Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma softball advances to Big 12 Championship with 13-2 rout of BYU

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma infielder Ella Parker (5) runs home after hitting a home run in the first inning of a Big 12 Softball Championship semifinal game against BYU on Friday afternoon.
Oklahoma infielder Ella Parker (5) runs home after hitting a home run in the first inning of a Big 12 Softball Championship semifinal game against BYU on Friday afternoon. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY
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No. 2-seeded Oklahoma softball scored 13 runs on 13 hits, and sophomore Kierston Deal pitched a two-hit masterpiece as the Sooners defeated No. 6 BYU 13-2 in five innings and advanced to the championship final in the Big 12 Softball Championship.

The Sooners (48-6) will face the winner of the semifinal contest between No. 1 Texas and No. 4 Baylor in the championship final on Saturday.

Deal was one strike away from a no-hitter when BYU's Macy Simmons dropped a single in front of OU right fielder Quincee Lilio. That was followed by a home run to straight-away center b leadoff hitter Hailey Morrow to break up the shutout. Deal retired the next hitter to end the game and send the reigning tournament champion Oklahoma to the championship final and a potential revenge match with No. 1 seed Texas.

In a lineup loaded with seniors, it was two Oklahoma freshman who led the way in the Sooners' semifinal win at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, which also will be the home of the Women's College World Series.

OU's Ella Parker was three for four, including a towering home run to right field in the first inning that put the Sooners up 1-0. Fellow freshman Kasidi Pickering was two for two in the game, and the two freshman were responsible for six of the 13 Oklahoma runs batted in. In the first two games in the Big 12 Tournament, Parker has five hits in six plate appearances, five runs batted in and five runs scored.

Alyssa Britto was three for three in Friday's semifinal game with three RBI and two runs scored, and Kinzie Hansen was two for three with two RBI.

The win was Deal's 12th of the season with one loss and 11th in a row.

BYU (31-23) was forced to play the game without its best player Ailana Agbayani, who was sidelined with a concussion suffered in the Cougars 7-2 upset win over Oklahoma State in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.

The run-rule win was Oklahoma's 24th of the season and helped avenge a 9-4 loss to BYU in the opening game of a series in Norman earlier in the season.

The Big 12 Championship game will be played in Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN2.

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