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The Sooners fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first to the Jayhawks. That deficit didn’t last long as Oklahoma beat Kansas 8-2 to move to 15-0 in Big 12 play, clinching their 11th consecutive Big 12 championship.
Kansas jumped out to an early lead after an uncharacteristic throwing error by shortstop Grace Lyons. That led to an unearned run by the Jayhawks later in the inning, but the Sooners would waste little time responding in the bottom half of the first.
Jayda Coleman led off with a hit by pitch and then stole second. Tiare Jennings followed that up with a single of her own to put runners on first and third with nobody out. Grace Lyons walked to load the bases, and with two outs in the inning, Haley Lee drew a walk to bring Coleman in to tie the game. Alyssa Brito came through with an infield single to plate Jennings and put the Sooners on top 2-1.
In the bottom of the second, the Sooners broke it open on a three-run blast from Tiare Jennings, her 12th home run of the season. The drive put her to 49 RBIs on the year.
The Jayhawks got one back in the top of the third, but the Sooners put two more on the board in the bottom half of the inning on a Coleman single and Cydney Sanders hit by pitch with the bases loaded. That made it 7-2 Oklahoma, and Storako settled in before giving way to Jordy Bahl to close out the game.
Didn’t come this far just to come this far
pic.twitter.com/96llpaFgC0— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) April 30, 2023
Jayda Coleman and Tiare Jennings led the way for the Sooners in the win. Each reached base four times for the Sooners. Coleman went 2-for-3 with a walk and a hit by pitch, had two runs scored, and a pair of RBIs. Jennings went 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
Alyssa Brito was the only other Sooner with multiple hits in the game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Alex Storako went 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits, recording six strikeouts. She improved to 15-0 on the season. Jordy Bahl’s 1.2 innings pitched continued her incredible run over the last month. Since allowing one run in the top of the first in a complete game win over Texas on March 31, Bahl has gone 36.2 innings pitched without allowing a run. She hasn’t allowed a run over her last eight appearances, including five starts.
The Oklahoma Sooners now prepare for an in-state nonconference matchup with Tulsa before facing Oklahoma State for what could be their last trip to Stillwater in some time. With the Oklahoma Sooners scheduled to go to the SEC after the 2023-2024 academic year, and no guarantee that the Bedlam rivals will face each other in the future, it may be a while before the in-state foes take the field together again in the regular season.
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By: John Williams
Title: Sooners beat Kansas 8-2, clinch 11th straight Big 12 Championship
Sourced From: soonerswire.usatoday.com/2023/04/30/oklahoma-sooners-softball-kansas-jayhawks-big-12-championship-tiare-jennings-jayda-coleman/
Published Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2023 21:21:59 +0000
