Liberty University
17-8
Oklahoma
21-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 5 | 8 | 0 |
No. 1 Oklahoma Escapes With 5-4 Win Over Liberty
3/14/2021 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Liberty tied the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners with a three-run fifth inning, before the Sooners went ahead with a sixth-inning tally and held on for a 5-4 win on Sunday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Oklahoma remains unbeaten at 21-0 on the season, while the Lady Flames' record stands at 17-8 heading into the second game of today's doubleheader. Liberty has gone 1-3 at this weekend's Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic, while OU is 3-0 this weekend.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Bishop-Riley homers, 1-0
Oklahoma – 2nd INNING – Johns singles, Snow and Coleman score, 2-1
Oklahoma – 3rd INNING – Alo homers, 3-1
Oklahoma – 3rd INNING – Hansen homers, 4-1
Liberty – 5th INNING – Bishop singles, Channell and Hudson score, 4-3
Liberty – 5th INNING – Bishop-Riley singles, Via scores, 4-4
Oklahoma – 6th INNING – Coleman scores on a wild pitch, 5-4
Notable Numbers
- Oklahoma outhit Liberty, 8-5, while the Lady Flames committed the game's lone error. The Sooners left four runners on base, while Liberty stranded three.
- OU's Nicole May (7-0) earned the win, allowing one hit and striking out three in two relief innings. Sooner starter G Juarez yielded four runs on four hits, walking two and fanning three in five innings.
- McKenzie Wagoner (2-2) drew the loss, allowing one run on two hits, striking out one in 2 2/3 innings of relief. Starter Megan Johnson gave up four runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings. Emily Kirby struck out two in a hitless inning of relief.
- Jocelyn Alo batted 1-for-3 with her nation-leading 18th homer of the season, while Jayda Coleman went 3-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. Jana Johns (1-for-1) drove in two runs.
- Amber Bishop-Riley went 2-for-3 with her ASUN-leading ninth homer, two RBI and one run. Autumn Bishop batted 1-for-4 with two RBI, while Blake Gibson doubled.
Turning Point
- Bishop-Riley gave Liberty a 1-0 lead with a solo shot in the first. That was Liberty's last baserunner until the fifth inning, as Juarez retired 11 straight.
- The Sooners went ahead on a two-run Johns single in the second, and homers by Alo and Kinzie Hansen pushed the lead to 4-1 in the third.
- With one on and two out in the top of the fifth, Channell singled and Via walked to load the bases for Bishop. The senior's two-run single narrowed the gap to 4-3, before Bishop-Riley's game-tying single. Juarez kept the game tied by getting Kara Canetto to foul out.
- Gibson doubled to lead off the sixth against reliever May. The freshman right-hander retired the next three batters, and did not allow another baserunner in the game.
- Coleman led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple, before Wagoner hit Johns with a pitch. Reliever Kirby let go a wild pitch, scoring Coleman for a 5-4 Sooners lead. Johns was thrown out at third on the play. Kirby then struck out the next two batters.
Beyond the Box Score
- Oklahoma is now 2-0 all-time against Liberty in softball, as the only previous meeting was March 7, 2014 in Norman, Okla.
- Liberty Head Coach Dr. Dot Richardson was enshrined in the National Softball Hall of Fame in 2006 for her distinguished softball playing career. The Hall of Fame is adjacent to ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, where the Lady Flames played yesterday and today.
- Liberty's Amber Bishop-Riley was listed on the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List, while Oklahoma had three players named to that list (Jocelyn Alo, G Juarez, Nicole Mendes).
- Liberty has gone 0-7 against Top 25 teams so far this season, with all seven games coming against teams who were ranked in the top 10 at the time of meeting.
- The Lady Flames are now 6-2 in one-run games this season.
- Liberty's four runs scored were tied for the most given up by Oklahoma in a game this season, while the Sooners' five runs tied their lowest single-game scoring output this year.
- Bishop-Riley tied Liberty's career home run record, hitting her 58th career homer to tie Jessica Moore's (2005-07) Liberty record.
- Bishop-Riley is the second active Lady Flame with a home run off of the No. 1 team, joining Caroline Hudson, who hit a three-run homer off of Washington's Gabbie Plain, Feb. 14, 2020.
- Canetto's hitting streak ended at 15 games.
- Liberty faced Oklahoma starter G Juarez on Feb. 24, 2018 when Juarez tossed a three-hit shutout in a 6-0 Arizona State shutout over Liberty at the Mary Nutter Classic.
- Johnson, a Vinita, Okla., native earned the start in her home state. Freshman reliever McKenzie Wagoner, from Newcastle, Okla., was the 2020 Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year.
- Bishop is now tied with Sarah Robertson (2016-19) and Beth Bennett (2006-09) for sixth all-time in program history with 126 career RBI.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: May, N. (7-0)
L: Wagoner, McKenzie (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Gibson, Blake 1
HR: Bishop-Riley, Amber 1
RBI: Bishop, Autumn 2 ; Bishop-Riley, Amber 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bishop-Riley, Amber 1 ; Hudson, Caroline 1 ; Channell, Savannah 1 ; Via, Madison 1
Batting:
3B: Coleman, J. 1
HR: Alo, J. 1 ; Hansen, K. 1
RBI: Alo, J. 1 ; Hansen, K. 1 ; Johns, J. 2
SH: Elam, L. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Alo, J. 1 ; Hansen, K. 1 ; Snow, T. 1 ; Coleman, J. 2
SB: Snow, T. 1 ; Coleman, J. 1 ; Johns, J. 1
HBP: Johns, J. 2
