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    OU Softball: No. 1 Oklahoma Rolls Texas Tech in Series Opener

    Tiare Jennings tallied six RBIs and Kelly Maxwell threw 10 strikeouts to keep Oklahoma perfect in Big 12 play.

    A brisk day in Lubbock didn’t cool off Oklahoma’s bats.

    The top-ranked Sooners blasted four home runs to down the Texas Tech Red Raiders 14-0, starting off OU’s second Big 12 series of the year with a win at Rocky Johnson Field.

    Tiare Jennings busted the game open with a three-run shot in the third inning and iced it with a two-run home run in the seventh, powering the Sooners to a 25-1 record on the year and a perfect 4-0 mark in league play.

    It was a pair of walks, not a long ball, that brought danger for Texas Tech in the first inning, however.

    Cydney Sanders and Alyssa Brito both earned free passes, though Sanders was thrown out when Ella Parker hit into a fielder’s choice.

    Still, the pair of base runners were all Jennings needed in the first inning, as she doubled to the wall to open the scoring, plating Parker.

    Final Box Score

    Final Box Score

    OU’s lead sat at 1-0 after Brito was thrown out at home, limiting the danger early.

    Patty Gasso’s offense quickly struck again.

    Catcher Kinzie Hansen, returning to the lineup after missing the Sooners’ midweek contests against Tarleton State due to an illness, belted a solo home run in the second inning to double the lead.

    Then it was Jennings’ turn.

    With Coleman and Sanders on and two outs, she battled Texas Tech pitcher Maddy Wright.

    Jennings sent a warning shot, hammering Wright’s delivery foul, but then she straightened out her swing. The next pitch was mashed over the wall in left field, extending the lead to 5-0.

    Alynah Torres’ solo bomb in the fourth inning added another run, providing plenty of run support to OU’s ace.

    Maxwell, the  veteran left hander allowed just two hits and four walks, quieting a powerful Texas Tech attack.

    Her first real stress of the day came in the second inning.

    The Red Raiders led things off with back-to-back singles from Demi Elder and Raegan Jennings, but Texas Tech’s dangerous power mostly resides at the top of the lineup.

    Digging in against the Red Raiders’ 7-hole hitter, Maxwell dealt a pair of strikeouts before inducing a slow-rolling grounder to end the inning and keep the hosts off the board.

    Texas Tech again threatened in the sixth.

    Maxwell issued a pair of walks and hit a batter to load the bases with no outs, but again she dug deep.

    First she fired strike three past a looking Elder, then got Jennings to swing and miss at strike three outside of the zone.

    Then the veteran got Alanna Barraza to chase a ball low, swinging through strike three and silencing Rocky Johnson Field.

    Maxwell finished the game with 10 strikeouts.

    Jennings capped her day off with a second homer in the seventh inning. The Sooner shortstop finished 3-for-3 with six RBIs and two walks.  

    Rylie Boone then added Oklahoma's ninth run of the night with a one-out single to score Riley Ludlam.

    Jayda Coleman  scratched another across with a single, putting runners at the corners.

    Sanders wasn’t given the opportunity to add to her already impressive March home run tally, as Texas Tech walked the OU first baseman four times in the first six innings, but the Red Raiders had to pitch to her in after Coleman’s single in the seventh. 

    She didn't add another home run, but she drove in a run on a fielder's choice to push the Sooners' lead to 11-0. 

    True freshman Maya Bland then made the most of her pinch-hitting opportunity, delivering a two-RBI double in Brito's spot. 

    Quincee Lilio put OU up 14-0 by drawing a bases-loaded walk, capping off the Sooners' eight-run seventh inning. 

    Pitcher Paytn Monticelli took over for Maxwell in the bottom of the seventh, closing out Oklahoma's fourth Big 12 victory of the year. 

    The second game of the series will get underway at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and the contest will be broadcast on ESPN+. 

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