Friday went as well as it possibly could for the state schools in the return of the Big 12 Softball Championship. Both the Cowboys and the Sooners advanced through their respective pools to reach Saturday’s championship game, making it a Bedlam affair.
Oklahoma State snuck past Baylor, in their tournament opener, by a final score of 2-1. Both runs came in the third inning where Maddi Holcomb scored off a fielding error, on a ball that was put in play by Taylor Lynch, and then three batters later Kristin Reasnor knocked in Lynch to score what would become the deciding run. The Cowgirls had it a little easier in their second game where they bombarded Iowa State 10-0 in a five inning run-rule.
Meanwhile, the Sooners were also relying on dominant pitching and power hitting to fuel their run to the championship. Oklahoma shutout Texas 3-0 to open the tournament and then blasted Texas Tech 8-0 in the finale. Sophomore Caleigh Clifton left the yard twice against the Red Raiders and was joined by freshman Nicole Mendes and sophomore Sydney Romero in hitting home runs.
Oklahoma closed out the regular season with a three-game sweep of Oklahoma State where the Sooners won by a combined score of 10-2. First pitch in Saturday’s championship game is set for 4:30 PM.