Oklahoma already sits atop the softball chain.
With a healthy Kinzie Hansen, the Sooners become even stronger.
The graduate student catcher has been limited over the past few weeks due to injury, but the Sooners offense still showed no signs of weakness against Kansas last weekend, tallying 30 runs during their three-game sweep.
“(She was) super frustrated, but not showing it,” head coach Patty Gasso said Tuesday. “She was still vocal and right in the middle of it.”
The graduate catcher, who hopes to become a coach once her playing career is over, has spent the past couple games studying associate head coach and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha, trying to pick her brain of the ins and outs of coaching.
“She sat next to coach Rocha and learned from her pitch calling,” Gasso said. “They were interacting, so I could definitely hear them talking.”
On Friday, the Sooners totaled a season-high 17 runs in a run rule victory over the Jayhawks despite Hansen’s absence. Over the weekend, Oklahoma hit ten home runs in its series win against Kansas.
Stepping into Hansen’s role behind the plate was graduate Riley Ludlam, a transfer from Furman who’s spending her final season of college softball with the Sooners.
When Ludlam first arrived on campus, she and Hansen instantly connected and began sharing their experiences as veterans with each other.
Despite Ludlam’s experience, she didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity of learning from Hansen.
“I couldn’t even tell you how many questions she asked me,” Hansen said. “Coming from a fifth year to another fifth year, that mentality is very rare.”
In the nine games Ludlam started at catcher since the Texas Tech series, the Sooners outscored their opponents 95-16, including four run-rule victories.
Leading the way for the Sooners offense have been senior outfielder Jayda Coleman, senior infielder Tiare Jennings and senior infielder Alyssa Brito. The trio have been the tone setters all season long for the Sooners, with Coleman reaching base safely in 13 of her 14 plate appearances over the weekend.
Being a team captain alongside Jennings for the first time in her career this season, Hansen has been a steady rock out, typically batting in the cleanup spot and has embraced her leadership role.
Hansen has a .377 batting average with seven home runs and 17 RBIs and has more walks than strikeouts.
“I’m a lot more mature than I was back then,” said Hansen. “It was a lot easier for me to take it as it comes. Going day by day and just stacking good days.”
Going into the Sooners’ weekend series against Texas, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Austin on ESPNU, Hansen is ready to get back on the field and help the Sooners finish strong in the second half of their season.
The Longhorns moved down to No. 5 in the nation after they dropped two of three games to Oklahoma State over the weekend, but still appear to be the greatest threat to the Sooners in the Big 12.
“This is the Red River Rivalry,” Hansen said. “I was going to be ready regardless.”
