CLEARWATER, Fla. – The No. 3/3 Oklahoma softball team split its second day of the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, shutting out Florida Atlantic 4-0 before falling to No. 1/2 Florida State 7-4 on Friday at Eddie C. Moore Complex.
Junior Mariah Lopez led Oklahoma in game one, recording her first no-hitter since 2017. She struck out a career-high 13 batters, good for her third game of the season with double-digit strikeouts.
Overall, it is the second solo no-hitter in her career; she also combined on one with Paige Lowary in 2018. It is the 51st no-hitter in program history.
With the win, Lopez moved to 4-0 on the season. Additionally, the performance was her third shutout in four appearances this season.
Offensively, OU was led by Jocelyn Alo's 3-for-3 performance against the Owls. She scored one run and extended her reached-base streak to 36 consecutive games.
The Sooners jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. For the second game in a row, Falepolima Aviu drove in the first run, singling to left center to plate Caleigh Clifton.
Shay Knighten hit a sacrifice fly that brought Alo home. Aviu then scored on a wild pitch.
Oklahoma added an insurance run in the fourth. Alo doubled to left center, and an error in the outfield gave Grace Lyons the space to reach home.
In game two, Florida State struck first in the top of the second, hitting a pair of home runs to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Sooners responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Grace Green scored on a wild pitch before Grace Lyons hit a grounder that scored Raegan Rogers from third.
Caleigh Clifton then hit her second triple of the weekend, sending Lyons home from first. Clifton's pair of triples this weekend are the first for the senior since her freshman campaign in 2016.
Oklahoma took the lead in the third off the bat of Sydney Romero, who crushed a solo home run to center field. It was her second go-ahead home run of the weekend.
However, the Seminoles regained the advantage for good in the fourth. They opened the fourth with back-to-back home runs to go on top before adding a two-run homer in the fifth.
Juniors Shannon Saile and Giselle Juarez combined in the circle for OU. Saile moved to 1-1 on the year, surrendering five runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 3.0 innings. Juarez finished the final 4.0 frames, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out two and walking one.
The Sooners conclude the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational on Saturday as they take on Hofstra at 9 a.m. CT.
