Oklahoma Softball: Sooners Dominate Long Beach State
Jocelyn Alo’s pursuit of the home run title continues into Saturday.
But her Oklahoma teammates made quick work of their opponents Friday.
Oklahoma scored all 11 runs with two out in an 11-3 run-rule victory over Long Beach State in the Sooners’ second game of the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Beach, CA.
Alo, chasing Lauren Chamberlain’s NCAA career home run record — the Sooner legends sit tied at 95 — finished 2-for-2 at the plate with a double and two walks, and didn’t hit a home run in either of OU’s two victories Friday.
“Maybe it’s this weekend, maybe it’s next weekend, maybe it’ll happen in these next 50 games we have to play,” Alo said on the FloSports broadcast after the game. “But it’ll happen.”
Oklahoma run-ruled Cal State Fullerton 10-0 earlier in the day.
The No. 1-ranked Sooners (12-0) wasted no time getting around the bases early, scoring five runs in the first inning.
It started when Alo narrowly missed setting the record with a ball just past the glove of right fielder Corissa Sweet. As Sweet reached up for the ball, she crashed into the wall and the ball glanced off the fence for a double.
Alo came around to score on Kinzie Hansen’s single up the middle for a 1-0 lead.
Grace Lyons then followed with a two-run home run deep over the fence in left field. After Taylon Snow doubled to left, Jana Johns followed with a two-run homer to left-center, giving OU a 5-0 lead.
Hansen delivered another two-out RBI in the second inning when she smacked an opposite field single to right to score Mackenzie Donihoo for a 6-0 lead.
Long Beach State cut into that lead in the third when Jacquelyn Bickar hit a two-run home run off Hope Trautwein. It was Bickar’s first career home run and the first earned run allowed this season by the OU pitching staff.
Ashleigh Inae reached base ahead of Bickar on an error at first, so Bickar’s home run made it 6-2.
After the OU defense got two outs, Sweet doubled down the first base line and Sinclaire Lawhorn slapped a single to center to score Sweet with another unearned run that cut it to 6-3.
That chased Trautwein and brought on Nicole May, who ended the threat with a strikeout.
The Sooners responded immediately by loading the bases with no outs — Tiare Jennings singled, Rylie Boone walked and Alo smashed a hot ground ball through shortstop — but relief pitcher Addison Kostencich got two outs before Alyssa Brito hammered a three-run triple down the right field line to rebuild the lead to 9-3. Johns delivered an RBI double to the right-center gap that scored Brito and made it 10-3.
OU added a run in the fifth when Jennings score on Hansen's two-out ground out.
Trautwein went 2 2/3 innings and gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits with four strikeouts. May worked the last 2 1/3 innings, gave up two hits and struck out two — her first and her last batter.