Connect with us

Oklahoma

Oklahoma slugs way to win over Texas, one win away from 4th straight national title

Published

on

Oklahoma slugs way to win over Texas, one win away from 4th straight national title


OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma needs just one more win to make softball history.

Tiare Jennings’ two-run homer in the first inning sparked an 8-3 win over Texas on Wednesday night that left the Sooners one victory short of a record fourth straight Women’s College World Series title.

Oklahoma (58-7) had nine hits and three home runs against a Texas squad that had thrown three one-hit shutouts in three World Series games.

Sooners coach Patty Gasso said the plan was to help pitcher Kelly Maxwell by scoring early. Maxwell had pitched a complete game the previous day in a semifinal win over Florida, and Gasso felt the senior might need some support.

Advertisement

Texas College Sports

Get the latest college sports news, scores and analysis.

“It’s something that we really talked about, is trying to set the tone, give Kelly an opportunity to get settled,” Gasso said. “Very, very important. It was a goal of ours. They checked a lot of boxes tonight.”

Jennings had two hits and three RBIs and Kinzie Hansen had two hits, including a two-run homer, for the Sooners in Game 1 of the best-of-three series. The second-seeded Sooners could clinch their eighth overall championship in Game 2 on Thursday night.

Oklahoma was calm after the first game.

Advertisement

“You see us here and we’re not overjubilant because we know there’s still a lot of work to do against a very, very good team that has very good pitchers, very good hitters,” Gasso said. “I mean, we know what’s in front of us still. So you don’t see us celebrating. There’s still a lot of work to do.”

Mia Scott hit a solo homer for No. 1 Texas (55-9), but there weren’t many more highlights. Now, the Longhorns will embrace the role of underdog.

“It’s a mind game,” Texas coach Mike White said. “Champions reframe. How can we reframe from this loss, what we’re facing right now, come out and have a better game and see if we can play some good softball?”

It was another chapter in the storied rivalry between the programs, which will both leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference next year. Oklahoma beat Texas in the national championship series in 2022. Texas won the Big 12 regular-season title this year, but Oklahoma won the conference tournament.

The Sooners played Tuesday while Texas had the day off, but Maxwell negated any edge the rest might have provided for the Longhorns. A day after tossing 148 pitches against Florida, Maxwell threw 119 against the Longhorns. She gave up one earned run and four hits and struck out eight.

Advertisement

“This is it,” Maxwell said. “This is my last opportunity. I’m just going to do everything I can to keep this team in it. I know that they have my back and I’ve got theirs.”

Teagan Kavan, Texas’ freshman star, had thrown two one-hitters in victories at the World Series. She opened Wednesday’s game by hitting Jayda Coleman with a pitch. Jennings, the next batter, launched one over the left field fence to put the Sooners up 2-0. It was the 98th home run of Jennings’ career and her 11th at the World Series.

Hansen’s two-run homer and Kasidi Pickering’s solo shot back-to-back in the third gave the Sooners a 5-1 lead and chased Kavan.

“It snowballed a little bit there,” Texas’ Joley Mitchell said. “We have to do our job individually and as a team. We got away from our plan. We weren’t helping ourselves. We really need to stick to our plan and just play Texas softball.”

Texas scored two in the sixth and had two on with two outs when Maxwell struck out Victoria Hunter swinging to keep Oklahoma ahead 7-3.

Advertisement

Maxwell struck out the final two batters in the seventh to close out the game.

Now, the Sooners will try to close out a Texas team that has rallied before. The Longhorns lost the first game in the regular-season series with Oklahoma and won the last two. They also lost the first game of their super regional against Texas A&M, then won the next two and advanced to the World Series.

“We’re a tough team,” Mitchell said. “As long as we stay together, do the job, we’ll be just fine the next two games.”

    Limiting college junk fees isn’t going to solve a broken bargain
    TCU transfer Hailey Van Lith chosen for U.S. 3×3 basketball team in 2024 Paris Olympics

Find more college sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Find more Texas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Find more Oklahoma coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

Advertisement



Source link

Oklahoma

The Spring adds immersive walkthrough to annual Encounter Hope gala in Sand Springs, Oklahoma

Published

on

The Spring adds immersive walkthrough to annual Encounter Hope gala in Sand Springs, Oklahoma


A Tulsa-based nonprofit is adding an immersive, walkthrough experience to its annual fundraising gala, aiming to give attendees a closer look at what survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking face — and how support services can help.

The Spring, which provides services to people impacted by domestic violence and human trafficking, will feature the walkthrough as part of Encounter Hope, its annual gala set for April 9 at the Arvest Convention Center.

The experience is designed to guide guests through the story of an abuse survivor across four stages of interaction with The Spring: the inciting incident, the crisis call, time at the emergency crisis shelter, and moving into safety.

“The idea is really to put you in the shoes of the people that we serve every day,” Allison Wells,

Advertisement

The Spring’s events and environments coordinator, said. “It’s easy to throw out stats about violence and trafficking in Oklahoma, throw out our service numbers each year, but these are really peoples’ lives. We want to put our attendees in the mindset of one person, one story. What would you do if you were facing this?”

After the walkthrough, attendees will have the opportunity to assemble move-in kits for The Spring’s shelter guests and write personal notes of encouragement.

The program portion of the evening will include a panel discussion hosted by Karen Larsen, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who anchored Tulsa’s Channel 2 for almost 30 years.

“Tulsa is an incredibly charitable city, and we know that these kinds of gala events aren’t rare here,” Leslie Clingenpeel, The Spring’s CEO, said. “Our goal is to go beyond the model of these fundraising-only type events. More than anything, we want people to understand what we do, to know that we’re here, to know what our frontline advocates are doing every single day. Domestic violence and trafficking are hard to look away from once you’re aware of them. We want to build that awareness to the people of this city.”

Individual tickets and table packages are available for purchase.

Advertisement

Attendees are encouraged to register before April 1 because space is limited.

More details and purchasing information are available at www.thespringok.org/encounterhope.

The Spring is a Tulsa-based nonprofit offering services to those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking.

The organization provides emergency crisis shelter, transitional living, and non-residential services.

More information is available at www.thespringok.org.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next

Published

on

Oklahoma State outlasts UCF in overtime, Houston next


ORLANDO, Fla. –

The Oklahoma State Cowboys men’s basketball bounced back in a big way Tuesday night.

Anthony Roy scored 27 points and Kanye Clary added 23, including seven in overtime, as Oklahoma State defeated the UCF Knights men’s basketball 111-104 in Orlando.

The Cowboys controlled the extra period, finishing overtime on an 11-4 run and outscoring UCF 17-10.

Advertisement

Clary played a major role in closing it out. He hit a key 3-pointer and went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in overtime to help seal the win.

The victory moves Oklahoma State to 18-12 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12, and gives the Cowboys two wins in their last three games after snapping a five-game losing streak. UCF, now 20-9 (9-8 Big 12), has dropped two straight.

Roy and Clary led a balanced offensive effort. Jaylen Curry and Christian Coleman each added 16 points, while the Cowboys shot 49% from the field (35-of-72) and 80% from the free throw line (32-of-40).

Themus Fulks led UCF with 22 points, while Riley Kugel added 18.

Late-game drama forces overtime

Advertisement

The final seconds of regulation were chaotic.

With 24 seconds remaining, Isaiah Coleman threw down a dunk to give Oklahoma State a 94-91 lead.

But UCF answered quickly when Chris Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, tying the game at 94-94.

Oklahoma State had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Jaylen Curry missed a shot, and John Bol blocked Roy’s attempt, sending the game to overtime.

Cowboys respond after tough loss

Advertisement

The Cowboys showed resilience after Saturday’s lopsided loss to Cincinnati.

The team traveled directly to Orlando following that defeat and was pushed through two intense practices by head coach Steve Lutz and the coaching staff.

The response was clear.

Led by Roy’s scoring and Clary’s clutch overtime performance, Oklahoma State delivered a gritty win and swept the season series against UCF

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon

Published

on

Oklahoma City police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon


Oklahoma City Police are investigating after a man was shot near Yukon Monday night.

The shooting happened near Northwest 10th Street and South Yukon Parkway near the border of Yukon and Oklahoma City.

Police are on the scene, and officials said the victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the hip.

OKCPD said they have at least one person in custody.

Advertisement

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

For more local news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter by clicking here.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending