The No.4 ranked Oklahoma Sooners (49-6) defeated No.1 ranked Texas (47-7) 5-1 to win their ninth Big 12 Tournament Championship Saturday night at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
OU entered the game with 23 total Big 12 championships, eight of which have come through the tournament. And they added another as the ball fell into Avery Hodge’s glove at second for the final out.
The Sooners had won the first-ever Big 12 Championship in 1996.
Freshman Ella Parker was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament. She finished Saturday going 2-for-4 from the plate with two runs.
Jayda Coleman got the Sooners started on Saturday. As the leadoff batter, she hit a ground ball and reached first base. Ella Parker hit an infield single to give Tiare Jennings two runners to work with. Jennings delivered with an RBI single that bounced off the right field wall. Kinzie Hansen hit a ground ball that brought Parker home from third for the second run of the night.
Errors plagued Texas. Alyssa Brito hit an RBI single that got by the Texas 2nd baseman to give OU a 3-1 lead.
In the fourth inning, Alynah Torres reached on a catching error by the first baseman, and then the Sooners made them pay. After Torres was able to steal third, Boone’s ball one-hopped the shortstop and got by her, allowing Torres to score from third. It gave the Sooners a 5-1 lead.
The only scoring action Texas was able to muster against Kelly Maxwell came in the second inning where Kayden Henry hit an RBI triple for Texas.