Oklahoma pitching ace Shannon Saile and Texas utility sparkplug Lauren Burke are respectively the Big 12 softball pitcher and player of the week for Week 12.

Saile, the Sooner senior from Land O’Lakes, Florida, recorded a career high 13 strikeouts in a 5-0 win where OU was stretched to a regulation seven innings for just the 10th time this season. Saile allowed just three hits and two walks in the contest. She struck out 18 and allowed seven hits in 11.2 innings for the week, including another appearance against Texas Tech, plus action in both mid-week non-conference games at Georgia. It’s the second weekly conference honor for the Sooner, whose 0.80 ERA leads the Big 12 and is third in the nation among pitchers with at least 15 appearances.

Burke takes the Player honor after hitting safely in each of her four games and driving in eight runs, including four in what turned out to be a battle on Sunday against the Kansas Jayhawks. An Oregon transfer and former Pac-12 All-Freshman Team performer from Eugene, Burke had three separate RBI hits in the Sunday finale to help keep the Longhorns in the dogfight with KU. Texas eventually won 10-8 to sweep the series, in which Burke was 5-for-11. This is the second weekly honor for Burke in her career and the first this season, as well as the first for any Longhorn in 2021.

Big 12 Softball Weekly Awards