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OU Softball: No. 2 Oklahoma Throttles No. 1 UCLA Behind Clutch Hitting Display

Oklahoma busted the highly-anticipated contest open with four two-out home runs in the second inning.

Ryan Chapman

OU Softball: No. 2 Oklahoma Throttles No. 1 UCLA Behind Clutch Hitting Display
OU Softball: No. 2 Oklahoma Throttles No. 1 UCLA Behind Clutch Hitting Display /

Next week, Oklahoma will be back on top of the college softball world.

The Sooners fell to No. 2 in the country for the first time since 2021 following a 4-3 loss to Baylor one week ago.

But OU left no doubts as to who will take the top spot in the next round of polls after dominating the No. 1 UCLA Bruins 14-0 in just five innings Sunday in the Sooners’ Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic finale from Cathedral City, CA.

Patty Gasso’s Sooners moved to 13-1 on the year, while the Bruins dropped to 17-1 after the marquee non-conference tilt.

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Oklahoma’s powerful offense blasted four of its six total home runs in the top of the second inning, all with two outs, to bust open the contest.

Every one of OU’s first 10 hits came with no outs, as the lineup piled pressure on the UCLA pitching staff throughout.

UCLA pitcher and 2022 Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Megan Faraimo felt the heat from Oklahoma early.

Faraimo started the game with back-to-back strikeouts of Jayda Coleman and Grace Lyons, but then OU’s bats came to life.

Tiare Jennings, Jocelyn Erickson and Haley Lee combined for three straight singles, bringing Alynah Torres to the plate with the chance to do some early damage. Faraimo was able to induce a line drive to left field to end the inning, but the first inning only served as a warning of what was to come the next time OU stepped into the batter’s box.

Kinzie Hansen and Rylie Boone were both retired in the top of the second inning to quickly register the first two outs, but then a home run derby broke out.

Sooner third baseman Alyssa Brito fouled the ball away three times, battling through a full count before launching Oklahoma’s first home run of the day.

Coleman then followed her lead, turning the lineup back over with a solo shot of her own to put OU up 2-0.

Lyons bounced a single up the middle, and Jennings smoked an 0-2 delivery well past the fence in left field to double the lead and chase Faraimo out of the game.

Iowa transfer Lauren Shaw took over for the Bruins in the circle, but she faced the same fate as Faraimo.

Erickson singled to give more ammunition to Lee, who hit her second home run of the season to balloon the lead to 6-0.

While the offense was firing on all cylinders, Oklahoma pitcher Alex Storako stayed cool in the circle.

The veteran right-hander shut down the UCLA offense that entered the game averaging 6.8 runs and 8.8 hits per game in 2023.

She needed only 71 pitches to dispatch of the 18 batters faced, as Storako struck out five Bruins and allowed just three hits and no walks across five shutout innings.

Jennings returned to add to the Sooners’ lead in the top of the third inning.

Producing again with two outs, Jennings doubled off the wall to bring home Brito and Coleman, building the advantage to 8-0 and pushing the contest into run-rule territory.

Hansen hit Oklahoma’s fifth bomb of the day in the top of the fourth inning, adding a couple of insurance runs to the run rule and putting her team up 10-0.

Grace Green added an RBI single in the top of the fifth, and Hansen belted her second home run of the game to put OU up 14-0.

Sunday was UCLA’s first loss since the Sooners eliminated the Bruins from the 2022 Women’s College World Series with a 15-0 drubbing in the tournament’s semifinals.

Coleman, Jennings and Lee all went 3-for-4, while Hansen paced OU with five RBIs to Jennings’ four. Eleven Sooners recorded a hit, with all but one who made a plate appearance registering a base hit.

OU has now defeated UCLA four of the last five meetings dating back to 2021 and have outscored the Bruins 42-10 in those five games.

OU’s 20 hits were the most since a 20-hit performance at Wichita State on May 23, 2021. The Sooners’ six home runs were a season high and the most since hitting six in Game 1 of the Women’s College World Series Championship Series against Texas on June 8 of last season. 

Oklahoma will follow up its perfect 5-0 weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic by opening the home slate next weekend.

The Sooners will host four games next Friday-Sunday, featuring a pair of matchups against Kentucky in the OU Tournament at Marita Hynes Field.

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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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