OU softball rewind: Alex Storako headlines Sooners' dominant pitching performances

Ryan Aber, Oklahoman

March 7, 2023 at 6:15 AM·3 min read

NORMAN — OU softball’s first home weekend turned out the same as so many other home stretches during the Sooners’ recent run of dominance.

OU clobbered Illinois-Chicago and Kentucky by a combined 39-1 in winning all four games.

The Sooners have now won 50 consecutive home games, with their last loss at Marita Hynes Field coming Feb. 29, 2020.

Since losing to Baylor on Feb. 19, the Sooners are 9-0 and have outscored opponents 89-5.

Here’s a look at what we learned about the Sooners over the weekend:

More:Alex Storako pitches no-hitter as OU softball sweeps home openers vs. UIC, Kentucky

OU pitcher Alex Storako delivered her second career no-hitter Friday night in an 18-0 win in five innings against Kentucky at Marita Hynes Field in Norman.

No. 1 OU

Overall record: 17-1

Last week: 4-0 (Beat Illinois-Chicago, 5-0; beat Kentucky, 18-0 (5); beat Kentucky, 7-1; beat Illinois-Chicago, 9-0 (5))

This week: At Bulldog Invitational, Starkville, Mississippi (vs. Southeastern Louisiana, 12:30 p.m. Friday; vs. Mississippi State, 6 p.m. Friday; vs. Mississippi State, 3 p.m. Saturday; vs. Omaha, 10:30 a.m. Sunday).

More:SEC scheduling isn't just a football issue when OU makes the move. Just ask KJ Kindler.

Top OU player last week

Alex Storako, P: Alex Storako has been every bit as good as advertised after transferring from Michigan in the offseason.

Storako threw her second career no-hitter in Friday’s 18-0, five-inning bludgeoning of 17th-ranked Kentucky.

After allowing a run in her first appearance as a Sooner, Storako has made six consecutive scoreless appearances.

OU pitcher Nicole May went 2-0 over the weekend, throwing 11 scoreless innings.

It’s not just Storako, though.

The Sooners’ pitching staff has been dominant.

In the four games last weekend, they threw 24 innings, allowing just 10 hits with one run, walking just four and striking out 30.

Nicole May was 2-0, throwing 11 scoreless innings with three hits, three walks and 20 strikeouts.

Before the season, Sooners coach Patty Gasso said May was primed for the best season of her career and May hasn’t disappointed.

The junior has yet to allow a run in 32 innings pitched this season, allowing 13 hits with nine walks and 55 strikeouts.

The Sooners’ team ERA dipped to 0.93 with their performance over the weekend.

"I'm really, really happy with this pitching staff," Gasso said. "I think they're all in a really good spot right now."

More:OU softball's Kinzie Hansen comes through injury better than ever, on and off the field

Stat to know

.992: The Sooners’ fielding percentage this season. OU has gone 14 consecutive games without an error. All of the Sooners’ errors so far this season came in the first four games. Even after that rough start defensively, Sooners coach Patty Gasso said she was pleased with her team’s defensive performances. They’ve certainly shown why Gasso had plenty of faith in them defensively.

More:Tramel's ScissorTales: There's no slowing down OU softball dynasty, as rout of UCLA shows

OU's Jayda Coleman (24) celebrates in front of Kentucky's Margaret Tobias (12) after hitting a double in the first inning of an 18-0 win Friday night in Norman.

Grace Lyons sits

In Friday’s home opener, Tiare Jennings wasn’t in the starting lineup for the first time in her OU career.

Saturday, Sooners coach Patty Gasso’s lineup was missing an even more steady piece.

Shortstop and team captain Grace Lyons did not play in either the Sooners’ 7-1 win over Kentucky or the 9-0 win over Illinois-Chicago.

Lyons had started 224 of the Sooners’ 225 games during her career, all at shortstop.

In her place, Jennings slid over to make her first career start at shortstop in the win over Kentucky and freshman Avery Hodge started the nightcap.

Gasso characterized Lyons’ absence as a day of rest for the super senior.

Redshirt freshman Quincee Lilio started a pair of games at second base, first Friday when Jennings sat and then Saturday when Jennings slid to shortstop.

Lilio hit her first career home run, a pinch-hit solo shot, in Friday’s win over Kentucky.

More:One secret to the success of the softball teams at OU and OSU? Shortstops. Lots of them.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball: Alex Storako headlines dominant pitching performances

Reuters
Israel, Hamas ceasefire accord followed by airstrikes on Gaza, residents say
Israel intensified strikes on Gaza hours after a ceasefire and hostage release deal was announced, residents and authorities in the Palestinian enclave said, and mediators sought to quell fighting ahead of the truce's start on Sunday. The complex ceasefire accord between Israel and militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, emerged on Wednesday after months of mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. and 15 months of bloodshed that devastated the coastal territory and inflamed the Middle East. The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire with the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed.
NBC News
Pam Bondi takes her turn in the hot seat: From the Politics Desk
Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi faced questions about Trump and Kash Patel at her hearing, but didn't appear to lose any support from Senate Republicans.
NBC News
A long road to rebuilding — and fights over government funding — await L.A. fire victims
The scenes of destruction in Los Angeles have brought a sense of déjà vu for Steve Crowder.
AFP
Biden warns of dangerous 'oligarchy' in dark farewell speech
US President Joe Biden urged Americans Wednesday to "stand guard" against a "dangerous" oligarchy forming under Donald Trump as he delivered a dark farewell address before stepping down next week.Signing off Trump returns for a second term on January 20, Biden told Americans: "Now it's your turn to stand guard."
Associated Press
Trump adviser says president-elect is exploring options to "preserve" TikTok
Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, said in an interview on Wednesday that the president-elect is exploring options to “preserve” TikTok. Waltz made the comment when Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked him about a report from The Washington Post that said Trump was considering an executive order to suspend enforcement of a federal law that could ban the popular platform nationwide by Sunday. Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to the statute brought by TikTok, its China-based parent company ByteDance, and users of the app.
NBC News
How to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires
Wildfires have decimated more than 40,000 acres of the Los Angeles metropolitan area over the last week, charring more than 12,000 structures, displacing over 150,000 residents and leaving at least 25 people dead.
AFP
Herbicide under US scrutiny over potential Parkinson's link
First came the slow hand movements, then the tremor, and now the looming fear of what lies ahead.By the end of the decade, he noticed his hands moving slowly and his gait turning into a shuffle.
AFP
South Korea's Yoon to avoid fresh questioning after dramatic arrest
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol faced renewed questioning Thursday, a day after his dramatic arrest over a failed martial law declaration, but his lawyers said he would not take part.Yoon revoked martial law after just six hours and was later impeached by parliament.
AFP
Behind the Gaza deal: a US odd couple and last-minute snags
The Israel-Hamas deal was made possible by 18-hour days and a "remarkable" partnership between Joe Biden and Donald Trump's Mideast envoys -- but even then it seemed it might come apart at the last minute.Negotiations intensified after McGurk returned to the region on January 5 -- "18 hours a day, sometimes longer" -- but sticking points between Israel and Hamas remained.
AFP
Washington ramps up security for Trump inauguration
With endless perimeter fencing, all-seeing drones and some 25,000 security personnel, the US capital is preparing for Donald Trump's presidential inauguration in an unprecedented protective posture after an election cycle marked by violence.Nevertheless, a record 30 miles (48 kilometers) of anti-scale fencing is being erected around the security perimeter.
Associated Press
UN says it's ready to ramp up delivery of desperately needed aid to Gaza
The United Nations said Wednesday that it’s ready to ramp up the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza following a ceasefire agreement and urged the removal of major security and political obstacles so supplies can reach all Palestinians in need. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the announcement of a deal to pause the fighting “a critical first step” and told reporters that the U.N.’s top priority must be to ease the tremendous suffering caused by the conflict triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel. U.N. humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said aid agencies have been mobilizing supplies in preparation for a ceasefire to scale up deliveries of food, medical supplies and other key items.
NBC News
What is the pink powder sprayed over the California wildfires?
The powdered substance sprayed over the California wildfires is called Phos-Chek. It contains ammonium phosphate — an ingredient commonly found in fertilizer.
Associated Press
California's Newsom will join GOP governors in raising flag for Trump inauguration
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom will join Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and some GOP governors around the country in directing U.S. flags be raised to full height on Inauguration Day. Newsom’s spokesperson Izzy Gardon confirmed Wednesday that the governor would temporarily direct the raising of flags at the state Capitol in Sacramento for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Flags at the U.S. Capitol and at statehouses around the country have been lowered to half-staff in honor of the late former President Jimmy Carter.
Associated Press
Governor forces out homeless people by New Orleans Superdome before Super Bowl
As New Orleans prepares to host the Super Bowl next month, Louisiana authorities cleared homeless encampments around the stadium on Wednesday and relocated many to a temporary warehouse facility that costs millions of dollars to operate. Gov. Jeff Landry framed the sweep — which city officials say undermines their efforts to address homelessness — as part of a move to secure New Orleans, especially in the aftermath of the New Year’s Day attack that killed 14 people. The tough-on-crime Republican governor has talked about plans to improve Louisiana's most popular city ahead of the Super Bowl at the Superdome.
USA TODAY
President Biden warns of 'oligarchy' as he bids farewell to five decades in politics
President Joe Biden delivered a vigorous defense of his record in an Oval Office address that bid farewell to five decades in politics.
Reuters
Biden takes aim at 'tech industrial complex' in farewell speech
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden warned on Wednesday in his farewell address that an American oligarchy is taking shape in the United States among a few wealthy people who have amassed a "dangerous concentration of power." Biden warned of a "tech industrial complex" in the United States in words that echoed President Dwight Eisenhower's farewell address in 1961. Eisenhower, closing out eight years as president, had warned of the dangers of a "military-industrial complex" gaining power in the United States.
USA TODAY
Ring of Chinese scammers used stolen $100M to smuggle iPhones to Asia
A trio of Chinese nationals in New Hampshire pleaded guilty to using stolen gift cards to buy Apple products to ship to East Asia.
AFP
AFP strikes deal for France's Mistral AI to use news articles
Global news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) and French artificial intelligence company Mistral AI have signed a deal for the start-up's chatbot to use news agency reports to respond to users' requests, executives from the two organisations said Thursday.Le Chat will answer questions about current events using AFP articles -- the text news the agency typically sends to its subscription-paying clients in the media, government and other institutions, and businesses.
USA TODAY
What's Trump's stance on a TikTok ban? Here's his history with the app
As a potential TikTok ban looms, here's how President-elect Donald Trump views banning the app, and how his stance, has changed.
CBS News
What to know about online claims about who owns California's water
Erroneous accusations that a wealthy couple, Stewart and Lynda Resnick, have been hoarding water amid the Southern California wildfires have been spreading widely online.

No. 1 OU

Top OU player last week

Stat to know

Grace Lyons sits

Latest Stories