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OU Softball: Brito Blast Allows Oklahoma to Pull Away Late at Tulsa

The Sooners were up just two runs before Alyssa Brito's seventh-inning grand slam.
John E. Hoover|
OU Softball: Brito Blast Allows Oklahoma to Pull Away Late at Tulsa
OU Softball: Brito Blast Allows Oklahoma to Pull Away Late at Tulsa

Tulsa pressed the champs, and the champs survived.

No. 1-ranked Oklahoma outlasted the plucky Golden Hurricane on Tuesday at Collins Family Softball Complex, a 6-0 road victory in Tulsa.

OU improved to 46-1 this season and extended its winning streak to 38 in a row — but had to work for it against a Tulsa squad that fell to 20-27.

Alyssa Brito’s seventh-inning grand slam came with two out and followed three walks and put the game away late.

But it was a two-run game before that thanks to Tulsa pitcher Kylee Nash’s impressive performance in the circle. Nash threw 6 1/3 innings and allowed just two runs (zero earned) before leaving with one out in the sixth. She didn’t record a strikeout and gave up six walks and five hits, but all were singles.

Oklahoma finally broke the ice in the top of the third inning when Grace Lyons hit a sharp grounder behind the bag at second base that got away from TU shortstop Imani Edwards and allowed Tiare Jennings to score from second.

The Sooners then made it 2-0 one batter later when Haley Lee’s grounder up the middle on an 0-2 pitch brought home Cydney Sanders from second.

OU hasn’t played a lot of midweek games this season, so Patty Gasso’s pitching approach was clear.

Jordy Bahl started and was allowed to finish three innings. She struck out three and didn’t allow a hit.

Nicole May started the fourth inning and gave up a one-out bloop single, but left fielder Rylie Boone dove and stayed with the ball before throwing quickly to second and getting Edwards out in a rundown at first base. May ended the inning with a strikeout.

Kierston Deal relieved May with two out in the fifth and the Sooners clinging to a 2-0 lead and quickly got a popup.

The Sooners had chances to add to the lead in the top of the sixth after back-to-back singles by Alyssa Brito and Jocelyn Erickson. But Brito was caught stealing third, and Erickson stopped at third on Boone’s single up the middle and was stranded when Jayda Coleman popped out.

Alex Storako came in as the Sooners’ fourth pitcher to begin the bottom of the sixth and recorded two quick strikeouts before giving up two singles and getting a fly out.

OU finally put it away in the top of the seventh when Tiare Jennings led off with a walk and took second on Cydney Sanders’ sacrifice bunt. Grace Lyons walked and Quincee Lilio struck out, but Sophia Nugent worked a 10-pitch walk to set the stage for Brito.

Brito turned on a 1-2 pitch from Maura Moore and blasted the ball onto Sixth Street beyond the left field wall to give the Sooners a 6-0 lead.

Storako then finished things with two strikeouts and a fly ball in the seventh.

The Sooners finish the regular season this weekend with a Big 12 Conference series at Oklahoma State. OU has already clinched the Big 12 regular season title. 

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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