OU Softball: Oklahoma Rolls in OKC Opener
Sometimes change is good. Sometimes more change is better.
Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso made a few tweaks to the starting lineup on Friday against Weber State, but after the Sooners got off to a slow start, Gasso changed things up again.
Alex Storako came out of the bullpen to light up the circle, Kinzie Hansen and Alyssa Brito provided some offensive punch and Grace Lyons was finally back on the field as OU pounded the Wildcats 9-1 in the Omni Hall of Fame Classic in Oklahoma City.
The No. 1-ranked Sooners improved to 23-1 on the season and are now 10-0 as host of the third-year event. This was OU’s 181st game all-time in Hall of Fame Stadium — home of the College World Series — and the Sooners’ 131st victory.
Freshman Kierston Deal got the start in the circle and wasn’t immediately sharp as McKell McCuistion led off the game with a solo home run that deflected off the right field foul pole — her first home run of the season — and Faith Hoe followed with a sharp single to right.
But Hoe was erased with a ground ball and Deal struck out Lauren Hoe and Katelyn Whiting to end the first.
Deal — making just her third start of the season after pitching a total of 12 1/3 innings behind regular starters Nicole May, Jordy Bahl and Storako — wasn’t the only shuffle in the OU lineup.
Utility player Haley Lee started behind the plate at catcher for the sixth time this season and just the second time since Feb. 19 (Hansen started as the DH) and Cydney Sanders was back at first base (Jocelyn Erickson had started three in a row and six of the last eight there).
Also, with Lyons, OU’s All-American shortstop, out of the starting lineup for the seventh straight game due to an undisclosed illness, Tiare Jennings again started at short and Quincee Lilio was at second base.
Deal finished two innings and only gave up one run, but got no run support as Weber State starter Jayci Finch — at last early — was up to the task of facing the lethal OU lineup before leaving with nobody out in the fourth and a facing a 4-1 deficit. Jennings’ two-out single in the first inning was quickly erased when Hansen grounded out, and Alynah Torres’ one-out single in the second was negated by Sanders’ fly out and Rylie Boone’s strikeout.
Gasso — perhaps looking for a spark, perhaps trying to get her senior transfer some innings in Hall of Fame Stadium — called for Storako to replace Deal to open the third inning and put Hansen back behind the plate.
It was just what the Sooners needed.
After recording a quick strikeout, Storako gave up a double off the center field wall by Mika Chong, but then struck out the next two batters.
That seemed to inject some life into the OU lineup as Lilio opened the bottom of the third with a single through the right side. Jayda Coleman delivered a bunt single, and after Sophia Nugent grounded out, Jennings walked to put runners on second and third.
That brought up Hansen, who crushed a line drive to the gap in left-center field, sending Lilio and Jennings home for a 2-1 lead.
Brito then followed with a two-run smash over the wall in straightaway center, her sixth home run of the season, pushing the OU lead to 4-1.
The Sooners got some good news when Lyons finally returned to the field as she opened the fourth inning at short, sending Jennings back to second.
Meanwhile, Storako stayed red hot as she struck out six of the first seven hitters she faced. Over the first four innings (12 outs), Deal and Storako combined for 10 strikeouts. Storako gave up just one hit with seven strikeouts in three innings. She and Deal both faced just 10 batters.
Lyons hadn’t played since the second game against Kentucky on March 4, but she put on show in the fifth with two difficult ground balls, two perfect throws and two bang-bang plays at first base to open the inning. Storako finished it with her seventh strikeout.
Brito’s second big blast, also to center field, was a two-run shot that scored Jennings and put OU up 6-1 in the fifth. It was Brito’s team-leading seventh home run of the season, and her first multi-homer game this year (she had three last year).
Brito finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs, while Hansen drove in two runs with her lone hit. Jennings and Torres each finished with two hits. Lyons also delivered her first hit since the UCLA game on Feb. 26 with a sharp single that loaded the bases in the fifth inning.
Coleman then ended the game with a bloop double that scored three runs and cleared the bases.
The Sooners’ day continues with a Friday nightcap against No. 24 Northwestern — a rematch of last year’s WCWS opener — scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
OU faces Weber State again at 4 p.m. Saturday before meeting No. 19 Auburn Saturday night (6:30 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.). All games are on ESPN+.
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