hits against the five Hostra pitchers. The Pride changed pitchers three times in the fourth inning alone, when the Sooners scored six times to shorten the game.

OU starter May worked four innings, allowing just one hit, a double by Alanna Morse, hitting seventh in the Hofstra and leading off the third inning. The OU ace struck out five, including the first three batters she faced in the first inning, and walked none in posting her 17th win of the season without a loss. May added to her 0.60 ERA, which was second-best in the nation entering the NCAA postseason.

Alex Storako retired the side in the fifth inning to close out the shutout win for the Sooners, their nation-best 31st of the season. It was OU’s 25th run-rule win of the season, also a nation best.

Oklahoma will play the winner of the opening-round contest between former Big 12 foe Missouri and California in a winners’ bracket on Saturday in the double-elimination regional tournament.

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