Wallis Claims Win No. 500 as #6 USAO Completes Sweep at OPSU

GOODWELL, Okla. – Monday afternoon, the No. 6 ranked University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (40-7, 31-5 SAC) extended their win streak to 21 with double-header sweep against Oklahoma Panhandle State University (15-33, 12-24 SAC). USAO began the day with a commanding 19-0 victory, followed by a 10-1 win in the series finale. The win in the series finale was the 500^th win of head coach Jadyn Wallis' remarkable career at USAO.

Previously on Sunday, the Drovers opened the series with a historic 8-0 victory, followed by a dominant 11-0 triumph in game two.

The Drovers won all four games of the series by "mercy rule" and they outscored the Aggies by a wide margin of 48-1. Furthermore, USAO has dominated the all-time series against OPSU, going 29-2 against the Aggies since the series began on March 1, 2017. 

-GAME 1-

The Drovers led from start to finish as they claimed a 19-0 win. 

USAO wasted no time to take the lead, bringing across a trio of runs in the top of the first inning, followed by one more in the second. 

With the score 4-0 entering the top of the fourth inning, the Drovers added on a dozen runs. USAO scored their final three runs in the top of the fifth inning.

As a team, USAO reached the bases on 21 hits and seven walks, while OPSU tallied one hit and did not draw a walk. The Aggies committed three errors on defense, while the Drovers had none. 

The Drover offense was led by six multi-hit performances. Jadyn Goucher led the way, going 3-4 with a double, three runs scored, and four runs scored. Kinzie Williams concluded 3-3 with a double and two runs scored. Leighanne Eaton launched a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and four runs batted in. Malea McMurtrey finished 2-4 with two runs scored and a run batted in, while Sophie Williams went 2-4 at the plate, with a run scored and three runs batted in. Taygan Graham went 2-4 with a run scored and a run batted in.

Sierra Selfridge went 1-2 with a double, two walks, three runs scored, and a RBI. The team received one hit each from Triniti Cottany, Jordan Ramsay, Shaylann Grace, Camryn Clark, Terra Funk, and Jaylee Willis.

Sophie Williams was once again tremendous in the circle and delivered her ninth shutout of the season. Additionally, Williams has not surrendered a run in her last 36.0 innings pitched. During the scoreless streak, she has struck out 71 batters. 

On Monday, she improved her record to 22-4 as she struck out nine batters while allowing only one hit in 5.0 innings of work. This season, Williams owns a 0.85 earned run average and she has struck out 223 batters in 148.2 innings pitched. 

Williams had Shaquille O'Neal sized shoes to fill when she became the Drovers ace, following the greatest pitcher in NAIA history, Emily Cerny. Despite having such a major role to fill, Williams has done far better than what anyone could have realistically expected. Since coming to USAO as a freshman in 2022, Williams has produced a 64-17 win-loss record, along with a 1.28 ERA and 661 strikeouts in 513.1 innings of work. She has accumulated two NAIA All-American selections, two All-SAC selections, the 2023 SAC Pitcher of the Year award, 11 SAC Pitcher of the Week awards, and three NAIA Pitcher of the Week awards. Should Williams be fortunate enough to claim the SAC Pitcher of the Year award next month, it would be the seventh year in a row that a Drover has claimed the recognition.

-GAME 2-

The Drovers once again used a hot start to cruise to a dominant 10-1 victory. USAO began the game with four runs in the top of the first inning, prior to OPSU scoring their only run of the series in the bottom of the first.

The score remained 4-1 until the top of the fourth when the Drovers added one more run. USAO rallied for five runs in the top of the fifth, prior to ending the game early due to the "mercy rule".

As a team, USAO reached the bases on 11 hits, while OPSU tallied only three hits and two walks. The Aggies committed four errors on defense, while the Drovers fumbled the ball once on defense. 

The Drover offense was led by a trio of multi-hit performances from Kinzie Williams, Sierra Selfridge, and Leighanne Eaton. Williams delivered her second consecutive three-hit game as she went 3-4 with a run scored. Selfridge went 2-4 with a double and three runs batted in, while Eaton finished 2-3 with a run scored and a run batted in. 

Jadyn Goucher launched her 10^th home run of the season and drove in three runs. Addison Willis went 1-2 with a double. Malea McMurtrey drove in a pair of runs as she finished 1-2 with a run scored. Jaylee Willis went 1-3 with a run scored. 

USAO was led by another stellar pitching performance, as Jayden Anderson improved her record to 13-2 so far this season. Anderson allowed only three hits, while striking out eight batters in 4.0 innings of work. This season, Anderson has produced a 1.78 earned run average and she has struck out 102 batters in 102.1 innings. Katelyn Trumbley delivered a scoreless inning of work as well. 

JADYN WALLIS JOINS THE 500 CLUB

12th Season – 500-148 record – .772 win percentage)

•               2018 NAIA National Championship

o               3rd place finishes at the NAIA Softball World Series (2019, 2021)

•               2018 NAIA National Coach of the Year award

•               4x SAC Coach of the Year

•               4x SAC Champion

•               7x NAIA National Tournament appearances

•               3x 50-win seasons

•               8x 40-win seasons

Under her direction, the program has produced three NAIA Pitcher of the Year awards, one NAIA National Championship MVP, three SAC Player of the Year award winners, seven SAC Pitcher of the Year award winners, 86 All-SAC selections, and 15 NAIA All-Americans.

In the Summer of 2023, Wallis added another impressive feat to her resume as she became the first pitching coach in the history of the OKC Spark, of the Women's Professional Fastpitch league. Additionally, one of her former players, Emily Cerny, became the first former NAIA player to ever appear in the WPF, playing alongside some of the game's greatest players in the world.

Wallis, a native of Newcastle, and played collegiately at the University of Oklahoma under legendary coach Patty Gasso. Wallis pitched for the Sooners from 2005-2008 where she had a career record of 9-4 in 57 appearances, with 10 starts. She pitched a total of 110.1 innings and struck out 84 batters. The Sooners as a team combined for a 192-60 record (.773) winning percentage) during that time.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Drovers will begin the postseason on Thursday, May 2 as they host the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. USAO will be the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 OPSU on Thursday at 11:00 AM CT at Bill Smith Ballpark in Chickasha, Okla.

For more information about the SAC Tournament, CLICK HERE!

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