OU Softball: Oklahoma Sweeps Texas Tech
NORMAN — Oklahoma closed out another Big 12 sweep in style.
Haley Lee hit a pair of home runs for OU, matching Jayda Coleman’s two-home run Friday, to pace the top-ranked Sooners.
Oklahoma’s offense never turned the faucet off, scoring in each of the first four innings to cruise past Texas Tech 7-0 at Marita Hynes Field on Saturday.
The Sooners moved to 36-1 with the victory, and dropped the Red raiders to 28-15.
Lee’s first bomb came in the first inning.
She stared down the 2-2 delivery to show off opposite-field power, sending a souvenir into the right field bleachers that brought Tiare Jennings home and put OU up 2-0.
The Sooners briefly took a break from the offensive action to come up with a nice defensive play in the top of the second.
Texas Tech left fielder Demi Elder came up clutch with a two-out hit off the wall in center field, advancing her teammate Abbie Orrick to third base.
Initially, it looked like Red Raider head coach Craig Snider gave Orrick the green light to round third and head home, but Jayda Coleman’s relay throw from the wall quickly made it to Grace Lyons.
Orrick stopped, but not before taking a few steps beyond third down the baseline, and Lyons fired over to Alyssa Brito at third to try and beat Orrick back tot he base.
Realizing she couldn’t make it back to third in time, Orrick headed to home, but Brito easily made the throw to Kinzie Hansen at the plate to tag Orrick out and end the inning.
Lyons then helped the Sooners build on their lead.
With Alynah Torres already aboard, Lyons hit a ball that look destined to bounce off the top of the wall, but Texas Tech right fielder Carson Armijo misplayed it, helping the ball over the fence to put OU up 4-0.
Lee returned in the third inning, smoking a pitch into the batter’s eye in dead center to add another run, and then Rylie Boone delivered an RBI-single with the bases loaded and two outs to extend the lead to 6-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, Boone again helped pitcher Nicole May.
Red Raider second baseman Alanna Barraza lifted a ball toward the scoreboard in left field, but Boone robbed the home run to end the inning after camping out at the wall and pulling the ball back into the park with her glove.
Boone’s snag highlighted an excellent weekend for Oklahoma’s defense as a whole, which appears to be as locked in as it has been all season as OU crossed the halfway mark in the Big 12 schedule.
Sophia Nugent came off the bench to plate more runs for the Sooners in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The OU sophomore singled into left field, scoring Jennings.
Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso sent Brito home, but the Red Raiders threw her out at home for the second out of the inning to keep the score at 7-0 and out of run-rule territory.
Three batters later, Quincee Lilio had a chance to push the Sooners over the top.
Alynah Torres and Jocelyn Erickson both reached base to load the bases, but Lilio lined out to second base to ensure OU would bat in the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, May continued to roll in the circle.
The junior right-hander allowed just two Texas Tech hits, striking out eight batters and issuing one walk in 5 1/3 innings of action. May moved to 11-0 on the year, improving her ERA to 0.43 on the year in the process.
Kierston Deal entered the game to close out the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Right-hander Alex Storako was then called upon to blank the Red Raiders in the seventh inning, closing out there victory.
The Sooners will now take a break from conference play with another marquee midweek matchup looming.
Oklahoma will travel to Baton Rouge on Tuesday to take on the No. 12-ranked LSU Tigers.
First pitch is slated for 7 p.m., and the future SEC battle will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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