OU Softball: Sixth Inning Outburst Powers Oklahoma Past Long Beach State
Alyssa Brito rocketed a pair of home runs to close out Oklahoma’s Mexico trip on a high.
The Sooners’ standout third baseman struck in the first inning to set the tone and crushed another long ball in the sixth inning, as No. 1 OU beat Long Beach State 11-3 at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Saturday.
The win capped off a perfect weekend for Oklahoma (4-0), and Long Beach State (0-2) saw the Sooners extend their winning streak to 57 games.
Final Box Score
OU Stats
Brito opened the scoring, even if her teammates didn’t quite believe it.
With Tiare Jennings and Kasidi Pickering on first and second, Brito stepped into the line of fire.
She made contact on the first pitch, and the ball initially looked like a routine popup off the bat.
Jennings and Pickering stayed anchored in place, waiting to tag up, but the ball kept carrying.
Brito almost overran Pickering, who had inched toward second, and the ball snuck over the fence in center field for Brito’s second home run of the weekend to put OU up 3-0.
It didn’t take Long Beach State long to answer.
A one-out single and a walk got the ball rolling in the bottom of the second inning, setting the table for Savannah Magadan.
The catcher roped Kierston Deal’s delivery into the left field corner, cutting the deficit to 3-2 with a double.
A pitch in the dirt from Deal then let Magadan advance to third, and Jacquelyn Bickar tied the game up with an RBI single through the left side.
Karlie Keeney then came in for Deal, getting the Sooners out of the inning and stabilizing the situation.
Deal lasted 11 batters, throwing one strikeout while issuing a pair of walks and allowing all three earned runs on four hits.
Cydney Sanders put OU back on top in the fourth inning.
The Oklahoma first baseman launched the ball into deep center field, just short of the wall.
She got a crucial assist, however.
The ball bounced off Long Beach State center fielder Lilyanna Martinez’s glove and over the fence for a solo home run.
Brito returned to do more damage in the sixth inning.
She hit a solo shot, this time a no-doubter, to extend Oklahoma’s lead to 6-3.
Sanders and Avery Hodge followed Brito with back-to-back singles, and then a walk brought true freshman Ella Parker in with the bases loaded and no outs.
Parker looked at four straight balls, and the walk pushed OU’s advantage to 6-3.
Riley Ludlam added to the tally with another walk, and Jayda Coleman pushed another run across despite hitting into a double play to make it 8-3.
Jennings smacked a two-run shot to close out a six-run sixth inning, ensuring OU would remain firmly in command.
Keeney’s outing ended after the sixth inning. She retired all 13 batters she faced across 4 1/3 innings, tossing a pair of strikeouts.
Kinzie Hansen closed the scoring for the Sooner with an RBI single in the seventh, driving in Brito, who had a three-hit day.
Paytn Monticelli closed out the 11-3 victory for the Sooners in the circle, sending Oklahoma back home with all four wins for the weekend.
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