Oklahoma Softball: Alyssa Brito Sparks Run Rule Victory Over No. 18 Texas
After a tight start, a huge fifth inning propelled Oklahoma on Friday night.
Alyssa Brito launched a pair of home runs to help beat the No. 18-ranked Texas Longhorns 9-1 at Red and Charline McCombs Field.
The win kept the No. 1-ranked Sooners unbeaten at 38-0, and extended OU’s win streak over Texas (30-12-1) to 23 straight games.
Through two games this weekend, Brito has four RBIs, quadrupling Texas’ offensive output by herself.
For the second straight night, Oklahoma opened the scoring.
Jayda Coleman drew a leadoff walk to start the second inning after OU was on the receiving end of three straight strikeouts to start the game. In the ensuing at-bat, Kinzie Hansen was hit by a pitch to advance Coleman to second, allowing Coleman to pressure the Longhorn defense on the base paths.
Texas catcher Mary Iakopo overthrew first base trying to catch Hansen sleeping, but she rocketed the ball into the outfield. Coleman was able to turn on the jets for a pair of bases to capitalize on the mistake and put OU up 1-0.
The lead didn’t last long, however, as Texas first baseman JJ Smith leveled the game with a solo home run off Nicole May in the bottom of the second inning.
Brito then took over the proceedings.
After launching a solo bomb in Thursday night’s series opener, the Oregon transfer outdid herself in Friday’s Game 2.
Brito smashed her first home run of the night in the third inning to put the Sooners up 2-1, and then, after Jana Johns drove Hansen home in the fourth inning to make it 3-1, Brito returned to hit another solo shot in the fifth to extend the lead to 4-1.
OU’s fifth inning damage didn’t stop with Brito, however.
With runners on the corners, Grace Lyons laid down a perfect bunt, simultaneously reaching first base safely while plating Tiare Jennings.
The Sooners added another run to push the lead to 6-1 when Johns drew a bases-loaded walk, and then Rylie Boone added another two runs with a single through the right side.
Boone’s two-RBI hit brought Brito back up in the fifth inning, and she again tormented Texas.
She didn’t blast her fourth home run of the series, but she did score Johns on a single up the middle to put her team up 9-1 and put the run rule in effect, stunning the record crowd of 1,687 in the process.
Hope Trautwein entered the game in relief of May to help contain the Longhorn offense.
May pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowed a pair of hits and two walks while striking out one Texas batter.
Trautwein helped steady the contest in the third inning. She also gave up two hits and two walks, but the super senior transfer was able to keep the Longhorns off the board, improving on her NCAA-leading earned run average.
Oklahoma will look to finish off the sweep on Saturday when the teams link back up at 1 p.m. With the series victory already in hand, the Sooners extended their unbeaten series streak in Big 12 play to 63.
Saturday’s matchup will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network.
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