OKLAHOMA CITY – Third-ranked Oklahoma City hosts Texas Wesleyan in the four-game set this weekend with doubleheaders at 2 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday.
The Stars are 19-3 on the season and 8-0 against the Sooner Athletic Conference. TWU comes in at 13-12 overall and 7-5 against the SAC.
OCU Notebook
Previously: Third-ranked Oklahoma City completed its series sweep of Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday, defeating the Aggies 11-3 and 13-1. The wins give OCU a 12-game winning streak and improved its record to 19-3 overall and 8-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Honors: Analise Rayburn of Oklahoma City was named this week's Sooner Athletic Conference Netting Pros/STADIONIC Softball Players of the Week for their efforts over the past week, as announced by the conference office on Monday morning. Rayburn claimed her second weekly award by leading the Stars to a 6-0 record last week by going 13-of-19 at the plate for a .684 batting average. Rayburn smashed five home runs while driving in 18 runs and scoring 10 runs herself. Rayburn finished the week with a 1.579 slugging percentage and a .652 on-base percentage. OCU has had the SAC Player of the Week three weeks in a row. Rayburn also won the award on March 2, and
Tara Hoehner took it on March 9. Additionally,
Brynlee Alsip was named SAC Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 9 and 23.
OCU at Home: The Stars are 5-1 at Ann Lacy Stadium this season, including a split with top-ranked Southern Oregon. OCU hits .427 as a team with a 1.56 earned run average. The freshmen are doing great at home this season, led by
Kaiden Spidell with an .833 batting average with two home runs and 10 RBIs, and
Hadley Gibson with a .556 batting average.
Tara Hoehner is batting .474 on the home diamond and shares the RBI lead with
Analise Rayburn, each with a dozen runs batted in at Ann Lacy Stadium. Rayburn has five home runs, and Spidell, Hoehner, and
Kindalyn Miller have two each.
Brynlee Alsip is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA at home, and
McKenna Snyder has not allowed an earned run in six innings in the home circle.
Against the SAC: OCU is 8-0 against the SAC with series sweeps against Wayland Baptist and Panhandle State.
Analise Rayburn has feasted, batting .634 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs in eight games. As a team, OCU is batting .465 with a dozen home runs against the SAC. In the circle, the Stars have a 1.40 ERA.
Kindalyn Miller has 7.1 scoreless innings, and
Brynlee Alsip is 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 20.2 innings.
Morgandee Sawatzky carries a 1.75 ERA against the SAC.
The Streak: During the current 12-game streak, OCU is batting .450 with 16 home runs while averaging 10.5 runs per game.
Analise Rayburn has 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in the current 12-game streak. The pitching staff has a 1.28 team ERA with none of the four pitchers above 1.40.
Brynlee Alsip leads that group at 7-0 with a 1.18 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 29.2 innings.
Last Year vs. TWU: OCU, which has won the last 15 games in the series, took all four games last season by a combined score of 43-3. The Rams haven't beaten the Stars at Ann Lacy Stadium since 2016.
Hitting: OCU is batting .385 as a team, led by freshman
Hadley Gibson at .500 (33-66). Gibson also leads the squad with a .560 on-base percentage.
Analise Rayburn leads OCU with 13 home runs, 51 RBIs, and a slugging percentage of 1.108. She is the national leader in home runs and RBIs. OCU leads the NAIA with a .608 slugging percentage.
Pitching: The Stars bring a team earned run average of 1.64, which is second in the NAIA, into the weekend series.
Brynlee Alsip is 11-2 with a 1.11 ERA and a .209 opponent batting average. Teams are batting .223 against OCU pitching.
On the Bases: A couple of freshmen have been burning up the base paths this season for OCU.
Hadley Gibson is 13 of 14, and
Gabby Moreno has not yet been caught in her 12 stolen base attempts. OCU is 61-67 as a team.
About the Rams: Texas Wesleyan is 13-12 overall and 7-5 in the Sooner Athletic Conference this season after taking three of four from Southwestern Christian. The Rams are hitting .318 as a team with 11 home runs. They average five runs per game. Junior Kylie Barnes leads the Rams at .468 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs. TWU carries a 5.68 team earned run average, led by Arieanna Hernandez at 3.73. Barnes is 9-3 with two shutouts.
