OU softball: Jocelyn Alo, Jordy Bahl and Sooners dominate All-Big 12 awards
OU dominates All-Big 12 softball team
Top-ranked Oklahoma had six selections to the All-Big 12 softball first team on Wednesday. No. 8 Oklahoma State had two picks by league coaches.
OU's Jocelyn Alo, the NCAA's all-time home run leader, was named Player of the Year a second consecutive season. Shortstop Grace Lyons was named Defensive Player of the Year, and Jordy Bahl was Freshman of the Year and co-Pitcher of the Year.
Bahl shared the Pitcher of the Year award with Oklahoma State's Kelly Maxwell.
Other OU first-team picks were Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings and Hope Trautwein.
Oklahoma State's other first-team pick was pitcher Miranda Elish.
OU's Patty Gasso was also named Coach of the Year and 10th consecutive season.
More: OU, Oklahoma State softball face off in Norman: See the photos
OU finishes ninth at NCAA golf regional
Oklahoma missed the cut for the NCAA Women's Golf Champioships by finishing ninth on Wednesday afternoon in a regional tournament at the UNM Championship Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The top four teams in each regional qualify for the NCAA Championships, scheduled May 20-25 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Oregon won the team title in Albuquerque with a 4-under-par 860 for 54 holes. Texas (863), Georgia (866) and TCU (874) were the other qualifiers.
OU finished 35 shots shy of Oregon.
The Sooners' top golfer all three days was Hannah Screen. She finished the tournament in eighth place with a 1-over 217. Screen was 10 shots behind medalist Briana Chacon of Oregon.
Bixby's Friedrichsen decommits from OSU
Bixby star sharpshooter Parker Friedrichsen reopened his recruitment more than a month after he committed to Oklahoma State.
The four-star guard announced his decision Wednesday on his Twitter page.
A 6-foot-3, 170-pound junior, Friedrichsen averaged 28.2 points per game last season for the Spartans. He initially chose OSU over Cincinnati, Creighton, Iowa, Nebraska, Purdue, OU, Tulsa and others. He held 24 scholarship offers in March.
A source told The Oklahoman that OSU remains an option.
Hall of Famer Lanier dies at 73
Bob Lanier, the left-handed big man who muscled up beside the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as one of the NBA’s top players of the 1970s, died Tuesday. He was 73.
The NBA said Lanier died after a short illness. The Hall of Famer had worked for the league as a global ambassador. The Athletic reported in 2019 that Lanier was being treated for bladder cancer.
Lanier played 14 seasons with the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks and averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds for his career. He is third on the Pistons’ career list in both points and rebounds. Detroit drafted Lanier with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1970 NBA draft after he led St. Bonaventure to the Final Four.
SUNS 110, MAVERICKS 80: Devin Booker scored 28 points, Deandre Ayton added 20 and the Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. Dallas' Luka Doncic finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds.
HEAT 120, 76ERS 85: Jimmy Butler scored 23 points, Max Strus added 19 points and 10 rebounds, and the Miami Heat moved one win away from a trip to the Eastern Conference finals by topping the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night. The top-seeded Heat now lead the East semifinal series 3-2. Joel Embiid scored 17 points for fourth-seeded Philadelphia.
Cowboys' win streak ends at seven
Blayne Jones hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Dallas Baptist beat No. 3-ranked Oklahoma State 8-7 on Tuesday night at Horner Ballpark in Dallas. The Patriots ended OSU's win streak at seven games.
Jones' two-out homer came off reliever Nolan McLean, who also walked Ryan Wrobleski to set up the dramatic finish. McLean fell to 1-1.
OSU (34-14) batters struck out 12 times against a Dallas Baptist (31-17) club that used seven pitchers in the early-week game. But OSU finished with 13 hits, including home runs from Jake Thompson and David Mendham.
Round Rock pounds OKC Dodgers
Oklahoma City pitchers combined to walk 10 batters, and Nash Knight hit a two-run homer help Round Rock notch a 13-7 Pacific Coast League baseball win Tuesday night before 3,680 fans at Del Diamond.
The Dodgers scored at least seven runs for the fourth time in the last seven games, but OKC pitchers gave up a season-high 13 runs. The Dodgers' staff has allowed 24 runs on 27 hits combined over the last two games.
Zach McKinstry was 3 for 5 with an RBI and two runs score for OKC. Miguel Vargas added a three-run homer that got the Dodgers within 9-7 in the sixth inning. Aside from surrendering seven runs, Round Rock pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts and just two walks.
Rich Strike jockey to serve suspension
Winning the Kentucky Derby could be career-changing for Sonny Leon, but not right away. Rich Strike's jockey is serving a suspension this week, his fifth since September.
Two days after riding an 80-1 shot to victory in America's most prestigious horse race, the 32-year-old Venezuelan began a four-day suspension for careless riding that will prevent him from competing again until Friday.
According to regulatory rulings compiled by the Association of Racing Commissioners International, this latest penalty is Leon's third careless riding suspension in the past nine months. He has also been sanctioned for presenting false and altered documents from a physical examination to West Virginia stewards and for inflicting visible injuries on one of his mounts through misuse of the whip.
The five suspensions total 32 days Leon has or will be sidelined since Sept. 15.
Extra points
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Langston found its new men's and women's basketball coaches at the same stop. Kevin Herod was named women's coach, and Chris Wright the men's coach. Both come from Talladega College in Alabama.
Herod spent eight years at the NAIA school, where he guided the Tornadoes to a 171-68 record. He was also athletic director.
The Talladega men were just as successful under Wright, who led the program to a 106-25 record over the last four seasons.
NHL: Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse will miss Game 6 of a first-round playoff series with Los Angeles after the NHL suspended him one game for head-butting Kings forward Phillip Danault. Nurse played some of his minor league hockey with the now-defunct Oklahoma City Barons.
NFL: Former placekicker Josh Lambo has filed a lawsuit against the Jacksonville Jaguars, saying former coach Urban Meyer created a hostile work environment. Lambo says in the lawsuit that his performance suffered as a result of being kicked and verbally abused by Meyer. Lambo is seeking more than $3.5 million in salary and damages, as well as a jury trial. Meyer was fired from his coaching position in December.
GOLF: The PGA Tour is denying releases to golfers who want to play in the first Saudi-funded tournament next month in England. It's a bold move by Commissioner Jay Monahan in trying to quash Greg Norman’s latest bid to start a rival league. The first LIV Golf Invitational is scheduled for June 9-11 at Centurion Golf Club outside of London. It has a 48-man field competing for a $20 million purse with $4 million to the winner. Players risk losing PGA Tour membership if they still choose to play without a release.
Staff and wire reports
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 2022 Big 12 softball awards: OU's Jocelyn Alo is Player of the Year
