NORMAN —Kelly Maxwell has made taking a no-hitter deep in games pretty routine.
Maxwell did it again Thursday, taking a no-hitter into the fifth before surrendering his lone hit as top-ranked OU beat BYU 8-0 in five innings to open their Big 12 series at Love’s Field.
“Early in the count, attacking early,” Patty Gasso said of Maxwell’s performance. “You know if she gets 10 strikeouts or three strikeouts, as long as we keep the ball in play in the infield or our outfielders can run down anything. So if the ball is being kept in the yard I feel really good about our opportunities, our chances to win and she’s just created a lot of ground balls to (Alyssa) Brito and Tiare (Jennings) and just keeps feeding our infielders.”
Maxwell (12-1) struck out five in the complete-game win with just one of the outs coming from the outfield.
The Cougars didn’t get a hit until Lily Owens’ one-out single to left in the fifth.
But Maxwell responded with back-to-back strikeouts before allowing her first walk, then striking out Hailey Morrow to end the inning.
The Sooners (37-3, 14-2 Big 12) scored four in the bottom half for the walk-off win.
Maxwell hasn’t allowed a hit in the first three innings since March 15 at Texas Tech.
Last weekend in OU’s series opener against Texas, she went two outs into the fifth without giving up a hit.
Two nights later, Maxwell cruised through two outs of the fourth before surrendering a hit.
The week before against Kansas, Maxwell took the no-hitter into the seventh before giving up her first hit.
Here are three more takeaways from the Sooners’ win:
Cydney Sanders breaks out
Heading into her fifth-inning at-bat, Sooners’ first baseman Cydney Sanders was 0 for her last 11.
Sanders had drawn four walks during the span but had dipped into a bit of a slump since her hot stretch earlier in the season.
But Sanders left no doubt in the fifth, blasted a laser of a home run, her 12th of the season, over the left-field wall on a 1-2 pitch to give the Sooners the walk-off.
“That’s a relief,” Sanders said. “I’ve been getting on, it’s just more of walks. It feels good to get a hit sometimes though. I think that was like a very uplifting thing for me.”
Sanders wasn’t the only Sooners player to hit a home run Thursday.
Jayda Coleman had a three-run homer in the second to start the scoring and Kasidi Pickering hit a solo shot in the third.
Ella Parker and Kinzie Hansen started the inning with back-to-back singles before Pickering drove in a run with a single that put runners on the corners.
“Ella started it off hot with the first pitch and then everyone just kept building off of that, and she kind of set my at-bat up a little bit because there was runners on first and third, so I knew that I’d have a couple options of pitches,” Sanders said.
Sooners glad to be home
Thursday’s game was OU’s first home game since the March 23 series finale against Baylor.
OU’s seven-game road trip was its longest since starting the season with 14 consecutive games away from home.
“I’m just trying to get this kind out of my lower back,” Gasso said before looking to the two players on either side of her. “I don’t know if you guys feel it but that bus is not friendly to your body sometimes so just to know that we could put our suitcases away and just really get good practices in and play in front of our fans and in front of their families, this felt really good.”
Short hops
Coleman extended her on-base streak to 27 games with her first-inning single. … Pickering’s home run was her first at home since March 1. … The Sooners and Cougars resume their series at 6 p.m. Friday at Love’s Field. … Coleman and Pickering each had two hits.
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Top 5: Kelly Maxwell’s no-hit big broken up
OU starting pitcher Kelly Maxwell retired the first 13 batters she faced before Lily Owens’ one-out single into left in the fifth.
Maxwell was bidding for her second no-hitter of the season.
She no-hit Tarleton State on March 12 in a five-inning game.
Bottom 3: Kasidi Pickering stretches Sooners lead
Kasidi Pickering stretched OU’s lead to 4-0 in the third on a one-out solo homer to left center.
The home run was Pickering’s fifth of the season and her first at Love’s Field since she hit two March 1, one in each of the Sooners’ games that day.
It was her first home run overall since March 16 at Texas Tech.
Bottom 2: Jayda Coleman’s homer puts Sooners up front
Jayda Coleman’s hot streak continues.
Coleman blasted a three-run homer to left on a 1-0 pitch in the third to put OU ahead 3-0 on BYU.
The home run was set up by Alynah Torres’ one-out walk followed by Rylie Boone’s double to left center to put two runners in scoring position.
Coleman is 2 for 2 after leading off the game with a single.
What time does OU softball vs. BYU start?
- Date: Thursday, April 11
- Time: 6 p.m. CT
- Where: Love's Field, Norman
More:Get to know the 2024 Oklahoma Sooners softball team and schedule
What channel is OU softball vs. BYU on today?
- Streaming: ESPN+
- How to watch online: Watch ESPN (here's how to stream it live)
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