Oklahoma Sooners beat Kentucky 9-1 for fourth-straight win

The Oklahoma Sooners moved to 37-3 and 10-1 in SEC play with a 9-1 run-rule win over the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday. It was the Sooners’ fourth straight win and their 11th game in a row in which the pitching staff allowed fewer than four runs.

The Sooners fell behind in the first inning once again when Kentucky took a 1-0 lead on Carly Sleeman’s lead-off home run. But starting pitcher Miali Guachino settled in to retire the next three hitters in order. That kicked off a run of nine straight Kentucky hitters retired by Guachino. The Wildcats’ next hit wouldn’t come until the fourth inning, a lead-off single from No. 2 hitter Allie Blum.

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In the win, Guachino allowed just three hits over four innings, striking out three, to move to 11-0 on the season.

It didn’t take long for the Sooners to answer the first inning home run by Sleeman. In the bottom of the first, Lexi McDaniel and Ailana Agbayani earned two-out walks with the bases loaded to push across a pair of Oklahoma runs to retake the lead.

In the second inning, Oklahoma’s lineup went to work. Kendall Wells’ sacrifice fly moved Abby Dayton to third on a sacrifice fly, and Kasidi Pickering drove Dayton in on an infield single. Ella Parker doubled to drive in Gabbie Garcia to make it 4-1, and Lexi McDaniel’s two-RBI single made it 6-1 Sooners.

After a strong night hitting with two outs on Thursday, the Sooners picked up right where they left off with each of their first six runs coming with two outs on Friday.

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In the third, Kendall Wells hit her 29th home run of the season, giving her eight home runs in 11 SEC contests in her true freshman season.

Fellow freshman McDaniel put Oklahoma in run-rule territory with a two-run home run, giving her five RBIs on the day. The home run was her ninth of the season. It was McDaniel’s first home run since March 11 against Tulsa.

With the win, the Sooners secured the series against the Wildcats. They’ll close the series with a Saturday morning contest vs. Kentucky, looking to complete the three-game sweep ahead of their series with the Texas Longhorns next weekend in Austin.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma beats Kentucky 9-1 in run-rule fashion