OKLAHOMA CITY – Third-ranked Oklahoma City opens Sooner Athletic Conference action this weekend with Wayland Baptist visiting for a four-game set.
 
Weather permitting, the Stars take on the Pioneers in doubleheaders that begin at 2 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday.
 
OCU Notebook
Previously: Oklahoma City completed its 4-0 stay in Branson with a pair of wins on Saturday, crushing Avila 13-1 and defeating Morningside 4-3.
 
NAIA Award for AJ: Analise Rayburn of Oklahoma City earned NAIA Player of the Week honors on Tuesday. She was an extremely tough out for opponents last week as she recorded an incredible slash of .600/.625/1.400, earning player of the week honors for the fifth installment this season. Rayburn stepped to the plate in the first of four games last week with what seemed to be one thing in mind. Clear the wall, and drive in as many runs as possible while doing so. In the 18-0 win against Graceland (Iowa), Rayburn connected for three hits, all three of which cleared the wall, driving in nine runs. She followed up her nine RBI performance later that day, sending one more softball over the wall against Saint Mary (Kan.), driving in three more runs as the Stars won 9-3. Her presence at the plate was so dangerous to opponents that in the game against USM, the Spires intentionally walked Rayburn with the bases already loaded. The next day, while her home run barrage wasn't in effect, she was still a big part of putting runs on the board, going a collective 4-of-8 at the plate against Avila (Mo.) and Morningside (Iowa) with four RBI and two runs scored. Over the week, in four games, she was a threat to drive some runs across the plate. 21 total bases, four extra base hits, 16 plate appearances, 9-for-15 at the plate, and four home runs on the week, she led the Stars to a perfect 4-0 week.
 
SAC Honorees Duel: Analise Rayburn of OCU and Kynleigh Kirby of Wayland Baptist meet this weekend as the reigning Sooner Athletic Conference Player and Pitcher of the Week. Kirby helped the Pioneers to a 3-1 record by winning two of those games over Central Christian. Kirby surrendered only one run during her 12 innings in the circle over the two complete games, with five strikeouts and no walks. Kirby finished the week with a .83 WHIP over the span.
 
Hitting: OCU is hitting .341 as a team with Hadley Gibson batting .436 in the leadoff spot. Analise Rayburn leads the Stars with six home runs and 28 runs batted in. Gibson leads with a .532 on-base percentage. Rayburn is third nationally in both home runs and RBIS.
 
Pitching: The Stars have a 1.75 team earned run average. Brynlee Alsip has the team lead among starting pitchers with an ERA of 0.99. McKenna Snyder, in 17 innings over seven relief appearances, has a 0.89 ERA. Opponents are batting .236 against the Stars this season.
 
Last Season vs. WBU: The Pioneers got their first-ever win of the series last season, 4-2, but OCU took the series in Plainview, 3-1.
 
Scouting the Pioneers: Wayland Baptist is 11-3 on the season after taking three of four from Central Christian last weekend. WBU is hitting .341 as a team, led by Mikayla Carillo at .451. Mikenzi Carlo has a team-best 14 RBIs. Kynleigh Kirby is 4-0 with a 1.56 earned run average. As a team, the Pioneers carry a 3.32 ERA into the series.