Oklahoma Punches Ticket to Big 12 Title Game With Win Over Texas Tech
OKLAHOMA CITY— Kinzie Hansen woke up on the right side of the bed this morning.
After not feeling herself the last couple of weeks, the Oklahoma junior logged her fourth and fifth multi-home run games of the season on Friday, propelling the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to an 8-2 victory over Texas Tech and punching their ticket to the Big 12 Championship game.
“I’ve been starting to feel really well the past few weeks and I felt really good at the Oklahoma State series but there comes a time when enough is enough,” Hansen said after the game in a Zoom press conference. “I took some things personally and enough was enough for me. It was time to downshift and figure it out.”
In both contests on Friday, the Sooners fell behind early. But Hansen’s first bomb against the Red Raiders tied the contest at 2-2 on the first pitch of the fourth inning.
Three batters later, Lynnsie Elam launched her second home run of the game, this one a three-run shot, to give Oklahoma a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
“Some players really game to life tonight,” OU head coach Patty Gasso said after the game. “Probably the highlight for me was seeing Hansen and Elam come up clutch.”
Returning to the circle after a tough couple of games against OSU, Giselle Juarez looked more like her dominant self. The Sooner senior struck out five Red Raiders and gave up no walks in five innings of work.
A fielding error would lead to Texas Tech’s only two runs of the night.
With Arriana Villa already on first base, Abbie Orrick hit what should have been a routine fly ball to right field. But as Taylon Snow rushed toward the foul line to record the out, she misplayed the softball, allowing it to hit off of her glove and fall to the ground. The error allowed Villa to come all the way home and Orrick to land at third base.
In the next at-bat, Kennedy Crites laid down a perfect bunt, allowing Orrick to cross home plate and give Texas Tech the upper hand.
“Our defense needed to make some plays to really try to fight for the shut out,” Gasso said. “Our pitching staff, I thought, was really good tonight.”
In the fifth it was Jocelyn Alo’s turn to lead things off with a homer. Then OU went on to load the bases up with no outs, but they were unable to cash in and do more damage in the top of the fifth.
Hansen put the exclamation point on the win in the top of the sixth inning when she rocketed her fourth homer of the day, bringing Alo home and pushing the lead to 7-2.
Kinzie Hansen hit four home runs in Oklahoma's two games on Friday, driving in seven RBI's for the day
Pool photo by Ty Russell / OU Athletics
“The two of us talked a little bit. I know she hasn’t been swinging the way she wants to, and sometimes it can really mess with an athlete,” Gasso said. “Naturally when things don’t feel like they’re working right, we just try harder. And in this sport trying harder doesn’t always work.
“She just really answered the call at the right time, and this is when you wanna get hot. I don’t know how much hotter you can get if you’re Kinzie Hansen in a day.”
Oklahoma hit five home runs against Texas Tech, setting a new program record for long balls in a Big 12 Tournament game.
Entering the tournament, Gasso had highlighted the pitching staff as a unit that could improve, and they looked much more confident on Friday.
“It was really important for us to let Shannon (Saile) and Giselle feel things out and just get theirselves back on the mound the way they want to feel,” Gasso said. “Giselle threw really good tonight… I felt her very confident.”
It never hurts that the Sooner pitchers are getting plenty of run support.
Continuing to bat in the leadoff spot for the Sooners, Jayda Coleman has now reached base in 37 straight games.
The Sooners will hope Hansen continues her hot hitting start to the tournament tomorrow, as the OU sophomore went 5-for-6 with seven RBIs across the two games on Friday. Hansen now has five games where she has hit two home runs this season.
Now, the Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowgirls will meet for the fourth time in eight days with another championship on the line.
“We’ve just got to go out do us,” Hansen said about the matchup with the Cowgirls. “We’ve just got to stick to our game plan and do what we do best.”
Bedlam’s fourth act is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at Hall of Fame Stadium on Saturday. The Big 12 Championship Game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
“It’s for a championship. I mean that’s what we always hope for and hope that we’re in that game,” Gasso said. “We fight to be in that game, we train to be in that game.
“This team is going to get some rest and then come out and just do everything they can to bring back a championship.”