Oklahoma Softball Weekend Preview | At #16 Baylor

Revenge will be on their minds as Oklahoma returns to Waco, Texas this weekend. It’s the sight of their only loss to date and it came at the hands of the Baylor Bears who won a non-conference matchup by a final score of 4-3. The Sooners will be looking to place a strangle hold on the top spot in the regular season conference standings by going for a series sweep but the Bears definitely have pulling another upset on their minds.

Series Schedule

DateOpponentTimeTVResult
April 21Baylor 6:30 PMESPN+
April 22Baylor6:30 PMESPN+
April 23Baylor6:30 PMESPN+

Tuning In

All three games can be seen via ESPN+ and can be heard via 107.7 The Franchise (FRI/SUN), 1560 The Franchise 2 (SAT) in Oklahoma or nationwide on The Varsity Network app with Chris Plank calling the action.

What We Learned Last Weekend

If you don’t have the arms this team will abuse you. Opponents have been using a strategy in which they throw multiple pitchers in a game in order to keep Oklahoma’s hitters off balance. It hasn’t worked in terms of beating the Sooners but it has been effective in limiting the damage offensively. However, last weekend OU’s opponents didn’t have the luxury of deep bullpens and it resulted in a Sooner slugfest.

Oklahoma took two non-conference games in run-rule fashion last weekend at the Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio, beating Louisville 10-1 in five innings before a 13-1 six-inning victory over host Miami. OU hit six home runs from six dierent Sooners on the weekend, batting .509 as a team and combining to outscore the opposition 23-2 and outhit the foes 27-9.

Notes & Storylines

  • OU is on a 31-game win streak dating back to the Sooners only loss of the season, Feb. 19 at Baylor in a non-conference matchup in Waco.
  • The Sooners are 14-0 in ranked matchups on the season.
  • OU is outscoring its opponents by a combined score of 342-35 on the season, surrendering an average of 0.87 runs/game.
  • As a team, OU is batting a nation-best .380 with 76 home runs.
  • Redshirt senior Alex Storako, juniors Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings and Nicole May and sophomore Jordy Bahl combined for the most representatives from one school among the top 25 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. Oklahoma leads the way with five finalists while five schools are second with two players each.

Against Baylor

  • OU meets the Bears for the first time since Feb. 19 where Baylor handed the top-ranked Sooners its first and only loss of 2023.
  • The Sooners battled back from a 4-1 deficit to cut the lead to one in the sixth inning, putting the tying run on third base with two outs, but couldn’t manufacture any more runs in the final two innings to drop just the program’s eighth loss in the past three years.
  • Baylor scored all four of its runs in the third inning, highlighted by a three-run homer from Shalon Govan.
  • OU holds a dominant all-time record of 70-14 vs. Baylor, including a 23-6 mark in Waco.

Heavy Hitters

  • Haley Lee heads into the weekend as Oklahoma’s home run leader with a total of 12. She’s batting .436 on the season and is tied with Kinzie Hansen for second on the team with 38 RBI.
  • Baylor’s Shaylon Govan leads the team with 9 homeruns. She’s batting .394 and has a team-best 43 RBI on the season.

From The Circle

  • Nicole May leads the Sooner pitching staff with a 0.51 ERA. She has a 12-0 record on the season.
  • Dariana Orme leads the Bears from the circle with a 1.49 ERA. She has a 14-5 record on the season.

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