NORMAN — In Love’s Field’s first weekend, Patty Gasso said OU was still adjusting and learning how to play in its new home stadium.

She said the Sooners were much more comfortable this weekend as they finished a 3-0 sweep of Iowa State with a 14-1 victory Sunday to open Big 12 play in front of a combined 13,056 fans over two days. The Sooners (23-1, 3-0 Big 12) have now won 51 consecutive games against Iowa State (9-13, 0-3).

“We've got it figured out now,” Gasso said on Sunday. “Last weekend, I don't think we knew what to feel or what was coming. It is amazing to play in front of big crowds. They absolutely, whether it's home or away, love big crowds and we're starting to understand that this really is our home field and that's what you saw. A final exhale and kaboom.”

Oklahoma is alone in first place in the Big 12 after the conference’s opening weekend of play.

Sophomore left-hander Kierston Deal started in the circle for OU, allowing just one hit and striking out four in three innings of work. Paytn Monticelli finished with one earned run — her first of the season — and three strikeouts.

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Senior shortstop Tiare Jennings opened the scoring in the first inning with a three-run home run, scoring Alyssa Brito and Cydney Sanders.

OU’s offense put together a monster third inning, notching eight runs on seven hits. To start things off, senior catcher Kinzie Hansen crushed a towering three-run homer to left field, bringing Jayda Coleman and Ella Parker home.

Freshman left fielder Kasidi Pickering doubled home Avery Hodge before Sanders and Parker continued the home run derby with two two-run shots apiece. The Sooners’ offensive onslaught continued as Quincee Lilio hit her first home run of the season, scoring Maya Bland and Riley Ludlam.

Bland became the first Sooners player to ever record her first career hit at Love’s Field with a double in the fourth inning.

Younger Sooners such as Parker and Pickering seemed to feed off some of the veteran leadership all weekend.

“They just make it so simple,” Parker said of following her teammates’ leadership on Sunday. “Whatever they do, it makes it so simple for us to just follow. They have been great leaders to us and it's just made it very easy to transfer in here.”

With Texas’ 12-10 loss at Houston on Friday, OU could slide back into the No. 1 spot in D1Softball’s top 25 rankings. Oklahoma remained ranked No. 1 in last week’s USA Today/NFCA top 25 despite falling to Louisiana last Sunday.

Here are three takeaways from the Sooners’ win:

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Kierston Deal dealt

Kierston Deal continued her dominance on Sunday.

Entering the contest, Deal boasted a 19-inning scoreless streak, which continued to a 22-inning scoreless streak to finish her day. The stretch is the longest of the season for a Sooner pitcher.

Hansen hosted Deal on her first official visit to Norman and has seen an exponential growth to start the season.

“Her pitches are obviously filthy these days,” Hansen said on Sunday. “But the mentality and just the confidence and the consistency that you see from her is something that she has grown and that she has worked so hard to do. The pitchers, they work their butts off with the mentality piece every single day and so to be able to see that pay off is something that I'm super proud of her for.”

Deal tossed 36 pitches Sunday and exited with a season ERA of 0.85.

Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings end slumps with homers

Hansen and Jennings entered Sunday’s contest going through brief slumps for their standards at the plate.

Jennings, who entered as a .397 hitter, hadn’t recorded a hit in three games before she smoked her first-inning home run. She finished 1 for 2 at the plate with three RBIs.

Jennings’ homer was the 80th of her career. She is currently third on the Sooners’ all-time list behind Lauren Chamberlain (95) and Jocelyn Alo (122).

Hansen was hitless in the Sooners’ last two contests before she hit a laser over the left field fence. OU’s veteran catcher finished 1 for 2 with three RBIs.

“I was swinging at pitches like that out of my zone,” Hansen said. “I know that I'll chase the pitch sometimes when that does happen, but she wasn't going to beat me with it again. So when she came I knew it was gonna come.”

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Cydney Sanders heater continues

Sanders’ home run in the bottom of the third inning to right center field was perhaps the longest in the history of Love’s Field. The ball was crushed and left the park in a hurry, leaving no doubt.

The Arizona State transfer finished the weekend 4 for 5 with five runs scored, four home runs and nine RBIs. 10 of OU’s runs were accounted for by Sanders.

“She's been waiting to break out for about a year and a half,” Gasso said. “I mean, she has had some streaks but this is what she looked like her freshman year, which made her, I think she was up for national freshman player of the year.”

Following her three-home run day Saturday, Sanders hit her sixth big fly in six games on Sunday. Sanders entered the game hitting .368.

The San Marcos, California, native should be the frontrunner to be named Big 12 Player of the Week this upcoming week after a four homer weekend. Sanders is up to 15 RBIs in the month of March.

Next, OU plays a doubleheader against Tarleton State (12-13) at 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Norman on ESPN+.

The weekend sweep was a big confidence boost for Gasso’s squad and the seven-time national champion is liking what she’s seeing from her group.

“This is what it looks like,” Gasso said. “Some of the swings that you're seeing are just really legitimate swings and it just doesn't take much for them because of the contact and what they have behind their swing is so powerful that I mean it just flies.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma softball run-rules Iowa State to wrap up Big 12 weekend sweep