There’s a reason Oklahoma is number one. The Sooners made that clear over the weekend, defeating Missouri 5-2 and 11-0 (five innings) on Saturday and Sunday. They remain undefeated on the season.
Oklahoma pitching came to play against the Tigers, but it has been dominant in every one of the Sooners’ games so far. Their pitching staff has allowed 18 runs over 17 games and hasn’t been in any close games yet.
Meanwhile, the offense is helping them out more than needed. The team has scored a staggering 217 runs in that span — and only six games have gone the full seven innings.
Simply put, there’s nothing Oklahoma really struggles with.
Against Missouri, Oklahoma profited off the long ball early and often. In game one, the Tigers got out to an early lead off of junior Emma Raabe’s solo home-run in the second inning. The Sooners responded immediately with a solo shot of their own. Before the game was over they recorded two more dingers, both solo home-runs.
In game two, Oklahoma crushed more home-runs than Missouri had baserunners. The Sooners offense cranked five balls over the wall, and the Tigers were held to a dismal two hits.
Redshirt senior right-hander Shannon Saile did all the pitching work for Oklahoma, hurling five scoreless innings and striking out eight of the 18 batters she faced to record the five-inning complete game. Missouri only managed to reach base four times.
Sophomore Jordan Weber and freshman Laurin Krings each recorded their first losses of the season, moving to 5-1 and 3-1, respectively. Krings gave up four runs in four innings of work before she was yanked, and Weber struggled out of the gates. She allowed three runs to cross the plate before she could even get two outs, and was pulled after 0.1 innings of work.
The Tigers recorded only five hits in their 12 innings against Oklahoma, which hit safely 25 times. If anything, the two-game series was a harsh reminder that Missouri isn’t perfect. Ranked? Absolutely. A quality, dangerous team? You bet. But it isn’t Oklahoma.
The Sooners are in a league of their own.
_Edited by Kyle Pinnell | kpinnell@themaneater.com_
