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OU Softball: Kierston Deal, Oklahoma Take Care of Business Against San Diego State

The Sooners were a little sluggish at the plate but got another big outing from their outstanding left hander to pull away from the Aztecs.

John E. Hoover

After a late night at the ballpark on Friday, Oklahoma pitcher Kierston Deal let her teammates sleep in a little on Saturday.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

The Sooners’ sophomore left hander was dominant for the second straight weekend, this time in a 7-0 victory over San Diego State at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, CA.

It was Oklahoma’s 65th consecutive victory, extending the Sooners’ all-time, all-divisions NCAA record.

OU improved to 12-0 on the season and 3-0 at the Mary Nutter following two impressive wins Friday night — 9-3 over No. 25 Mississippi State and 10-2 over Wisconsin. SDSU fell to 8-6.

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The Sooners seemed to come out a little sluggish on Saturday — they didn’t get back to the team hotel until well after midnight Pacific Time following their challenging doubleheader — and coach Patty Gasso expressed concern on the pregame show that the team didn’t have a chance to get off its feet much Friday.

That underscored the importance of a big day from Deal, who allowed two baserunners in the first inning, then retired 16 straight Aztec batters. That stretch included five strikeouts for Deal, who recorded 10 Ks in her previous outing in a win over Lamar last week in Louisiana.

Deal did get a little run support early as Cydney Sanders drew a one-out walk and Rylie Boone singled to left. Boone and pinch-runner Maya Bland each stole a base, and Jayda Coleman delivered a two-out, two-run single to center that scored both runners and put the Sooners up 2-0.

The batting order was mostly quiet after that until the fifth inning.

That’s when OU players came out of the dugout before the bottom of the fifth, giving their multitude of fans a rousing “BOOMER SOONER” cheer that seemed to inject an emotional spark into the team.

Alyssa Brito immediately led off with a single to center, and co-captain Tiare Jennings belted a one-out line drive over the wall in straightaway center field to put the Sooners up 4-0.

The other co-captain, Kinzie Hansen, singled up the middle and hustled to second base on a bobble in the outfield. Sanders then walked behind Hansen to put runners at first and second with two out but Riley Ludlam took a called third strike to end the rally.

That was enough for Deal, however, who became the first Sooner starter to pitch in the sixth inning this season with the longest outing of her career. She finished with a complete game and allowed just three hits and zero walks with six strikeouts.

The length of Deal’s start might not have mattered, however, as the Sooner bullpen hasn’t given up a run yet this season, and OU pitchers haven’t allowed even a single a run after the fifth inning through their first 12 games.

Pinch-hitter Hannah Coor came in with two out and Brito on first in the sixth inning and banged a grounder deep into the hole at shortstop — her first career hit. Jennings then smashed a two-run double to the wall in left-center, bringing both runners home for a 6-0 lead, her third hit and fourth RBIs of the day.

Jennings scored to make it 7-0 on a flare single to shallow center field by Ella Parker.

Deal started the seventh with her sixth strikeout, but a fielding error by Quincee Lilio and a single off Deal by Makena Brocki created a moment of late drama, but Deal got out of it with a couple of fly balls.

Hansen and Pickering each had two hits for OU.

OU returns to Wrigley Field on Sunday for a pair of games Seattle (11 a.m. CT) and Loyola Marymount (1:30 p.m. CT). 

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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