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OU Softball: No. 1 Oklahoma Trounces Wisconsin Behind Dominant Fourth Inning

Oklahoma sent 13 batters to the plate in a massive fourth inning effort to power past Wisconsin.
Ryan Chapman|
OU Softball: No. 1 Oklahoma Trounces Wisconsin Behind Dominant Fourth Inning
OU Softball: No. 1 Oklahoma Trounces Wisconsin Behind Dominant Fourth Inning

A fourth inning explosion was all Oklahoma needed to down Wisconsin.

The top-ranked Sooners plated eight runs in the bottom of the fourth, busting open their second game at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, CA, on Friday.

Fueled by the massive frame, OU beat the Badgers 10-2 in five innings.

The victory extended Oklahoma’s record wining streak to 64 games.

Oklahoma (11-0) wasted little time getting rolling in its final game of the day.

The Sooners’ pair of standout freshmen combined to get OU going in the second inning.

Left fielder Kasidi Pickering opened the scoring with an RBI-double that brought Ella Parker across home plate, continuing the strong start to the season for both of Patty Gasso’s youngsters.

Then a veteran doubled the lead.

Rylie Boone got aboard with a slow dribbler back up the middle, and the lack of urgency from Wisconsin center fielder Peyton Bannon allowed Pickering to sneak home to put OU up 2-0 at the end of the second inning.

An odd play got Wisconsin (6-8) off the mark in the third inning.

Ava Kuszak’s no-out double put runners on second and third, bringing leadoff hitter Alivia Bark to the plate.

Bark grounded the ball straight to first base, but it deflected off of OU’s Cydney Sanders. Alynah Torres charged the ball, thinking about trying to make a play at the plate before simply recording the out at first.

Wisconsin cut the lead to 2-1, but was unable to knot the game up in the third inning.

In the next frame, the Badgers would get back on level footing.

Left fielder Danielle Lucey snuck the ball past the glove of Alyssa Brito and into left field, scoring Fiona Girardot.

Kelly Maxwell got out of the inning surrendering just the run, but Wisconsin seized momentum as the energetic challengers looked much more up for the fight than the Sooners.

Oklahoma responded in the bottom of the fourth.

Kinzie Hansen drew a walk, and freshman Maya Bland was brought in to pinch run.

Parker smacked a ball through the gap on the left side, and a bobble in the outfield allowed Bland to get to third.

Sanders then battled through a lengthy at-bat that ended with a hard-hit bouncer to third. But Wisconsin third baseman Emily Bojan struggled to handle it, allowing Bland to score easily and Parker arrived safely at third.

Hannah Coor was then called upon to pinch-run for Sanders, and she tried to swipe second.

Wisconsin threw down to get Coor, allowing Parker to take home without any resistance, but Coor was awarded second base due to obstruction.

Pickering then doubled to the wall, extending the lead to 5-2 as Coor made it all the way home.

Later in the inning, Jayda Coleman pushed the lead to 6-2 with a bases loaded walk.

Jennings made the first out of the inning with a sacrifice fly, and Alyssa Brito’s single pushed the advantage to 8-2.

Parker officially pushed the game to the brink of ending early with a two-out double, scoring Coleman and Brito.

Needing just three outs to end the game, Gasso replaced Maxwell with Karlie Keeney.

The Liberty transfer closed out the game without incident, ending OU’s long day at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

Oklahoma returns to action at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday against San Diego State. 

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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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