No. 18 Softball hands No. 1 Oklahoma its first loss, 4-2

Saturday, April 16

Austin, Texas

1 p.m. CT

University of Texas

31-12-1, 7-2

#1 Oklahoma

38-1, 8-1

Oklahoma

Texas

No. 18 Softball hands No. 1 Oklahoma its first loss, 4-2

04.16.2022 | Softball

Box Score

The Longhorns ended the Sooners 40-game winning streak dating back to last year’s WCWS

AUSTIN, Texas – With a record 1,698 fans in attendance, on a Saturday afternoon that saw program legend Cat Osterman's No. 8 officially retired, No. 18 Texas softball (31-12-1, 7-2 Big 12 Conference) broke out more McCombs Field magic to hand No. 1 Oklahoma (38-1, 8-1 Big 12 Conference) its first loss in 312 days, 4-2.

Notes

Saturday's crowd of 1,698 and the total weekend series attendance of 4,883 marked the largest in both categories in Texas program history.
Texas' victory broke Oklahoma's NCAA Division I record 38-game season-opening winning streak and its 40-game overall winning streak dating back to the 2021 WCWS.
Texas senior pitcher Hailey Dolcini limited the Sooners to just two hits, marking the fewest hits for the nation's No. 1-ranked offense this season.
Texas' pitching staff limited Oklahoma to just a .176 overall batting average and 13 combined hits over the three-game series.
Texas' eight hits on Saturday were the most allowed by Oklahoma freshman pitcher Jordy Bahl this year, while its four runs were the second-most permitted in a game by Sooner pitching this season (eight runs vs. Tennessee – Feb. 26, 2022).
This marked Texas' first win over a No. 1-ranked team since taking down UCLA back on Feb. 27, 2020, 6-4 (8 inn.). UT is now 6-23 all-time against top-rated squads.
Freshman third baseman Mia Scott registered her fourth three-or-more RBI game over Texas' last six contests with three RBIs in Saturday's win over OU. She's now registered 13 of her 23 career RBIs since April 2.
Senior second baseman Janae Jefferson managed her 328th career hit, just five short of breaking the Big 12 Conference career hits record (Sami Williams – 332 hits).
Texas blasted two doubles to raise its season total to 77 for the year. The single-season school record is 91 established by the 2019 Longhorns.
Jefferson went 1-for-3 at the plate to extend her reached base streak to 10 games, while Scott and sophomore shortstop Alyssa Washington each extended theirs to seven games.

Major Players

Freshman third baseman Mia Scott (1-for-4, double, three RBIs); senior second baseman Janae Jefferson (1-for-3, run, walk); senior catcher Mary Iakopo (1-for-3, RBI); sophomore right fielder Courtney Day (2-for-2, double); sophomore shortstop Alyssa Washington (1-for-2, run, walk); junior right fielder Lou Gilbert (1-for-1, two runs); sophomore left fielder Bella Dayton (1-for-3)

In the Circle

Senior pitcher Hailey Dolcini (14-5) picked up the complete-game win after limiting the top-ranked Sooner offense to two runs on a season-low two hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

The Details

With Dolcini having retired nine of the first 10 Sooner batters she faced, Texas' offense managed base runners in each of the first three innings but couldn't locate a breakthrough against Oklahoma starter Jordy Bahl.

The biggest early threat for the Longhorns came during the bottom of the third as back-to-back singles from Day and Jefferson put the first two aboard in the frame. Bahl quickly battled her way out of trouble by retiring the next three Texas batters to leave the Burnt Orange & White duo stranded.

After leaving another runner on in the fourth, Texas finally grabbed its first lead of the series in the bottom of the fifth. Day kicked started the rally by blasting a leadoff double to the wall in right center. With one down, Scott hit a bouncer to third that was misplayed by Oklahoma's Jana Johns to station two aboard. That proved a huge inning-extending error as Iakopo drove a two-out RBI single to left to hand the Longhorns the advantage.

With Dolcini still in control from the circle, the Burnt Orange & White picked up some valuable insurance in the bottom of the sixth.

Washington's lead-off walk, a Gilbert infield single and a Jefferson free pass loaded the bases with two outs. That set the stage for Scott as the Angleton, Texas, native stepped into the box and cleared the base paths with a double off the wall in left center to make it 4-0.

As usual, No. 1 Oklahoma continued to fight in the top of the seventh as catcher Kinzie Hansen cut the Sooner deficit in half on a two-run HR to left. That was as close as OU could get, however, as Dolcini induced a pop-up to second and a foul out down the line in left to end the game.