College Softball: Sooners and Cowgirls Sweep Competition

Oklahoma Softball Completes Undefeated Weekend

NORMAN – No. 5 Oklahoma (18-3) ran its winning streak to eight games and its shutout streak to seven thanks to a pair of run-rule wins Sunday at their Courtyard Marriott Tournament at Marita Hynes Field. OU opened the day with a 14-0, five-inning win over Samford (15-8) and closed it out with an 11-0, five-inning win over Missouri State (9-10). In going 4-0 at the tournament, OU outscored its opponents 44-0.

Oklahoma 14, Samford 0 (Five innings)

Keying the offensive attack was senior Lauren Chamberlain, who continued her hunt for the all-time home run record with a pair of blasts. She hit a two-run homer in the third and added a solo shot in the fourth to bring her career total to 83.

The 83 career home runs brings Chamberlain into a tie for fifth all-time with Louisiana-Lafayette's Danyele Gomez (2003-06) and moves her just seven away from tying the all-time record of 90. It was Chamberlain's 16th career multi-homer game and her second of the season.

Paige Parker struck out a career-high 10 batters while allowing three hits to go to 7-2 on the year. Her personal scoreless streak stands at 18 innings.

Sophomore Macey Hatfield hit her first career grand slam in the win, while Erin Miller added a two-run homer to give the Sooners a season-high four home runs.

Oklahoma 11, Missouri State 0 (Five innings)

OU tied a school record with its seventh straight shutout with the win over the Bears. It's the fourth time in school history that OU has done it, most recently from March 9-17 in 2013. In those seven games, OU has outscored its opponents 67-0.

Dating to the final inning against Kentucky on Feb. 21, the Sooners have thrown 39 consecutive scoreless innings.

Kelsey Stevens struck out eight and allowed just one hit and one walk to improve to 7-0 on the season. The lone hit she gave up was a two-out single to left field in the first inning. Like Parker, Stevens is also on an 18-inning scoreless streak in the circle.

OU scored six runs in the first inning and five runs in the third to capture its fifth straight run-rule win and 11th on the season.

The first inning was highlighted by freshman Lea Wodach (three run homer) and senior Jessica Vest (solo) hitting back-to-back home runs.

In the third, freshman Nicole Pendley and junior Erin Miller each hit two-run homers. In total, OU tied a season high, set earlier in the day against Samford, with four home runs in the game.

Cowgirl Softball Wins Third Straight, Tops Mizuno Classic

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Oklahoma State softball team grabbed the 2015 Mizuno Classic title on Sunday, defeating UMKC, 11-7, in the tournament championship game at Cowgirl Stadium.

After trailing, 5-1, after two and half innings, the Cowgirls (9-12) scored nine unanswered runs to gain a commanding lead on the Roos. Oklahoma State provided a consistent offensive attack throughout the entire contest, scoring in five of six innings at the plate.

“I was extremely glad to see us come out on top, and this is a win we can pull from down the road,” head coach Rich Wieligman said. “We didn't have our best game defensively, but we played hard, kept scoring and eventually came from behind to get the victory.”

In the circle, Brandi Needham battled through five OSU errors to keep the UMKC bats in check and earn her team-leading fifth victory. Needham only allowed three earned runs in the complete-game effort, which gave the sophomore her second-consecutive win after she went the distance against Evansville on Saturday.

The Cowgirls' offensive surge began in the third, as Tiffany Mikkelson ripped an RBI double to right-center, scoring Shianne Hughes. In the next at-bat, Dre McKee lined a double down the left field to line to bring home Mikkelson and Vanessa Shippy and cut the Roos' lead down to one.

In the following frame, Mikkelson came through once again, blasting a two-run homer off the flagpole in left to put the Cowgirls up, 8-5. The long ball capped off a blazing five-game run for Mikkelson, in which she hit .571, compiled 11 RBIs and crossed the plate nine times.

Michaela Patton (3-3, 2 RBIs, 2 R) also thrived at the plate in Saturday's win, and helped spark a two-run rally in the fifth that extended OSU's lead to six. After leading off the inning with a single, she scored on Mallory Collins' two-run double, putting the final touches on her first-career three-hit game with the Cowgirls.

Others leading the way offensively were McKee (2-4, 2 RBI), Shelby Davis (1-5, SB) and Shippy, who reached base four times and posted two hits in the Cowgirls' victory.

“We had several clutch hits today,” Wieligman said. “That's something that we've been struggling with, so I'm very proud of how we capitalized when we needed to and how we played tough throughout the entire game.”

The victory gives OSU a three-game winning streak heading into this week's mid-week tilt against Wichita State, which is set to begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Cowgirl Stadium.