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Oklahoma Freshman Shines in Final Battle Series Contest

An impressive performance from one of the Sooners' young utility players capped off what was a solid group of fall scrimmages at Marita Hynes Field.

Randall Sweet

In this story:

NORMAN โ€” One day after National Signing Day, the Oklahoma Softball team hosted its fifth fall scrimmage.

On a chilly Thursday evening at Marita Hynes Field, freshman Ella Parker led the way for the Sooners, going 4-for-5 at the plate with one home run.

Oklahoma State transfer pitcher Kelly Maxwell was the true star of the contest, however, allowing only one hit, one walk and zero runs in three innings pitched.

Kierston Deal also a solid outing in the circle, pitching three innings and retiring the first seven batters she faced.

The Grey Team started the game on a hot streak, with leadoff hitter Kasidi Pickering knocking a single between first and second base followed by another grounder through the same hole in the infield from veteran catcher Kinzie Hansen.

Senior utility player Alynah Torres laid down a perfect bunt that scored Pickering to put the Grey Team on the scoreboard with no outs in the first inning. Two outs later, Hansen hit a hard ground ball down the third base line.ย 

Alyssa Brito dove to stop the ball before it went into the outfield, but was unable to get Hansen out at first base, allowing Avery Hodge to score. A few plays later, Pickering stole third and was able to advance home on an errant throw that bounced off of Brito's glove and into the outfield.

With the White Team up to bat, Maxwell retired Tiare Jennings, Riley Ludlam and Rylie Boone in order to send the second group of hitters back to the bench.

The Red Team rounded out the first inning with a double from Brito, who served as the group's leadoff hitter. After Brito's shot to the outfield, however, the Red Team was unable to muster another hit, ending the at-bat.

In the second inning, the Grey Team was stifled by Maxwell, who struck out two while allowing zero hits to continue a solid outing. The stellar pitching continued in the White Team's second at bat, as Maya Bland, Jennings and Ludlam went down in order at the hands ofย May.

The second inning of the fifth Battle Series contest ended without a score, as Parker reached on a single and stole second base before Maxwell retiredย Hannah Coor and Quincee Lilioย to end the inning.ย 

After a quiet third inning from the Grey and White teams, the Red Team finally got on the board in the inning's final at-bat. After Parker singled, a double off the bat of Coor brought in the freshman from Los Angeles.ย 

A hard-hit single up the middle by Brito would score Coor later in the at-bat.ย 

After the third inning, the Grey Team led the way with three runs, followed by two scores from the Red Team and zero from the White Team.

In the top of the fourth inning, the Grey team was unable to muster a run despite having the bases loaded with just one out.ย 

After Hodge was hit by a pitch, Pickering and Hansen drew walks to put three runners on base. With Torres up to bat, the senior lined into a double play that ended the Grey Team's fourth at-bat.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Red Team brought in another run to bring their total even with the Grey Team. After a double from Coor, a line drive from Parker scored Lilio, who was pinch running for Coor.

An error in left field helped Parker reach third base as the freshman showed off her speed on the basepaths. Despite having runners on the corners, a flyout from Lilio ended the fourth inning.ย 

After the Grey team was held scoreless in their final at-bat, the White Team was able to load the bases, but couldn't muster a run as May struck out Ludlam to send the game to bottom of the fifth inning.

In the game's final at-bat, the Red Team added another run on a solo shot over the right field fence from Parker to cap off an impressive performance from the freshman.

At the end of the game, the Red Team came out on top with four runs, followed by three scores from the Grey Team while the White Team was held scoreless.

Published
Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall is a recruiting analyst and staff writer at AllSooners focusing primarily on OU Football and the recruiting trail. Working as a journalist, Randall has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and high school sports across the state. A 2022 University of Oklahoma graduate, Randall hails from Lubbock, TX. While in college, Sweet wrote for the OU Daily in addition to working with Sooner Sports Pad and OU Nightly. Following his time at OU, Sweet served as the Communications Coordinator at Visit Oklahoma City before leaving to join the team at AllSooners. The West Texas native has bylines in the Norman Transcript and is a Staff Writer for Inside the Thunder. Randall holds a bachelorโ€™s degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK.ย 

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