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3 takeaways from OU softball's 3-0 finish at Bulldog Invitational

Alyssa Brito

Junior Alyssa Brito during the game against UIC on Mar. 3

 Reghan Kyle/OU Daily

No. 1 Oklahoma (20-1) finished 3-0 with wins over Mississippi State (18-7) and Southeastern Louisiana (20-5) at the Bulldog Invitational in Starkville, Mississippi on Friday and Saturday.

The Sooners earned two shutout wins on Friday, defeating Southeastern Louisiana 13-0 and Mississippi State 7-0. On Saturday, OU notched a 9-3 victory to earn their second win against the Bulldogs.

The back-to-back national champions outscored their opponents 29-3 on the weekend. 

Oklahoma was set to play Omaha (13-6) on Sunday, but the game was canceled due to expected inclement weather. Instead, OU will now play South Dakota State in Norman on Monday.

Here are three takeaways from the tournament: 

OU strikes first 

Oklahoma started each of their games in similar fashion this weekend. 

The Sooners scored all 13 of their runs in the first, second and third innings against Southeastern Louisiana on Friday.

Redshirt senior Haley Lee led the way against the Lions with a 3-for-3 showing with three runs and four RBIs. Lee also helped get things started for the Sooners with a two-run home run in the first. 

https://twitter.com/OU_Softball/status/1634263333569466368?s=20

After scoring quickly in the first game, OU followed in a similar suit against Mississippi. Oklahoma scored one in the first and then a pair of runs in the second, third and seventh innings. 

The Sooners were led by Brito, who went 2 for 4 with two runs and three RBIs. Lee also went 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI. 

During their final matchup of the weekend, the Sooners notched nine runs against the Bulldogs in the second inning on Saturday.

Arizona State transfer Alynah Torres went 2 for 4 and had one run and two RBIs. Brito also struck again going 2 for 5 with two runs and two RBIs. 

The Sooners totaled 38 hits as a team during the Invitational. 

Pitching staff delivers

Oklahoma’s pitching staff tossed two shutout wins over the weekend, including a perfect game from sophomore Jordy Bahl against Southeastern Louisiana.

On Friday, Bahl retired all 15 batters she faced during OU’s run-rule win against Southeastern Louisiana. Only once did the National Freshman of the year reach a three-ball count.  

In OU’s next contest, May threw a complete-game shutout, allowing only two hits and striking out six against Mississippi State. May has now allowed no runs through 39 innings of work this season.

Despite pitching the third perfect game of her career on Friday, Bahl struggled in her next outing on Saturday. She earned three strikeouts but allowed three hits and two runs in the first two innings. 

Michigan transfer Alex Storako picked up the slack. The redshirt senior earned her eighth win of the season after allowing no runs on three hits with six strikeouts in four innings of relief.

Oklahoma’s staff now holds a 0.96 team ERA with 164 strikeouts and 14 shutouts. 

Brito dominates offensively  

Brito led the way offensively for the Sooners this weekend. 

The junior went 7 for 12 on the weekend with two home runs and six RBIs. 

The outfielder sits fourth on the team with a .429 batting average. She is 24 for 56 on the season and is tied with Coleman and Jocelyn Erickson for a team-high five home runs. 

Brito will look to continue her offensive success as the Sooners return home against South Dakota State at 6 p.m. on Monday.

This story was edited by Austin Curtright.

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