OU Softball: Oklahoma's Kierston Deal Earns First Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Award

The OU sophomore was excellent last week, pitching her first collegiate no-hitter and tying her career-high in strikeouts.

Oklahoma’s Kierston Deal earned plenty of recognition for a stellar week in the circle. 

The OU sophomore was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week following two dominant performances against Tulsa and Houston. 

Last Tuesday, Deal threw her first collegiate no-hitter, blanking Tulsa at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City in six innings. She followed that up with a complete-game shutout to secure a series sweep over Houston for the Sooners on Sunday. 

Deal struck out four Golden Hurricane batters on Tuesday and had it not been for a hit batter and a catcher’s interference, she would have thrown a perfect game. The Cougars could only muster two hits and a walk off Deal on Sunday as she struck out 10 batters to tie her career high. 

Over the 13 innings last week, opponents hit a combined 0.49, and Deal struck out 32.6 percent of total batters faced. 

On the year Deal is 10-1 overall in the circle with a Big 12-leading 1.01 ERA. 

This is the first time Deal has won Big 12 Pitcher of the Week in her career, and it’s the third time a Sooner has taken home the honor in 2024. 

Oklahoma will return to action on Friday against UCF in its final road trip of the season. 

First pitch between the Sooners and the Knights is slated for 5 p.m.