OU uses long ball to cap sweep of ISU; Cowgirls nip Baylor

NORMAN – Five Sooners homered and 13 of 14 OU hitters reached base as the No. 2/1-ranked Oklahoma softball team trounced Iowa State, 14-1, on Sunday afternoon at Love’s Field, securing a conference-opening weekend sweep.

Oklahoma (22-1, 3-0 Big 12) closed the first weekend of conference play leading the Big 12 standings, a full game ahead of Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and UCF. The Sooners outscored Iowa State 29-3 over the course of the three-game series.

Ella Parker recorded her first collegiate three-hit game in Sunday’s win, going 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Tiare Jennings (1-for-2, R, HR, 3 RBI), Kinzie Hansen (1-for-2, R, HR, 3 RBI), Cydney Sanders (1-for-1, 3 BB, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI) and Quincee Lilio (1-for-1, R, HR, 3 RBI) each left the yard to lead a lineup that produced 14 hits and drew five walks.

OU’s impressive showing at the plate backed a terrific outing from left-hander Kierston Deal. The sophomore extended her scoreless streak to 22.0 innings by covering 3.0 shutout frames of one-hit ball, improving to 5-0 on the season. She struck out four and retired nine of the 11 she faced, permitting just two Cyclone baserunners on a single and a hit-by-pitch.Jennings opened the scoring with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first, a shot that marked her 80th collegiate blast and moved her into eighth in the program’s career hit leaderboard (266, tied with Kelli Braitsch).

An eight-run Sooner third that featured a three-run Hansen home run, two-run shots by Sanders and Parker and an RBI double off the bat of Kasidi Pickering (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI) put the game fully out of reach. Lilio tacked on three more with a towering three-run blast in the fourth, providing OU with its decisive 14-1 lead.

Paytn Monticelli retired four of the five she faced, striking out three, before SJ Geurin recorded the final two outs of the fifth.

Sanders’ homer punctuated an incredible weekend that saw her homer four times, go 4-for-5 (.800) and drive in nine runs. She also drew five walks, reaching in nine of her 10 trips to the plate during the series sweep. Over the month of March (9 games), Sanders is slashing .600/.750/1.933 for a 2.683 OPS with six home runs, two doubles, a 1:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a whopping 15 runs batted in.

OU hosts Tarleton State on Tuesday for a midweek doubleheader at Love’s Field beginning at 4:30 p.m. CT.

Cowgirls rally, edge Baylor

WACO, Texas – The No. 4 Oklahoma State softball team scored one run in the sixth and two runs in the seventh to defeat No. 14 Baylor, 3-2, Sunday at Getterman Stadium.

The Cowgirls improve to 20-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12. Baylor fell to 14-5 overall and 1-2 in the league.

Baylor scored first in the third inning after a ground ball hit off third base allowing the runner at third to score. In the fifth, the Bears homered to make the score 2-0.

Oklahoma State scored a run in the sixth after a ground ball from Tallen Edwards brought Macy Graf home. The Cowgirls threatened for more, putting a runner on third twice in the inning but were unable to score either time.

In the seventh, Caroline Wang led off with a double to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Rosie Davis moved pinch runner Scotland David to third who immediately scored after a ground ball from Micaela Wark that tied the game at two. Megan Bloodworth put a line drive into right field to score Tia Warsop from second to put the Cowgirls ahead, 3-2.

Lexi Kilfoyl (9-2) and the Cowgirl defense retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to seal the victory.

Ivy Rosenberry started in the circle for the Cowgirls and allowed just one run in three innings of work before Kilfoyl took over in the fourth to finish the game. Kilfoyl allowed only one run and two hits in four innings to earn the victory.

The Cowgirls are now 7-1 in Big 12 opening series in the Kenny Gajewski era. This is the seventh year in a row that OSU has won the opening series of Big 12 play.

Cowgirl Softball returns to action when it hosts Central Arkansas at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday at Cowgirl Stadium.