OU opens Big 12 play with shutout of Iowa State
OU softball’s first Big 12 game of its last Big 12 season followed a familiar script.
The Sooners (20-1, 1-0 Big 12) won without a sweat, blanking Iowa State 4-0 in Game 1 of a Saturday doubleheader at Love’s Field.
Left-hander Kelly Maxwell (6-0), the Cowgirl turned Sooner, had eight strikeouts in seven shutout innings. Maxwell allowed four hits and three walks. The Cyclones (9-11, 0-1 Big 12) didn’t have a runner reach third base until the sixth inning.
Iowa State pitchers Lauren Schurman and Jaiden Ralston kept the Sooner bats relatively quiet. Ralston, a sophomore, didn’t allow a run in her 2 2/3 innings of relief.
OU was held to four or fewer runs for the fourth time this season.
But with Maxwell in the circle, the Cyclones never threatened.
It was a brisk day at Love’s Field, with the wind blowing in for the first time since the stadium opened.
Cydney Sanders managed to muscle a three-run homer over the right-field fence, but just barely. Two of Iowa State’s outfielders collided at the wall, each robbing the other of an opportunity to steal a home run.
The fourth-inning shot was Sanders’ fifth home run of the season.
Iowa State, which has lost 49 straight games against the Sooners, will soon bid the Sooners farewell as OU is off to a loaded SEC.
OU has won 11 consecutive Big 12 championships. Since 2016, the Sooners are 122-4 in conference play. They haven’t lost a Big 12 series since 2011.
OU coach Patty Gasso, amid her 30th season, has an .819 winning percentage in Big 12 games. She’s five wins away from her 400th Big 12 win.
Baylor snaps OSU’s 13-game winning streak
MORNING ROUNDUP
Oklahoma State softball’s 13-game winning streak was snapped Saturday afternoon in a 2-0 loss to No. 19 Baylor at Getterman Stadium in Waco, Texas, forcing a rubber match in the threegame Big 12 series.
OSU won the opener Friday night, 4-1, in eight innings on a two-run homer by Claire Timm.
Neither team had a hit until OSU’s Caroline Wang singled to open the fifth.
Baylor took a 2-0 lead in the sixth when Caroline Rowatt beat a throw home on a fielder’s choice and Kaci West followed with a sacrifice fly.
OSU’s Kyra Aycock, who took a nohitter into the fifth, and Ivy Rosenberry combined to allow two hits.
Extra points
COLLEGE BASEBALL: Jason Walk scored on an error in the eighth inning as OU rallied for a 4-3 win over UCF to open Big 12 play in the first game of a doubleheader at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Sooners trailed 4-3 in the seventh but tied the game on a sacrifice fly by freshman Jaxon Willits. ... OSU lefty Sam Garcia struck out nine and allowed just one run in the Cowboys’ 4-2 win over Mercer to begin a doubleheader at O’Brate Stadium. The High Point transfer allowed just three hits over six innings. Mississippi State transfer Lane Forsythe was also 2 for 2 with a homer, his first with OSU.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Former Heritage Hall star Trey Alexander hit a fadeaway jumper with 0.2 seconds left and finished with 17 points to give No. 10 Creighton a 69-67 win over Villanova on Saturday. Baylor Scheierman scored 11 of his 18 points in Creighton’s dominating first half. Ryan Kalkbrenner added 14 points for Creighton (23-8, 14-6 Big East), which clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament.
— Staff and wire reports