College Softball: OU Finishes Sweep of Texas, OSU Splits DH

Self Homers Twice as OU Softball Completes Sweep of Texas

AUSTIN, Texas -- Junior Kady Self homered twice and freshman Paige Parker finished off a masterful weekend as No. 5 Oklahoma swept Texas (27-12, 3-3 Big 12) in a three-game series with a 4-0 win Saturday afternoon.

Now 9-0 in Big 12 play, the Sooners (36-5) have matched the 2000 and 2002 squads for the best start to the conference season in program history. With a win Thursday against Baylor, the 2015 team could be the first at OU to start 10-0 in the Big 12.

The win was the fourth straight for Oklahoma over Texas dating back to the final game last season. The current streak, in which OU has scored UT 23-1, marks the longest winning streak in the series for OU since winning six in a row during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

This weekend marked the fifth time in school annals that the Sooners swept a regular season series from the Longhorns, previously doing so in 2008, 2004, 2001 and 2000. But it was just the second sweep of the Longhorns in Austin (2000).

Parker pitched 7.0 innings of relief and struck out seven while allowing just two walks and two hits as OU recorded its 15th shutout of the year. In the three-game sweep, Parker did not allow a run in 16.1 innings in the circle. She struck out 21 batters and allowed just six hits while walking four. She earned two of the three wins and added a save to her stat sheet. Her record on the season stands at 18-3.

Self hit a pair of solo home runs. It was her third career multi-home run game and her second of the season, also homering twice against East Carolina on March 15. She now has nine home runs this season and 15 in her career.

Senior Shelby Pendley added the exclamation point as she hit a solo home run to right center in the seventh. It was the 81st of her career and her 62nd as a Sooner, giving her sole possession of second place in Big 12 and school history. She currently has the fourth-most homers in a season in OU history with 21 this year.

OSU Softball Splits Doubleheader, Earns Series Victory

AMES, Iowa – The Oklahoma State softball team earned its first series win in conference play on Saturday, as the Cowgirls took down Iowa State, 8-6, at Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames, Iowa.

Sunday's weather forecast forced the two squads to finish the series with a doubleheader, which the Cyclones closed with a 5-3 win. After taking two out of three over the course of the weekend, OSU moves to 3-6 in Big 12 action and 19-22 overall.

“I thought we played well today, but the second game goes to show that one bad inning is all takes to change a ballgame,” head coach Rich Wieligman said. “Still, we did what we needed to do to win the series, and we'll look to replicate that winning formula next week.”

With confidence gained from last night's 11-1 run-rule victory, the Cowgirls kept things rolling into Saturday, scoring four first-inning runs in the first half of the twin-bill. The scoring opened with Michaela Patton's bases-loaded HBP, and continued when Danielle Riddle chopped a two-out single through the left side, knocking in Mallory Collins and Tiffany Mikkelson. Randee O'Donnell added to the offensive surge with an RBI single to center, giving the Cowgirls a 4-0 advantage from the start.

Iowa State fired back with three first-inning runs of their own, all courtesy of a three-run blast off the bat of Aly Cappaert. The Cyclone offense showed an early fight against OSU starter Jessi Haffner, but the freshman escaped the inning with Oklahoma State holding a 4-3 lead.

The lead wouldn't last long, though, as ISU went ahead, 5-4, on Maddie Reese's two-RBI single in the third.

This time, it was the Cowgirls who answered the call. With runners on first and second in the following frame, Vanessa Shippy hit a sharp grounder toward second that bounced off of Reese's glove and rolled into the outfield, allowing Shianne Hughes to score from second and tie the game up at five runs apiece.

Two innings later, Oklahoma State used its added momentum to retake the lead. With two on and two out, Danielle Riddle smacked a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left, putting the Cowgirls on top, 8-5. The three-run blast was Riddle's first since a two-run shot at South Alabama on Feb. 13.

With the lead in hand, Haffner controlled the Cyclones throughout the sixth and seventh, eventually earning her fifth victory of the season.

Offensively, Riddle led the way with five RBIs, while Shelby Davis (2-5), Hughes (2-4, 2 R) and O'Donnell (2-4, RBI) each posted multi-hit efforts. After hitting two home runs in the series opener, Mikkelson drew five walks in the contest, setting a new single-game school record.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the Cowgirls capped off another hot start with three runs in the top of the first, beginning with Davis' lead-off triple. The Cowgirl speedster worked a 3-2 count before ripping a tailing line drive to left, extending her active hitting streak to nine games.

Hughes and Mikkelson followed with an infield base hit and a walk, respectively, to load the bases for Shippy. The freshman delivered with a sacrifice fly to center, and saw Hughes cross the plate after the throw from center sailed into the home dug out. In the next at-bat, Collins ripped an RBI single to left, giving the Cowgirls a 3-0 lead after the first.

OSU's big first inning knocked Iowa State starter Katie Johnson out of the game after only seven at-bats, but from there on out, reliever Stacy Roggentien shut down the Cowgirl attack. Roggentien only allowed three base-hits over the final six innings, and kept OSU scoreless after its high-powered opening frame.

Brandi Needham was effective as well, as the sophomore breezed through the first five innings with only one earned run. However, the Cyclone bats finally came alive in the bottom of the sixth, as the home side used a two-out rally to spark a four-run inning. With two down, Iowa State delivered three-consecutive run-scoring base-hits, giving the Cyclones a 5-3 advantage after six innings of play.

Oklahoma State sent the top of its lineup to the plate in the seventh, but was unable to rally for the series sweep. Overall, six Cowgirls recorded base-hits, including Davis, who finished 2-2 with a run scored.

OSU will begin a set of five games in as many days on Wednesday, as the Cowgirls travel to Tulsa to take on the Golden Hurricane.