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OU Softball: No. 1 Oklahoma's Pitching Shines in Second Win Over McNeese State

The Sooners used five different pitchers to shut out the Cowgirls on Saturday night.

Ryan Chapman

OU Softball: No. 1 Oklahoma's Pitching Shines in Second Win Over McNeese State
OU Softball: No. 1 Oklahoma's Pitching Shines in Second Win Over McNeese State /

Oklahoma’s pitching shut down McNeese State for the second time this weekend.

The No. 1-ranked Sooners used four different arms to shut out the Cowgirls, extending OU’s winning streak to 61 games with a 3-0 win in Lake Charles, LA, on Saturday night.

Karlie Keeney started the game, dominating the first three innings before SJ Geurin made her season debut to record two outs.

Nicole May then entered the fray, firing five strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings of action.

Kelly Maxwell closed out the game in the seventh, quickly ending the night’s proceedings.

A slight delay starting the game didn’t throw off Oklahoma’s bats early.

Rylie Boone looked as if she’d lead the contest off with a bunt single, but she tumbled down the first base line, allowing McNeese State (5-4) to throw her out.

Alyssa Brito had no such issues.

The Oklahoma (8-0) third baseman smashed a ball off the right field wall, arriving at third with a one-out triple.

Riley Ludlam brought Brito home with a double of her own, and Tiare Jennings’ RBI-single put the Sooners up 2-0.

Oklahoma landed the bases, by Cydney Sanders was unable to do any more damage, popping up behind home plate.

A pair of nice defensive plays helped keep the Cowgirls off the board.

Second baseman Quincee Lilio combined with Jennings to turn a pair of double plays, one in the second and one in the third inning, to help Keeney keep McNeese State off the board.

Kinzie Hansen had a golden opportunity to bust the game open in the top of the fifth.

The Sooner catcher stepped in with the bases juiced and two outs, but after battling to a founding off the first three pitches, Hansen swung and missed to keep the lead at just two runs.

Sanders provided a bit of insurance in the sixth inning.

She rocketed fifth pitch she saw well beyond the wall in left-center field, putting OU up 3-0.

Hansen had another opportunity to add to the advantage with runners on the corners in the seventh inning, but she flew out to left field.

Maxwell then shut the game down, moving the Sooners to 4-0 on the weekend.

Oklahoma will return to action one final time at at the Cowgirl Challenge, meeting Central Arkansas on Sunday at 11 a.m.

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is deputy editor at AllSooners and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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