Oklahoma softball: Sooners sweep Big 12 weekly awards

Oklahoma softball players Kelly Maxwell and Tiare Jennings swept Big 12 weekly honors for the week of March 11-17.

Maxwell is the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and Jennings is the Player of the Week in the conference. In addition, Maxwell has been named the National Pitcher of the Week by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.

Maxwell pitched a no-hitter against Tarleton State and followed that with a scoreless 6.0 inning performance and 10 strikeouts in a 14-0 weekend win over Texas Tech. The transfer from rival Oklahoma State pitched 17.0 scoreless innings in the two wins and improved her season record to 8-0.

Jennings wielded a power bat this past week, going 7 for 13 at the plate, including three home runs, three doubles and 12 runs batted in. She also drew five walks and scored five runs. On Saturday, in a 15-2 Oklahoma win over Texas Tech, the Sooner shortstop tied an OU program record held by Sydney Romero with her 58th career double, second most in Big 12 history.

The Oklahoma win on Sunday not only swept the series with Texas Tech but also was the 400th Big 12 win by Sooner head coach Patty Gasso. Gasso, who is in her 30th season at Oklahoma, is the first Big 12 coach in any sport to win 400 games.

This is the eighth Big 12 weekly award won by both Maxwell and Jennings, and the second time this season that Maxwell has been named Pitcher of the Week.