Oklahoma
OU Softball: Oklahoma Rides Fast Start to Open Series With Win Over UCF
Oklahoma began its final Big 12 road trip with a bang.
Patty Gasso’s team plated five runs in the first inning, complete with a two-RBI single from Kasidi Pickering and a two-run bomb from Alyssa Brito to set the tone for a steady win in the series opener.
The No. 2-ranked Sooners went on to beat UCF 10-2 at the UCF Softball Complex on Friday.
OU (43-4. 19-3 Big 12) maintained its lead atop the conference with the win over the Knights (28-19, 10-12).
UCF helped the Sooners out immediately.
Jayda Coleman beat out a throw for an infield single and Ella Parker reached on an error, putting immediate pressure on Kaitlyn Felton.
The Knights’ starting pitcher didn’t help herself out, as she walked Tiare Jennings to load the bases with no outs.
Kinzie Hansen broke the deadlock with an RBI-single, but Ella Parker was thrown out at home to make the first out of the game.
Had Gasso kept Parker on third, she would have likely come home anyways.
Pickering singled through the left side and Brito hammered a full-count delivery to left field, putting OU up 5-0 and ending Felton’s first stint of the evening after just six batters.
Alynah Torres and Cydney Sanders both walked with one out, but OU was able to further the damage after Rylie Boone struck out and Coleman bounced out to second base.
After building the lead, Oklahoma stayed aggressive and attacked pitches early in at-bats, which produced mixed results in the second inning.
OU was able to load the bases with one out, but couldn’t bring any runs across.
Coleman added to the lead in the third, however.
The senior centerfielder stepped in and belted her 11th home run of the season, an opposite field bomb with two outs that put the Sooners up 6-0.
Kelly Maxwell finally had to work around traffic on the basepaths in the bottom of the third inning.
With Stormy Kotzelnick already on first, UCF third baseman Sierra Humphreys dropped a single into shallow-left field, but Boone was unable to corral the ball off the bounce, allowing the runners to move up to second and third.
Only working with one out, Maxwell then made a nice play herself.
Jada Cody slapped the ball back up the middle, which Maxwell gloved and shuttled over to first for the second out of the inning, then Maxwell trusted her defense and induced a ground ball from Chloe Evans to get out of the inning.
UCF went back to Felton in the circle to start the fourth inning, which was the Knights’ fifth pitching change of the game.
Both Felton and reliever Sona Halajian re-entered the game as UCF coach Cindy Ball-Malone never let OU’s offense get all the way through the lineup with the same pitcher.
Felton frustrated Oklahoma upon her return, holding the Sooners off the board as the Knights tried to get into the game.
A snafu in the field gave UCF a change to get on the board in the bottom of the fifth.
Cody singled to center with two outs, but instead of simply getting the ball back into the infield, Coleman fired down to first base.
Parker, who had been inserted into the defensive lineup at first in favor of the always steady Sanders, wasn’t ready for Coleman’s throw. The ball rolled into foul territory and allowed Cody to take second base on the throwing error.
Maxwell looked unbothered, firing two straight strikes to Evans, but the UCF right fielder battled admirably.
She didn’t allow Maxwell to coax her into a bad swing, and after taking three balls and fouling off three pitches, Evans doubled into the corner in right field to cut OU’s lead to 6-1.
Maxwell then issued a four-pitch walk, but struck out Shannon Doherty to end the inning.
Oklahoma dialed back in on Felton in the seventh.
It took just five total pitches for OU to load the bases. Hansen, Pickering and Brito all smoked singles through gaps and into the outfield.
The situation prompted another pitching change, as this time UCF called upon its fourth pitcher of the night in Ava Justman, ending Felton’s Friday.
Avery Hodge was undeterred by the change, as she drew a walk to extend the lead back out to six runs.
Boone poked her first hit of the day through the right side, narrowly missing Hodge, to put the Sooners up 8-1, and Coleman’s second walk of the day added to the advantage again.
Oklahoma’s last run of the inning scored when Parker hit into a fielder’s choice, capping off the four-run frame.
Up 10-1, Gasso left Maxwell in to record the first out of the seventh before turning to Karlie Keeney.
Maxwell allowed eight hits and two walks, but struck out five and crucially limited the Knights to the lone run in 6 1/3 innings.
Keeney swiftly notched the second out of the seventh, but she left her 1-2 delivery hanging and Evans pounced, clobbering a solo home run. UCF drew another walk off Keeney before she closed out the win.
The Sooners have a chance to notch the series victory on Saturday at 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Oklahoma
Suspect in custody after deadly shooting in Oklahoma City following heated argument
OKLAHOMA CITY, (KOKH) — Oklahoma City police responded to a fatal shooting in the 2600 block of N. Kelly Friday evening.
According to OKCPD, the shooting occurred at around 6:20 p.m.
When officers arrived, they located one adult male with gunshot wounds at the scene. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died during surgery.
Police believe the shooting was a result of a verbal argument that escalated into a fistfight and then a shooting.
The suspect has been taken into custody and transported to police headquarters for questioning.
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys play in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Cowboys (9-0) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3)
Oklahoma City; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma takes on Oklahoma State at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Sooners are 6-3 in non-conference play. Oklahoma is 1-0 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The Cowboys are 9-0 in non-conference play. Oklahoma State ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 16.9 assists per game led by Jaylen Curry averaging 5.1.
Oklahoma averages 84.7 points, 8.3 more per game than the 76.4 Oklahoma State gives up. Oklahoma State scores 16.3 more points per game (91.3) than Oklahoma gives up to opponents (75.0).
TOP PERFORMERS: Nijel Pack is scoring 17.2 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Sooners. Tae Davis is averaging 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 53.3%.
Vyctorius Miller is averaging 15.9 points for the Cowboys. Parsa Fallah is averaging 14.6 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Football Schedule Revealed
The Oklahoma Sooners are trying to finish the 2025 college football season with a championship run that begins with a first-round playoff matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on Dec. 19 in Norman. After a 10-2 season, the Sooners found out during the SEC schedule reveal when they’ll play their 2026 opponents.
New to the SEC schedule this year is a nine-game conference slate. Also, Oklahoma will begin at least a four-year stretch with permanent rivals Texas, Missouri, and Ole Miss.
The Sooners open the season with nonconference matchups against UTEP, Michigan, and New Mexico. Michigan will be breaking in a new head coach after the surprising dismissal of Sherrone Moore.
Oklahoma will go on the road for their first conference game, taking on the defending SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs on Sept. 26. That marks the first time the Sooners will play in Athens for the first time in the history of the program. The Bulldogs own the only win in the series, which came in the infamous 2017 Rose Bowl. If the Sooners were to play the Dawgs in the 2025 College Football Playoff, it would come in the national championship game.
After the trip to Georgia, Oklahoma will have its only bye week of the season before facing the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown on Oct. 10 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. The Sooners will return home to play the Kentucky Wildcats on Oct. 17. Kentucky will have a first-time head coach in Will Stein, leading the Wildcats to Norman for the first time since 1980.
Then, Oklahoma will go to Starkville to take on former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Oct. 24 before closing the month welcoming another former assistant in Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 31.
Then begins the month that will decide the Sooners’ College Football Playoff fates. They’ll open November with a road trip to the Swamp to take on the Florida Gators on Nov. 7. The last time the Sooners took on the Gators, Oklahoma earned a 55-20 win in the 2020 Alamo Bowl.
The Sooners will then return home on Nov. 14 to take on the Ole Miss Rebels in Norman for the second year in a row. Oklahoma lost a heartbreaker to the Rebels at the end of October, but that gave way to a magical November run that catapulted the Sooners into the College Football Playoff.
After the Rebels come to town, the Sooners will welcome the Texas A&M Aggies on Nov. 21. Texas A&M hasn’t been to Norman since a 41-25 win by Oklahoma. Landry Jones threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, and Blake Bell ran for two scores out of the Belldozer package.
The Sooners will then close the season on the road against the Missouri Tigers. The former Big 8 and Big 12 foes have split their two contests as members of the SEC, each team winning at home. Oklahoma owns a decisive 68-25-5 record over the Tigers dating back to 1902.
There will be big expectations for the Sooners coming off of a 10-2 season and a College Football Playoff berth. They’ll bring back a lot of talent from this year’s roster, but 2026 will provide new challenges.
Oklahoma Sooners 2026 Schedule
- Sept. 5 vs. UT-El Paso Miners in Norman, Okla.
- Sept. 12 at Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Sept. 19 vs. New Mexico Lobos in Norman, Okla.
- Sept. 26 at Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, Georgia
- Oct. 3 BYE WEEK
- Oct. 10 vs. Texas Longhorns in Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas
- Oct. 17 vs. Kentucky Wildcats in Norman, Okla.
- Oct. 24 at Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss.
- Oct. 31 vs. South Carolina Gamecocks in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 7 at Florida Gators in Gainesville, Fla.
- Nov. 14 vs. Ole Miss Rebels in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 21 vs. Texas A&M Aggies in Norman, Okla.
- Nov. 28 at Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Missouri
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
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