Oklahoma Softball: Sooners Run Rule Kentucky

Jocelyn Alo, Lynnsie Elam and Alyssa Brito each hit a pair of home runs and Jordy Bahl is dominant in the circle as OU improves to 26-0.

The Oklahoma softball machine marches on.

Three Sooners hit two home runs apiece on Tuesday night at Kentucky as OU stayed perfect with a 9-1 victory over the No. 8-ranked Wildcats.

Senior captain Lynnsie Elam hit two bombs to extend her home run streak to five consecutive at-bats, Alyssa Brito hit two, and of course Jocelyn Alo hit two to power No. 1-ranked OU (26-0) to another easy win before a sellout crowd 2,117 at UK’s John Cropp Stadium.

Kentucky fell to 20-6 as OU recorded its 22nd run-rule victory and 11th in a row.

Alo hit a solo blast in the first inning — the 101st of her career, breaking a tie with Oklahoma State slugger Pete Incaviglia for the most home runs in all collegiate diamond sports — and then mashed No. 102 into the scoreboard in left field to put the Sooners up 9-1 in the sixth.

Brito led off the fourth inning with an opposite field homer to make it 7-0, and in the sixth inning she led off with a blast to left-center for an 8-1 lead.

Meanwhile, freshman pitcher Jordy Bahl quickly turned around a near-nightmarish first inning to deliver another dominating performance in the circle.

Bahl (11-0) gave up a single to start the game, then committed a throwing error to put runners at first and second, then committed a fielding error to load the bases.

But Bahl Induced a ground ball that Grace Lyons brought home for a force out, then ended the threat with a pair of strikeouts.

Bahl rolled from there, finishing six innings by scattering six hits, yielding one run and striking out 12 — although she got into a little trouble in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Kentucky’s Renee Abernathy slapped a two-out, solo home run inside the left field foul pole off Bahl to put the Wildcats on the board and cut the Sooners’ lead to 7-1. Meeko Harrison followed with a single to center. But Bahl finished the inning by striking out the side.

Bahl also gave up a pair of infield singles to start the fifth inning, but struck out the next two hitters and ended the threat with a fly ball to Brito in left field.

Elam, who hit four home runs in the Hall of Fame Classic in Oklahoma City last weekend, finished her night 2-for-4 with four RBIs.

Jayda Coleman went 3-for-4 and Tiare Jennings had two hits for the Sooners.

OU returns to Marita Hynes Field this weekend for just the second time all year when they open a seven-game home stand with a three-game Big 12 Conference series against Baylor.