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She didn’t say the Sooners were this good.
OU opened the 2021 season on Thursday at the Miner Invitational with an historic 29-0 rout of host UTEP, then pummeled Abilene Christian 9-0 in their second game.
The Sooners bashed an NCAA record 13 home runs against UTEP, including three each from
Grace Lyons and freshman
Kinzie Hansen and
Jocelyn Alo, Jayda Coleman and Mackenzie Donihoo also homered as OU raced out to a 13-0 lead in the first inning.
Jennings finished with six RBIs, while Lyons and Mendes each drove in 5.
Gisele Juarez started and pitched three perfect innings with six strikeouts.
Oklahoma softball embarks on its quest for a fifth national championship this week.
The Sooners, ranked No. 4 in USA TODAY/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason polls to start the season, finally released their 2021 schedule on Tuesday.
OU will face 10 programs who made the 2019 NCAA tournament in 2021. Twenty-one contests will take place inside the friendly confines of Marita Hines Field in Norman.
The first battles of the 2021 season will take place on Feb. 11-12 in the Wildcat Invitational, which was originally scheduled to take place in Abilene, TX, but has been moved to El Paso, TX, due to the freezing temperatures sweeping the nation this week. OU will play the UTEP Miners and Abilene Christian University twice each over the course of the invitational, with the seasons’ first pitch coming on Thursday at 11 a.m. against the Miners.
Rhiannon Potkey | D1Softball.com | January 20, 2021
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Considering how much success Oklahoma softball has experienced over the years, head coach Patty Gasso knows how to judge talent.
Her praise of true freshmen Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman should warrant attention: “Those two are going to be the franchise players of the future,” Gasso said.
The Sooners got a chance to see their five rookies play during the fall and their performances largely exceeded expectations.