OU Softball: Freshmen Shine as Oklahoma Rallies to Finish Off Sweep at UCF

After a rough start in the circle, the Sooners' fabulous freshman combined for three home runs to help OU finish off their final Big 12 road series.

Oklahoma’s Ella Parker / Kaila Jones/American-Statesman / USA

No doubt Oklahoma is a senior-driven ballclub.

But just in time for the postseason,  the Sooners’ fabulous freshmen are rounding into form.

Ella Parker hit two home runs and Kasidi Pickering blasted a solo shot as OU hit five over the wall and won its eighth game in a row with a 11-7 victory over UCF on Sunday in Orlando.

OU improved to 45-4 overall and 21-3 in Big 12 play, while UCF fell to 28-21 and 10-14.

No. 2-ranked OU has just one regular-season series left — next weekend’s Bedlam showdown at Love’s Field in Norman — before Big 12 Tournament play opens in Oklahoma City, followed by NCAA Regional action.

It’ll be the first postseason experience for OU’s freshmen — but they look more than ready.

Parker hit a two-run blast in the second inning and added a solo shot in the fifth, while Pickering homered in the third. They combined Sunday for three hits (all homers), four RBIs and five runs scored.

Parker and Pickering have displayed precocious and prodigous abilities all season, but they’ve really heated up recently. Parker hit her eighth and ninth home runs of the year and raised her batting average to .398, while Pickering hit her sixth dinger and elevated her average to .381. Pickering also drew three walks Sunday.

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Meanwhile, four of OU’s big five seniors are hitting over .400 on the season, and that group — Tiare Jennings, Kinzie Hansen, Jayda Coleman Alyssa Brito and Rylie Boone — has now combined for 54 home runs this season. 

Jennings added a home run of her own — her 18th this season — after Parker’s second blast in the fifth inning, her 91st career home run and the 300th RBI of her decorated career.

Hansen also homered in the fifth — her eighth of the year — to make it 11-5. It was Hansen’s first home run since March 15, a stretch of 53 plate appearances and 22 games, and she raised her batting average to a team-leading .441.

Generating plenty of offense was important for No. 2-ranked Oklahoma in Sunday’s clinching sweep as senior pitcher Nicole May struggled in her start.

May went just two innings and gave up four runs and four hits, including two big home runs, falling behind 2-0 and 4-2.

The Sooners loaded the bases in the first inning on a hit batter, an infield single and a walk, but UCF pitcher Kaitlyn Felton struck out the side,  finishing the threat with a fastball to retire Brito.

May stumbled out of the gate, issuing a one-out walk to Shannon Doherty and then giving up a two-run home run to Chloe Evans that put the Knights up 2-0.

Parker tied it in the second, however, with a two-run opposite field blast off Felton. Boone had reached on a one-out single up the middle to set up Parker’s heroics.

But that momentum lasted less than half an inning. 

May got two quick outs to start the inning, but Jasmine Williams singled and leadoff hitter Sona Halajian hammered a full-count fastball from May well over the wall in center field to push UCF to a 4-2 lead.

The Sooners responded by sending eight batters to the plate in the third inning.

Pickering drew a leadoff walk and advanced twice on wild pitches, and Hansen walked to put runners on the corners, setting the table for Coleman, who dropped a perfect squeeze bunt in front of the circle as Pickering raced home. Pickering reached around and slid past relief pitcher Angelina DeVoe’s gloved scoop attempt to the plate as catcher Jada Cody’s swipe tag was just behind Pickering’s left hand.

Brito then gave the Sooners their first lead of the day with a scorching one-hopper in front of left fielder Sarah Willis, and the ball skipped under Willis’ glove and rolled to the wall as Hansen and Coleman raced home to give OU a 5-4 lead.

Boone greeted reliever Grace Jewell with a line drive up the middle that knocked Jewell’s off and brought Brito home from third for a 6-4 lead.  

OU ace Kelly Maxwell, making her fifth relief appearance of the season — her first since March 23 — stepped into the circle for May to open the bottom of the third and got an immediate defensive gem from Brito, who dove to her left for a hot grounder and threw from her knees to retire Cody at first. Maxwell, who pitched 6 1/3 innings and got the win in Friday’s opener, then got a fly ball to center and a grounder to short to record the Sooners’ first 1-2-3 inning.

Pickering pushed Oklahoma’s lead to 7-4 in the top of the fourth when she launched a solo blast over the scoreboard past the right-center field wall.

Williams cut OU’s lead to 7-5 with a two-out, RBI double up the left field line, but Coleman killed the Knights’ threat when she chased down Halajian’s fly ball in full stride at the wall in right-center.

UCF plated a run to make it 11-6 in the sixth when Evans led off with a double off Maxwell and scored on Sierra Humphreys’ RBI groundout.

UCF rallied again in the seventh as Kierston Deal, who pitched a complete game in Saturday's win, replaced Maxwell and immediately gave up a solo home run, a single and an infield error before eventually closing the final two outs.

OU is back on the diamond next weekend when the Cowgirls make their Love’s Field debut at OU — their final Bedlam series as Big 12 Conference opponents.

Friday’s game starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised by FS1, while Saturday’s first pitch is noon on ESPN and Sunday opens at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.