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Life with OU softball 'good so far' for Kelly Maxwell after transfer from Oklahoma State
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- Life with OU softball 'good so far' for Kelly Maxwell after transfer from Oklahoma State
NORMAN — Kelly Maxwell looked in to the catcher and prepared herself to take on a powerful lineup.
But this time, that lineup was her own, as Maxwell was wearing OU 's crimson and cream instead of Oklahoma State's orange and black on Wednesday night.
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Maxwell made her public debut with the Sooners during the first game of the Oklahoma Battle Series at Marita Hynes Field.
"It's been good so far," Maxwell said of the transition to playing with the Sooners after a successful career in Stillwater. "I was grateful enough that these girls opened their arms to me and made me feel welcome from the start. It's very competitive here. I would use that word as the difference kind of in my last fall. So it's been good. Good transition so far."
Oklahoma Kelly Maxwell (28) pitches during a University of Oklahoma (OU) softball scrimmage at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.
Maxwell threw three innings, giving up two hits and one earned run — on Alyssa Brito's solo homer in Maxwell's final half inning.
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"I love playing behind her more than I do hitting off her," Tiare Jennings said of Maxwell.
The game featured three teams with four or five players each and five pitchers.
Team 2 — with Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, Kasidi Pickering and Avery Hodge — came away with the victory, with Team 3 scoring two runs and Team 1 scoring one.
The fall schedule continues Monday with a doubleheader against North Central Texas College before the Oklahoma Battle Series resumes Wednesday.
Here are four more takeaways on the Sooners' fall opener:
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Karlie Keeney, Cydney Sanders out
Liberty transfer pitcher Karlie Keeney will miss three months, Sooners coach Patty Gasso said.
"I'm so bummed about that," Gasso said, calling the injury a 'freak accident.' "She broke her finger. I was really anxious to see her on the mound as well."
Keeney was 27-12 with a 2.61 ERA, throwing 27 complete games, and striking out 153 in 261 2/3 innings for the Flames last season before transferring.
Also missing Wednesday was junior infielder Cydney Sanders.
"There was a play at the plate where she did something weird yesterday," Gasso said. "We were talking about playground. I said, 'Do we like to slide or do we like to play hopscotch?' And she was playing hopscotch yesterday instead of sliding down the slide."
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Patty Gasso stands near the dugout during a University of Oklahoma (OU) softball scrimmage at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.
Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings collide
In the next-to last half inning, with runners on first and second, shortstop Tiare Jennings and Kinzie Hansen — who was running between second and third on a grounder — collided.
Jennings was knocked to the ground and remained there for several moments before popping up and eventually sharing an embrace with Hansen.
"We were trying to get to second and third and I saw the ball to my left so I was like, 'I'm taking off,'" Hansen said. "She got hit pretty hard."
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Hansen was out due to interference, and Jennings said afterward that she was fine.
It wasn't Hansen's only rough interaction with a teammate.
Earlier in the game, she bumped freshman Kasidi Pickering in the head with the knob of her bat while trying to pass along some advice between at-bats.
"It was an accident," Hansen said. "That Texas game really fired me up, I guess."
More: Is the 2023 OU softball team the best in NCAA history? Patty Gasso's Sooners have strong case
OU catcher Kinzie Hansen is .375 with two home runs and five runs batted in this season.
Patty Gasso leans on freshmen
Tuesday night, Sooners coach Patty Gasso had OU's freshmen over to her house for dinner.
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"I'm telling them, you four are leading us into the SEC,'" Gasso said. "So they took that very pridefully and I felt that tonight."
The Sooners will make the move into the SEC for the 2025 season after playing the upcoming season in the Big 12.
Two of the freshmen homered Wednesday, with Maya Bland and Kasidi Pickering each hitting two-run home runs.
"They're athletic," Gasso said. "They're nervous as all get-out. I could feel that in some of the newcomers. But they were hitting balls over the fence. Making diving plays. They were really showing their athleticism. And they're fighting for spots."
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Bland made a diving catch of Rylie Boone's liner to left to end the first half-inning.
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Oklahoma Maya Bland (12) hits a single during a University of Oklahoma (OU) softball scrimmage at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.
Getting excited about new home
While Wednesday's matchup was at Marita Hynes Field, the Sooners are still on track to move into new Love's Field in time for the start of next season.
The Sooners recently got a look at the progress of the stadium.
"There were times when I was speechless because I was trying to picture everything and I'm just super excited and super thankful that I'll be able to get to be in it for my last year," Tiare Jennings said. "But it is amazing. There's nothing there yet and I'm wowed."
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Kinzie Hansen remembered her first trip to the Marita Hynes Field, when she came on a recruiting trip when she was 12.
"Our eyes were wide here," Hansen said of that initial trip, which was with Jennings. "We were like 12 years old and now we're 21, 22 years old walking through Love's (Field) just kind of in awe a little bit and just feeling super grateful that we're a part of the legacy here because the past four years have been tremendous for our sport and being able to grow the game here in really this softball state has been something that we're super grateful to be a part of."
Gasso said she couldn't wait to debut the new home to her alums, the current team, fans and everyone else.
"It is plush," Gasso said. "It's going to be plush. I can't wait for all of you to see it. I don't think softball will have seen anything like that."
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball pitcher Kelly Maxwell fitting right in with Sooners
