Oklahoma
No. 3 Oklahoma Hosts Kentucky in Final Tuneup Before Texas
NORMAN — There’s no place like home.
No. 3 Oklahoma is excited to get to spend an entire weekend at Love’s Field after spending much of the last two weeks on the road.
The Sooners first traveled to Memphis before rolling to Oxford for a three-game series with Mississippi.
How to Watch Oklahoma vs. Kentucky
- Game 1: Thursday, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network+
- Game 2: Friday, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Game 3: Saturday, 11 a.m., SEC Network+
OU then trekked to Baton Rouge to battle LSU, before finally returning to Love’s Field to roll past Wichita State on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma senior Isabela Emerling acknowledged that the consecutive weekends spent on the road take their toll, but at this stage in the year, you have to find a way to push those thoughts to the side.
“It’s just not letting those outside factors get too big,” Emerling said on Tuesday. “And acknowledging that when you’re feeling tired, not suppressing it. Acknowledge it, kind of take it for what it is and then get over it.”
One emotional lift for the team has been the return of associate head coach and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha.
Patty Gasso’s longtime assistant rejoined the program for the LSU series, and on top of getting back into her typical work flow, she’s just excited to get back to working with her pitching staff.
“I think they’ve done well,” Rocha said on Tuesday. “Again, I think we have a really young, inexperienced ‘Oklahoma’ staff. And so this is really their first season. (Kierston Deal) is our most experienced pitcher on our staff. Two transfers coming in, and a young Audrey Lowry still and Berkley (Zache). So just getting them reps. I think they got a lot of good reps early in the season. I think we’re trending up right now, to answer your question shortly.
“We’re trending up, and still a lot of room to grow. So they’re doing a lot of good things right now. So I’m anticipating that we’re only going to continue to get better.”
Oklahoma’s (35-3, 8-1 SEC) pitching staff will have to contend with a Kentucky lineup this weekend that has plenty of pop.
The Wildcats (22-16, 1-11) are hitting .288 as a team, but they’ve launched 46 home runs.
But OU’s power has been overwhelming at Love’s Field.
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In Tuesday’s victory over the Shockers, Oklahoma moved to sixth all-time for home runs in a season after just 38 games.
Freshman phenom Kendall Wells set the SEC single-season home run record in the win, and she has the NCAA freshman record of 30 bombs — which is shared by Jocelyn Alo (2018), Lauren Chamberlain (2012) and Kelly Majam (2010) — in her sights.
“Kendall came in more ready than any hitter I’ve ever seen, and that is what we’re witnessing right now,” Gasso said on Tuesday.
Thursday’s series-opener will get going at 6:30 p.m. at Love’s Field, but the start time for Friday’s contest has been brought forward to 1 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — If you have been waiting for the opening of a popular fast-food chain in Oklahoma City, your wait is almost over.
On Tuesday, Bojangles will open its first Oklahoma location in Oklahoma City.
The new restaurant, located at 13135 N. Pennsylvania Ave. in Oklahoma City, has a list of events planned throughout opening day.
The first 100 guests in line on April 28th will receive a $100 gift card and exclusive, Oklahoma City -themed merchandise.
Also, 10 dine-in guests can enter for a chance to win free Bojangles breakfast for a year.
At 3 p.m. on April 28, the restaurant will transform into a full-scale block party. Guests will be able to enjoy a live DJ, a mechanical bull, branded merchandise, and a sweepstakes.
“We are ecstatic about introducing Bojangles to Oklahoma and bringing our unique Southern charm to the market,” said Jose Armario, CEO of Bojangles. “Our recent expansions into new markets have been met with tremendous enthusiasm, and we are confident that the Oklahoma City community will embrace our delicious offerings with the same excitement.”
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The new store will open its doors at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28th.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are taking on the Phoenix Suns in Game 2 of their opening-round series. The OKC Thunder are hoping that they can repeat their Sunday afternoon performance in this contest. Game 2 will be an interesting test with the Suns having more time to prepare.
Phoenix was up against a rock and a hard place in the series opener. The Oklahoma City Thunder not only have the talent advantage but the rest advantage as well. Phoenix punched their ticket to the NBA Playoffs on Friday night by staving off the Golden State Warriors on Friday night before landing in Oklahoma City on Saturday and playing on Saturday afternoon to the tune of a 119-84 blowout Thunder victory.
The NBA has seen plenty of upsets already. The Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers have all stolen games from the higher seed. The Thunder know they have to keep the foot on the gas in this contest.
“These series are unpredictable. No 2 games are the same. The minute you make an assumption, you are overconfident, or the minute you go down and you’re overly urgent, that can impact your ability to be present in the next game,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said pregame on Wednesday night.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are seeing the Suns make an adjustment with their starting lineup by inserting Collin Gillespie to give Phoenix a trio of ball handling scoring options alongside Devin Booker and Jalen Green. This gives the Suns hope to be able to find better shot quality against this stifling Thunder defensive unit.
Oklahoma City is healthier now than they have been all season. The Thunder only are missing rookie Thomas Sorber (ACL) who is out for the year. This allows the Bricktown Ballers to roll out their traditional first five in this contest.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Phoenix Suns, Game 2 Starting Lineup
Oklahoma City Thunder Starting Lineup
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, G
- Lu Dort, G
- Jalen Williams, F
- Chet Holmgren, F
- Isaiah Hartenstein, C
Phoenix Suns Starting Lineup
- Devin Booker, G
- Jalen Green, G
- Collin Gillespie, G
- Dillon Brooks, F
- Oso Ighodaro, C
The series will shift to Phoenix this weekend as the Oklahoma City Thunder hope to head into Saturday afternoon’s Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage in the series.
Stay tuned to Thunder on SI for complete coverage of the NBA Playoff run for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA (KOKH) — The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a home fire late Tuesday evening, around 10:42 p.m.
According to OKCFD, fire could be seen from a window of the home located in the 4200 block of N. Phillips Avenue.
Firefighters were able to rescue an adult female from inside the home. No injuries were reported in connection with the fire.
Investigators believe that the fire may have originated from an outlet near the refrigerator that had a power strip plugged in that was supplying multiple appliances.
There was also no smoke detector present within the home.
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