OU softball: Notes, takeaways from the Sooners' two wins over Iowa State

NORMAN — After Wednesday's win over Texas A&M Commerce, OU coach Patty Gasso said her team needed to show more "relentlessness."

She found what she was looking for on Saturday.

The Sooners opened Big 12 play with a home doubleheader against Iowa State, winning the first game 4-0. They clinched the series with an 11-2 win in game two, as the Sooners scored 11 unanswered runs en route to a run-rule victory.

That second game, in particular, was the effort Gasso has been looking for from the Sooners.

“Really good," Gasso said after the game about her team's performances. "I think we were anxious, excited to get started. The energy in the first game was not exactly what we were looking for. We had a little conversation and they came out in game two looking like the team that everyone’s been used to seeing. It was really wonderful to see that. Really clean games all the way around.

"Just a really, good solid day of softball.”

The difference for the Sooners, Gasso said, is that now with conference play underway, there are significant stakes in each game.

"We’re playing for something now," Gasso said. "The first 20 games, we’re playing and checking our record and who we beat. if I told them to run to the wall and see who is the fastest, but whoever wins gets (something)? It’s going to look completely different. When you hold a trophy out there, this team knows how and wants to win championships. This first weekend we needed to set a good tone. We did that."

The Sooners improve to 21-1 on the season.

Here's a look at notes and takeaways from both games:

— Kelly Maxwell allowed a lead-off walk on her first at-bat but was otherwise stellar in the first game. She pitched the full seven innings, surrendering just three hits and one walk while striking out seven batters.

It was a big bounce-back game for Maxwell. In her last two outings (4.2 innings pitched) coming into Saturday, she had allowed nine hits and six earned runs. But she appeared to find her rhythm again just in time for the start of conference play.

"Kelly had one of her best games thus far," Gasso said. "... I felt like she was in pretty good control the whole way through and we want to get Kelly to a place — and Nicole May and all of our pitchers — to where if she’s gotta start game three, she can. So kind of let her work on finishing games.

"We had a really good week in the bullpen with (OU pitching coach Jennifer Rocha)," Maxwell added, "and I think it just showed today, all that hard work I put in, just being able to go after hitters and really believe in myself.”

— It was a slow offensive game for the Sooners, particularly early. OU logged just one hit and two errors through the first two innings before Alyssa Brito broke through with an RBI single that scored Avery Hodge.

— The difference maker? Cydney Sanders blasted a three-run home run in the fourth inning. The ball sailed to right center and bounced off the outfielder's glove and over the fence.

— The Sooners finished with five hits as a team, with Jayda Coleman, Kasidi Pickering, Alynah Torres, Brito and Sanders each recording one. The Cyclones had four as a team.

— Nicole May got the start in the circle and struggled early, giving up two hits, two runs and a walk that put the Sooners in a 2-0 deficit in the first inning.

That appeared to wake up OU's offense. The Sooners responded with five runs in the bottom of the first. Pickering hit a leadoff double to kick things off and then was immediately scored with an RBI double from Brito. Ella Parker followed with an RBI double of her own, then the Sooners received back-to-back home runs from Coleman and Sanders.

— A notable moment: Rylie Boone hit her first home run of the season on a leadoff blast to right field in the bottom of the second.

— Sanders wasn't done after that first-inning home run. With two runners on base, Sanders blasted a no-doubt home run to left center that gave the Sooners an 11-2 lead in the fourth.

On the day, Sanders went three for four at the plate with three runs and seven RBIs. She is now tied for the team lead in home runs with seven, and she's hit five in the last five games.

“I think I’m just focusing on playing free, not really worried about any outcomes," Sanders said when asked by OUInsider. "Just kinda get in the box and looking for a pitch to hit. Not really thinking too much at all. It’s working out a lot.”

— After that tough start, May managed to bounce back. She allowed just two hits the rest of the way and finished with eight strikeouts.

"Nicole May came in game two and gave up a couple quick, early runs and then just really settled in," Gasso said.

— Coleman had yet another highlight catch in the third field, as the centerfielder made a diving play to secure the final out.

— Gasso continues to tweak the lineup a lot. While the starters for both games were the same, both batting lineups were completely different. Everybody occupied a different spot in the lineup for both games. The leadoff hitter for game one? Boone. For game two? Pickering.

Gasso also rotated a lot of players into the lineup, with 14 players seeing the field in game two. For Gasso, it's about preparing for the future.

"I think everyone knows that after this season, we’ll have 10 missing pieces to this program," Gasso said. "The more I can give some of the young athletes an opportunity, I need to do that. I don’t want them to come in as sophomores and feel like they don’t have that experience. Whenever it’s the right time, try to give them that opportunity. And a chance for some of the older guys to have a chance to get off their feet."

— Tiare Jennings, who is having a solid senior season (.410 batting average, .465 on-base percentage), has been in a mini-slump as of late. In her last 10 at-bats, Jennings has logged zero hits and only one walk.

— Up next: The Sooners cap off their series with Iowa State at 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN+).