After a near-two week hiatus, Grace Lyons returned to OU’s lineup in emphatic fashion.
The redshirt senior, who missed seven consecutive games in early March for undisclosed personal reasons, has seen a recent offensive surge, due in part to her keeping busy during the time off.
“When you take time off, obviously it takes a little bit to get back (in a groove),” Lyons said Wednesday. “But if you're doing your job when you're taking rests or out, then you're making sure that you're scouting pitchers, you're thinking about game plans and things like that, which I think is one of the hardest things to do offensively. Then once you get your swing going, it's kind of (like) riding a bike.”
Since returning, Lyons has delivered 11 hits in 20 plate appearances with eight RBIs. OU’s leader appears to have found her groove ahead of Oklahoma’s (30-1, 3-0 Big 12) national championship rematch against No. 8 Texas (30-5-1, 3-0), beginning with a 6 p.m. showdown Friday in front of a sellout crowd at Hall of Fame stadium in Oklahoma City.
“Having done this for so long, I never thought in a million years it would turn out like this with fans coming out and sellouts happening,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said Wednesday. “… It’s just a tribute to this team and other teams like Texas, where people want to see good matchups. They want to see good athletes playing hard in a competitive environment. So it's going to be fun.”
Lyons started the year strong, boasting a .500 batting average through OU’s first eight games, capped by a three-hit, five-RBI barrage in the Sooners’ 22-0 trouncing of Stephen F. Austin. Lyons struggled in the Sooners’ next eight, hitting 5 for 23 and tanking her average to .341 before missing the next seven matchups.
Lyons especially made her return known by going 5 for 8 with four RBIs to claim Big 12 Player of the Week honors in OU’s Big 12-opening sweep of Iowa State.
“I felt super smooth,” Lyons said. “Seeing good pitches and hitting them hard. That’s kind of how you simplify it. I think it was a great weekend to do that and to feel super confident at the plate.”
Redshirt senior infielder Grace Lyons during the game against UIC on Mar. 3
Her absence put the Sooners in a position they haven’t seen in over four years. Since her arrival in 2019, Lyons had appeared in 225 consecutive games, playing shortstop each time and starting in all but one.
In an attempt to fill the void, OU shifted its every day second base player, junior Tiare Jennings, to shortstop and deployed redshirt freshman Quincee Lilio to second during the majority of Lyons’ absence.
“It's cool to see young ones — (and) even veterans — who are playing positions maybe that they haven't in the past, but (are) doing it confidently and humbly,” Lyons said. “That's definitely something that makes our team super unique, because people aren't complaining about the positions that they're in. They're just taking it (and) owning their roles.”
Though OU lost the usual production from its leader, Lyons’ recent surge is fueling Oklahoma into a high-stakes series against the Longhorns.
“It can get very emotional when you have that sort of atmosphere around you,” Lyons said. “You know, it's the Red River rivalry … That's what you dream of when you're young, all those rivalry games, but I think it's important to stay neutral and know that we can bring passion but also just kind of keep it under control.
“... (It has) kind of a World Series feel.”
This story was edited by Colton Sulley.
