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No. 1 Oklahoma Overcomes Early Deficit to Top Mississippi State in Mary Nutter Classic Opener

The Sooners scored seven unanswered runs after a tough first two innings to beat the No. 25-ranked Bulldogs on Friday night.
Ryan Chapman|
No. 1 Oklahoma Overcomes Early Deficit to Top Mississippi State in Mary Nutter Classic Opener
No. 1 Oklahoma Overcomes Early Deficit to Top Mississippi State in Mary Nutter Classic Opener

Oklahoma’s opener at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic was far from straightforward.

The top-ranked Sooners fell down on two occasions early in the game, as No. 25 Mississippi State brought plenty of fight.

Buț OU’s resilient bats came alive.

The Sooners rallied to score seven unanswered runs, powering past the Bulldogs 9-3 in Cathedral City, CA, on Friday night.

Tiare Jennings and Kinzie Hansen batted in a pair of runners each, leading the way in what turned out to be a comfortable victory to extend OU’s winning streak to 63 games.

Before the lineup got rolling, Oklahoma right hander Nicole May endured an ominous start.

The Sooners (10-0) appeared to go down a run in the first inning thanks to an RBI double from Mississippi State right fielder Paige Cook, but OU caught a break.

Sierra Sacco, who drew a leadoff walk for the Bulldogs (10-2), was deemed to have left early, wiping the run off the board and sending Cook back to the plate.

Second baseman Avery Hodge was unable to wrangle Cook’s infield grounder later in the at-bat, however, allowing Cook to reach base safely with two outs.

And the Sooners were punished.

Catcher Jessie Blaine crushed May’s delivery, opening a 2-0 lead that would not get wiped off the board this time.

But Hansen responded.

The OU catcher cashed in on Jayda Coleman’s leadoff single, blasting a two-run shot of her own to virtually the same spot as Blaine’s beyond the left field wall.

The pendulum swung back in Mississippi State’s direction in the second inning.

With runners on first and second and two outs, Sacco battled off a number of good pitches from May. She finally turned on May’s 3-2 offering, bouncing a tough chopper deep into the gap.

Jennings fully extended, trying to at least stop the ball, but her effort on the tough play wasn’t rewarded as the ball cruelly bounced into the outfield to put the Bulldogs back on top.

Undaunted by the deficit, Oklahoma again immediately fired back.

Ella Parker and Hodge notched a pair of singles to put two runners aboard with just one out, and senior Rylie Boone took advantage.

She belted the ball down the right field line, arriving on second with a standup double that plated Parker.

Coleman then popped up to center field, but went deep enough for Hodge to tag up and slide across the plate to put OU on top 4-3, the first lead of the evening for the Sooners.

May stabilized in the third inning, allowing her team to extend the lead.

Parker again did the damage, singling back through the right side to convert Alyssa Brito’s one-out double into a fifth Oklahoma run in the bottom half of the inning.

Jennings added to the lead again in the bottom of the fourth inning.

She belted the ball to the wall, giving Coleman time to come all the way home from first, extending the Sooners’ lead to 6-3. It was a special RBI from Jennings, too, as she tied Oklahoma legend Lauren Chamberlain for second in the program’s career-RBI count.

Jennings didn’t have much time to ponder history on second base.

Brito returned, notching her second hit of the game to score Jennings, and Mississippi State made a pitching change down 7-3.

Rarely used left hander Delainey Everett got the Bulldogs out of the inning, but the damage was already done.

Coleman’s single with two outs in the bottom of the fifth extended the inning, allowing Kasidi Pickering to score off a wild pitch on the first ball Jennings saw as she stepped in.

Jennings hit the ball back to Everett, and the ball ricocheted off the pitcher’s foot and into the outfield to bring Coleman home, officially putting Jennings in front of Chamberlain in the record books.

Everett exited the game, but the deficit stayed at 9-3 for the Bulldogs headed into the sixth inning.

While the offense kicked into gear, OU coach Patty Gasso used plenty of arms to get the job done.

Redshirt freshman SJ Geurin took over in the circle for May in the fifth inning, retiring five of the six batters she faced with relative ease.

Kelly Maxwell then came into the contest in the sixth inning to fire the Sooners across the finish line. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is co-publisher at Sooners On SI and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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