Sunday College Softball Roundup

Check out the recaps from a trio of wins for the Sooners, Cowgirls and Golden Hurricane. 

Sunday, March 29th 2015, 7:32 pm

By: News 9


Oklahoma Softball Completes Sweep of Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas -- An 11-run fifth inning aided No. 6/6 Oklahoma (28-5, 3-0 Big 12) as it completed a three-game sweep of Texas Tech (16-20, 0-3 Big 12) with a 21-6, five-inning win on Sunday afternoon.

Four different OU hitters had at least two hits, led by freshman Nicole Pendley going 4-for-4 with three RBI to set a career high in hits. In addition to the 15 hits, Oklahoma drew eight walks and had five batters hit by a pitch.

Senior Lauren Chamberlain hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, moving her into a tie for second place on the all-time home run list with Arizona's Stacie Chambers (2008-11) with 87 career home runs. It was Chamberlain's fifth career grand slam. Chamberlain is now three home runs away from tying the all-time mark of 90.

Junior Kady Self went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and finished with four runs batted in. Fellow junior Erin Miller was 2-3 with two runs scored and two RBI, while freshman Kelsey Arnold added a three-run double in the first inning.

Freshman Paige Parker got the win in relief to move to 13-3 on the season. She struck out five, walked one and gave up one hit while keeping the Red Raiders scoreless in the final 3.2 innings.

The 21 runs were the second most OU has ever scored against a Big 12 team. The only higher run total was the 24 scored against Iowa State on April 26, 2013.

Oklahoma scored in 15 of 18 innings this weekend en route to outscoring the Red Raiders, 43-12, in the three-game sweep. OU has won 10 straight in the series, outscoring TTU, 98-21, in that span. The team's 46-7 (.868) all-time mark in the series is its best winning percentage against another Big 12 team.

The 11 runs in the fifth inning marked the third time this season that OU scored double-digits in an inning. All of three of those instances have come since March 14.

Needham's Complete-Game Shutout Fuels Win over No. 13 Baylor

WACO, Texas - A complete-game shutout from Brandi Needham led the Oklahoma State softball team to a 1-0 victory over 13th-ranked Baylor on Sunday. The win ends a five-game skid for the Cowgirls, and gives the team its first Big 12 victory of the season.

“Great way to end the weekend, especially against a solid team like Baylor,” head coach Rich Wieligman said. “Our defense played well, Brandi Needham pitched a great game and our offense did what it needed to do to get the win.”

Needham's stellar performance in the circle capped off a wild series with the Lady Bears, as all three contests finished by a one-run margin. The sophomore escaped several jams over the full seven, as Baylor recorded seven hits, but left ten runners on base. Her complete-game shutout marks the first for a Cowgirl in conference play since Kat Espinosa shut down Texas on May 3, 2013.

After pounding out seven runs on Saturday, Oklahoma State's lone score would be all the Cowgirls would need. Despite having multiple scoring chances, the eventual game-winning run was put on base when Michaela Patton drew a six-pitch walk in the top of the second. With one out, Gessenia DeLaCruz's sacrifice bunt attempt landed just short of the diving Ari Hawkins, allowing both runners to safely occupy first and second.

In the following at-bat, Miranda Cavin reached on a fielder's choice, but first baseman Shelby Friudenberg was able to nab Patton at third with a charging throw from the opposite site of the diamond. With two down, leadoff batter Shelby Davis delivered a sharp single to the left side that deflected off Sarah Smith's glove at third, allowing DeLaCruz to score from second.

The base-hit capped off a huge series for Davis, who finished the three-game set with a .600 mark at the plate (6-10), six stolen bases and the game-winning RBI in Sunday's series finale.

Oklahoma State's 1-0 triumph was also aided by its gritty defensive unit, which made several highlight plays throughout the contest. DeLaCruz opened the fifth with a spectacular play at short, as she made a backhand lunge in the hole and fired to first in time to catch speedy centerfielder Jessie Scroggins. In the sixth, with two outs and a runner on second, Shelby Davis tracked down a drive to deep center, and made a running basket catch to end the inning.

With the Lady Bears down to their final chance at the plate, Tiffany Mikkelson and Vanessa Shippy stepped up to deliver game-saving efforts on the defensive end. With one out in the seventh, Kaitlynn Thumann lined a would-be double toward the left field line, but Mikkelson made a spectacular leaping grab to prevent an extra-base-hit.

The Cowgirls looked to have wrapped up the upset victory in the following at-bat, but Shippy was unable to handle a grounder off the bat of Lindsey Cargill, and allowed the BU leftfielder to reach second after an errant throw. However, the freshman redeemed herself only seconds later, as she recorded the final out with a diving grab on a grounder in the 3-4 hole.

Oklahoma State's big victory handed BU starter Brooke Seneshen her first loss of the season, and also snapped a ten-game winning streak for the Lady Bears. It also marks the Cowgirls' first win over a ranked opponent since taking down then 14th-ranked Baylor on April 17, 2014.

OSU will look to ride the win into next weekend's series against Kansas, which is set to begin on Thursday at Cowgirl Stadium.

Tulsa Softball Defeats USF, 1-0

TAMPA, Fla. – Senior catcher Erica Sampson hit a solo home run and junior Caitlin Sill pitched a complete-game shutout to lead the Tulsa softball team to a 1-0 win over USF Sunday afternoon at USF Softball Stadium.

Sampson hit her sixth homer of the season in the third inning, and Sill kept the Bulls scoreless to help the Golden Hurricane (21-12, 4-2 American) win the finale and avoid the series sweep. Sill (6-6) rebounded to earn the victory Sunday after absorbing both losses on Saturday. She struck out three batters and allowed six hits and two walks.

“When you think back on the weekend, we really competed well, no matter what was happening in the game,” Tulsa Head Coach John Bargfeldt said. “The thing that was pretty impressive was that each game, even after a gut-wrenching loss, we came back and played well. Then you lose two heartbreakers yesterday, and you come back today and just play a really clean game and get a great pitching performance by Sill. We made the one home run stand up. It was one of (Sill's) best that she's had in her career. She only gave up one earned run in the five innings that she pitched (Saturday). She went out and continued to pitch well this weekend.”

Tulsa totaled five hits in the game, and had runners in scoring position in the first, fourth and fifth frames, but Sampson's solo shot to left with one out in the third was the only run that crossed the plate. She went 2-for-3 in the game, while junior designated player Catherine Horner tripled, and sophomore third baseman Maggie Withee and freshman center fielder Shelby Estocado each singled.

The first two batters singled in the first inning, and the Bulls loaded the bases with two outs, but a groundout to third ended the threat. USF had a runner at third base in the second, fifth and sixth innings, but after the leadoff single in the sixth, Sill retired the final six batters to preserve the win.

The Golden Hurricane plays host to Arkansas at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Collins Family Softball Complex. The game will be televised by Cox Sports Television.

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