OU softball: Sooners remain unbeaten with epic extra inning win over Tennessee

Sooners stay unbeaten with extra inning win over Volunteers

Jayda Coleman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to keep top-ranked Oklahoma softball unbeaten on Saturday.

The Sooners defeated No. 17 Tennessee, 9-8, Saturday in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, California. OU (14-0) raced to a 4-0 lead but had to rally to win. The Sooners trailed by one run going into the bottom of the seventh, ninth and 10th innings.

Grace Lyons' RBI single tied it in the seventh while Taylon Snow's sacrifice fly tied the game in the ninth before Coleman's heroics in the 10th.

Jana Johns hit two home runs against the Volunteers (9-5) while Grace Lyons and Kinzie Hansen had solo shots.

In OU's opener Saturday, the Sooners run-ruled No. 8 Arizona, 10-2, as Tiare Jennings hit a 2-run walkoff homer in the fifth inning. Johns belted a 3-run homer and Kinzie Hansen had a 2-run blast against the Wildcats (10-4).

Jocelyn Alo failed to hit a home run and remains tied with former Sooner Lauren Chamberlain for the NCAA career lead.

OU finishes play in the Mary Nutter Classic with an 11 a.m. game Sunday against Utah.

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OSU, OU athletes take Big 12 track titles

Oklahoma State's Alex Maier won two men's titles and Tyler Roe capturer three women's crowns at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships which concluded Saturday in Ames, Iowa.

On Saturday, Maier posted a meet record time of 7:48.72 to win the 3,000 meters. He anchored OSU's winning distance medley team on Friday.

Roe won 3000 meters race on the women's side with a time of 9:35.85. She also won the mile run with a time of 4:33.58.

Roe also was part of the Cowgirls winning distance medley squad on Friday with Nicollette Dixon, Michaela Travers and Kelsey Ramirez. The Cowgirl squad recorded a winning time of 11:13.41.

Oklahoma State swept the distance medley races as the men's team repeated as champions on Friday. Isaiah Priddey, Justin Smith, Alex Stitt and Maier posted a time of 9:37.90.

The Sooners had four individual champions. Payden Montana captured the women's shot put title on Saturday with a throw of 56-8. The Sooners' Vernon Turner won the high jump, clearing 7-3.75 on Saturday.

On Friday, Oklahoma senior Rayvon Allen took the men's long jump crown with a jump of 7.87 meters. Sooners' freshman Olivia Lueking set a school and meet record in the women's pole vault, leaping for a high mark of 4.42 meters.

Texas won both the men's and women's team titles.

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OU gymnasts make national team

University of Oklahoma senior Vitaliy Guimaraes captured the biggest win of his career Friday night at the 2022 Winter Cup in Frisco, Texas.

Guimaraes scored 83.950 points in the men’s all-around at Ford Center, headlining the first five athletes named to the U.S. National Team based on performances at Winter Cup.

An NCAA All-American for the Sooners, Guimaraes from Arvada, Colorado edged Stanford freshman Khoi Young, who finished in second with an 83.536. Former OU gymnast Yul Moldauer, a 2020 Olympian and World bronze medalist, was fourth with an 81.648 and also claimed a spot on the national team.

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MLB, players' union still far apart

With less than two days before Major League Baseball’s deadline to reach a labor deal to salvage opening day on March 31 and the sides far apart, players were unsure whether they will break off talks.

Both sides made moves Saturday, but the union was upset with management’s response. The union staff planned to discuss with players whether to meet Sunday or to head home.

Players lowered their proposal for the luxury tax by $2 million annually in each year from 2023-24, but the sides remain far apart. Owners responded by moving from $214 million to $215 million in 2023.

Teams still want to increase the base tax rate from 20% to 45%. They dropped their proposed second rate from 25% to 17%.

The union dropped to 35% from 75% for the percentage of players with two to three years of major league service who would become eligible for salary arbitration. MLB says it will not move from the current 22%.

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Poland, Sweden refuse to play Russia in World Cup playoffs

Poland’s refusal to play its World Cup qualifier against Russia next month in response to that nation's invasion of Ukraine gained wider support when Sweden followed with its own plans to protest to FIFA on Saturday.

Polish soccer federation president Cezary Kulesza announced Poland's decision and said it was in talks with other federations to present a unified position to FIFA, which is responsible for the March 24 game in Moscow.

"No more words, time to act!” Kulesza wrote on Twitter, adding the move was prompted by the “escalation of the aggression.”

Also Saturday, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich suddenly handed over the “stewardship and care” of the Premier League club to its charitable foundation trustees. The move came after a member of the British parliament called for the Russian billionaire to hand over the club in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich, who has owned Chelsea since 2003, made no mention of the war in his statement.

He said: “I have always taken decisions with the Club’s best interest at heart. I remain committed to these values. That is why I am today giving trustees of Chelsea’s charitable Foundation the stewardship and care of Chelsea.”

Poland captain Robert Lewandowski and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny were among those supporting its federation's decision, with the Bayern Munich striker saying “we can’t pretend that nothing is happening.”

Sweden, a potential opponent of Russia in next month’s playoffs, later joined Poland in declaring its national team would not play a match against the Russians regardless of where it takes place.

The Czech Republic, another team to potentially face Russia, is likely to follow suit.

Staff and wire reports

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball remains unbeaten with epic extra inning win over Tennessee