OU Softball: Oklahoma Breezes Past Loyola Marymount
Oklahoma’s dominant display at the Mary Nutter Classic continued into its second game on Saturday.
Conquering cold and damp conditions, the No. 2-ranked Sooners battered Loyola Marymount, dominating the Lions 10-1 in five innings in Cathedral City, CA.
True freshman pitcher Kierston Deal cruised through four innings in the circle for the Sooners (12-1) while a pair of triples helped OU pile a hefty run total on LMU (5-10).
Haley Lee opened the scoring with an RBI-double, scoring OU shortstop Grace Lyons and moving Tiare Jennings over to third.
True freshman Jocelyn Erickson then continued her stellar start to the season, bouncing out up the middle but bringing Jennings home to give Oklahoma a 2-0 lead.
Kinzie Hansen kept the momentum going in the next at-bat, roping a ball into right field to plate Lee and cap off the three-run inning.
Deal worked around a leadoff walk in the top of the second inning with no trouble to bring the offense back to the plate to deal more damage in the bottom half of the inning.
Left fielder Rylie Boone cashed in on Cydney Sanders’ leadoff single, sneaking a ball into right field for a double that allowed Sanders to safely round the bases.
Jayda Coleman poured it on when she stepped into the batters’ box, blasting her first home run of the year well past the fence in-between LMU’s left and center fielders.
After a pair of pop-ups, Lee achieved a career-first.
She placed a hard-hit ball up the right field line that then rolled into the corner in foul territory. While Loyola Marymount right fielder Sydney Poole tried to corral the ball, Lee was able to dash all the way into third base for her first career triple.
Lee didn’t have to use any of her remaining speed to get all the way home, as Erickson singled into left field and Lee trotted home to push the lead to 7-0.
Perhaps inspired by Lee, pinch-hitter Quincee Lilio came up big for the Sooner sin the third inning.
With the bases juiced, Lilio turned on the 1-2 delivery and lifted it over the head of Poole in right field to clear the bases and slide into third safely, putting her team up 10-0.
Deal's day ended after she loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning with no outs. The left-hander faced 17 batters in her second career start, striking out three LMU batters while allowing four hits and a pair of walks.
Alex Storako closed the game out for Deal, retiring all three batters she faced but conceding a run on a fielder's choice.
The victory set up tomorrow’s show-stopping tilt between the top-ranked UCLA Bruins and Oklahoma.
First pitch between the two softball powers is scheduled for Sunday at 11:30 a.m., and the game will be broadcast on FloSoftball.
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