Oklahoma's Ailana Agbayani wins Gold Glove award
Ailana Agbayani picked up an award Wednesday that only one Oklahoma softball player ever won before.
The Sooners' junior infielder earned a Rawlings Gold Glove award Wednesday. She was the only player in the country at second base who won one. By capturing the award, she joined former Oklahoma shortstop Grace Lyons as the only such winners from OU. In fairness, the award has only been given out since 2022.
Agbayani totaled 100 assists, 69 putouts, and just one error. She was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Defensive team at season's end and had earlier been named SEC Player of the Week on April 29. At the plate, Agbayani has hit for a .336 batting average with eight doubles, four home runs, 35 RBI, and 36 runs scored.
Unsurprisingly, the SEC did well in the Gold Glove awards. Agbayani joined conference mates Jocelyn Erickson from Florida (catcher), Arianna Rodi from South Carolina (first base), Koko Wooley from Texas A&M (shortstop) and Kendra Falby from Florida (centerfield) as SEC winners. Oklahoma State's Tallen Edwards won the third base award.
Oklahoma returns to the diamond on Thursday in the first round of the Women's College World Series. The Sooners play at 1:30 p.m. CT against Tennessee, a team that took the regular-season series against the Sooners.
OU has won the last four national championships and is playing its ninth straight WCWS. Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso will be seeking her ninth title, all of which have come with the Sooners.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
17 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Roman Anthony forces extra innings, but Padres get walkoff win in 10 innings
That ended a dramatic series of late-inning goings-on, including the Red Sox failing to advance their own automatic runner in the top of the 10th. After the Red Sox struck out 10 times in four innings against Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon, and Mason Miller, the flamethrowing blockbuster trade-deadline acquisition from the Athletics, they finally cracked the Padres' bullpen in the ninth. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Roman Anthony blasted a double — on Robert Suarez's 99-miles-per-hour fastball on the upper edge of the strike zone — to bring in Ceddanne Rafaela as the tying run. Advertisement Aroldis Chapman retired the meat of the San Diego order — Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Bogaerts — on 10 pitches to send the game to the 10th. Related : Lucas Giolito bent for most of his 4⅔ innings, then broke without recording another out. He concluded his grind of an outing with four consecutive two-out walks in the fifth inning. The last two, to bottom-half hitters Ryan O'Hearn and Laureano, came with the bases loaded, forcing in the tying and go-ahead runs. Giolito threw 32 pitches in the frame, just 12 strikes. Advertisement Steven Matz entered and induced a flyout from Jake Cronenworth, stranding Giolito's three base runners and salvaging Giolito's final line: five hits, four runs, six walks. Giolito's free passes were double his previous season-high (and as many as he had in his past five starts combined). Related : Throughout, Giolito worked around a lot of hard contact from the Padres and benefitted from several highlight-reel plays by his defenders. Among them: right fielder Wilyer Abreu's sliding grab of Jackson Merrill's smoked line drive in the third inning, and second baseman Ceddanne Rafaela's diving stop of Laureano's would-be single in the fourth. San Diego had five hard-hit balls turn into outs in the first four innings. The only batter actually able to drive a run in early was Bogaerts, who hit a home run in the second — the first hit of his life against the Red Sox — and an RBI single in the third. Xander Bogaerts celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the second inning, his first career hit against his former team. Gregory Bull/Associated Press In his return from the injured list, Padres righthander Michael King was not sharp, allowing two runs, four hits, and two walks across two-plus innings. King — a Warwick, R.I., native who went to Boston College — exited after 57 pitches, four fewer than he threw in his only minor league rehabilitation start. He had missed the previous 11 weeks because of a shoulder injury. Kickstarting Red Sox rallies in both the first and third: Alex Bregman, who doubled into the left-field corner in both innings. The first time, Jarren Duran brought him in with a single. Later, Bregman was caught in a rundown between third base and the plate, but evaded the Padres long enough for Sox runners to end up at second and third. Both went on to score. Advertisement The Red Sox could have had more early but did not capitalize on a second-inning, bases-loaded, one-out situation, other than to push King's pitch count (34 in that inning alone). That chance ended when Anthony, who had been ahead in the count, 3-1, whiffed at a changeup below the strike zone. Tim Healey can be reached at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
OU football practice highlights, Aug. 6: Hear from Brent Venables, Courtland Guillory
Get your last glimpse of the OU football team before the 2025 season begins as coach Brent Venables and the Sooners hold their final open practice session on Aug. 6.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki joins Mariners legends with No. 51 retirement
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Mariners retired the iconic No. 51 on Saturday, honoring Ichiro Suzuki in a pregame ceremony at T-Mobile Park before facing the Tampa Bay Rays. 'What's up, Seattle!' Suzuki screamed. 'I'm so grateful to be here today, to receive this highest honor.' The recent Hall of Fame inductee becomes just the third Mariners player to have his number retired by the franchise, joining legends Ken Griffey Jr. (No. 24) and Edgar Martinez (No. 11). 'Congratulations on being inducted into the Hall of Fame and having your number retired,' Griffey said in a video tribute. 'It's about damn time. I mean, what took you so long? I've been there for five years.' Suzuki made history as the first Japanese-born player inducted into the Hall of Fame, earning a near-unanimous 99.7% of the vote from the Baseball Writers' Association of America. After spending eight seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Suzuki made his major league debut at the age of 27. In his rookie season in 2001, he captured both the American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards, becoming just the second player ever to do so in the same season, joining Fred Lynn. Over a 19-year MLB career, Suzuki was a 10-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, two-time AL batting champion, and three-time Silver Slugger. He set the single-season hits record with 262 in 2004, which still stands today. Across NPB and MLB, he amassed 4,367 hits, including 3,089 in MLB. Before Suzuki's arrival, Hall of Famer Randy Johnson also donned No. 51 for nine seasons in Seattle. Johnson threw the franchise's first no-hitter in 1990 and won the Mariners' first Cy Young Award in 1995. After departing Seattle in 1998, The Big Unit added four more Cy Youngs and a World Series title with the Arizona Diamondbacks. 'For nine years, that was the only number I had in Japan,' Suzuki said. '(No.) 51 was my identity. But I knew that number already had a rich history here.' But Seattle won't forget Johnson's legacy. The club announced that in 2026 they will also retire Johnson's No. 51, a unique and rare honor shared by two icons in the Pacific Northwest. 'I'm grateful to Randy for attending my ceremony today,' Suzuki said. 'It will be a great honor to attend his next season.' After brief stints with the New York Yankees (2012–14) and Miami Marlins (2015–17), Suzuki returned to Seattle in 2018 and officially retired in 2019 following a two-game series in Tokyo. As Suzuki made his way in from center field, chants of 'Ich-i-ro! Ich-i-ro!' echoed throughout a sold-out crowd. He was awaited by former teammates and Mariners Hall of Fame members Johnson, Griffey, Jay Buhner, Alvin Davis, Felix Hernandez, Edgar Martinez and Dan Wilson. 'I'm also damn proud to be a Seattle Mariner,' Suzuki said, referencing Griffey's 2016 Hall of Fame induction speech. Chairman John Stanton announced that the Mariners will place a statue of Suzuki at T-Mobile Park in 2026. He said it will feature his iconic batting stance pose. Suzuki has remained a fixture with the Mariners, serving as a special assistant to Stanton. Suzuki is often seen in full uniform, working out with players during pregame routines in Seattle. ___
