Oklahoma Pitcher Earns Big 12 Honor
Oklahoma State Transfer Kelly Maxwell is the pitcher of the week after a pair of strong performances in Mexico for Patty Gasso’s Sooners.
Kelly Maxwell is off to a tremendous start in her Sooners career after only one week.
Oklahoma senior Kelly Maxwell has been selected Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after her first weekend with the Sooners, the conference announced Tuesday.
Maxwell, a left-handed pitcher, appeared twice for Oklahoma in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, defeating No. 9/11 Duke and No. 10/7 Washington to help the Sooners go 4-0 south of the border.
The doctoral student pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings in her two appearances, striking out four and allowing only four base runners on a single, two walks, and a hit batsman. Maxwell restricted opponents to a.197 OPS while hitting only 1-for-23 (.043) against them.
The southpaw made her Oklahoma debut on February 8 against Duke, winning with five shutout innings of one-hit ball. Maxwell finished her maiden start for the Sooners by retiring 11 straight hitters and recording two strikeouts.
Maxwell was called out of the bullpen with runners on the corners and one out in the sixth inning against Washington on February 9, and he got out of the jam with a pair of soft ground balls. She then held the Huskies’ lineup scoreless for 2 2/3 innings of outstanding relief, retiring eight of nine batters with a pair of punch-outs to secure the victory.
Maxwell won her 70th college game and 750th career strikeout versus Washington, becoming the first pitcher to win her opening two OU games since Nicole May in 2021.
Maxwell has been named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week seven times in his career.
OU prepares for the Cowgirl Challenge, which will be hosted by McNeese State in Lake Charles, Louisiana, beginning Friday, February 16. The Sooners will face Central Arkansas twice, McNeese twice, and Lamar once during the three-day event.
OU Media Relations contributed to this story.
For 31 years, I’ve been an award-winning newspaper reporter, the past four as the Tulsa World’s top sports columnist. I hosted my own sports talk radio show for six years in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Now I publish AllSooners, a Fan Nation/Sports Illustrated affiliate that covers the Oklahoma Sooners.
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