Delivering a shutout in her OU debut, pitcher Kelly Maxwell dominates.

In her Sooner debut, Maxwell threw five innings in the Puerto Vallarta College Classic on Thursday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, striking out two batters, walking one, and giving up just one hit in OU’s 3-0 shutout victory over Duke.

Kelly Maxwell, dressed in crimson and cream, entered the pitcher’s circle.

Maxwell had the Duke Blue Devil in the exact position she wanted her in the top of the first inning, with two outs and a 2-2 count. Maxwell immediately pursued her.

Maxwell hit a rise ball past the batter who was swinging. The senior pitcher recorded her first strikeout as a Sooner with the out, ending the side.

Maxwell’s official Sooners debut appeared a lot like her previous appearances. Before attending Oklahoma State and transferring to OU during the offseason, she rose to become one of the nation’s most dominant pitchers.

In her Sooner debut, Maxwell threw five innings in the Puerto Vallarta College Classic on Thursday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, striking out two batters, walking one, and giving up just one hit in OU’s 3-0 shutout victory over Duke. The nation’s tenth-ranked Blue Devils were unable to establish a rhythm when playing Maxwell. And three more runs were scored by the Sooners offense, which had just an hour earlier defeated Utah Valley 13-0.

The Sooners (2-0) increased their winning streak to 55 games with the victories. With the win, OU head coach Patty Gasso not only extended the winning streak but also reached a significant milestone.

With his two victories on Thursday, Gasso moved up to third place all-time with 1,458 career wins, surpassing former Illinois State and Fresno State head coach Margie Wright.

Gasso trails only two legendary coaches in history: Mike Candrea of Arizona (1,674) and Carol Hutchins of Michigan (1,707).

The game began with a single down the left-field line by D’Auna Jennings. And to put two runners on, Maxwell then hit Ana Gold with a pitch. But Maxwell took over the game and didn’t let up a hit after that. After retiring the next two batters to get out of that jam, she faced the minimum for the next three innings.

Tiare Jennings gave the Sooners a head start offensively in the third inning with her 74th career home run for Oklahoma. Then the Sooners took advantage of the opening. Alynah Torres scored another run after four batters, and freshman Kasidi Pickering followed with an RBI infield single to put the Sooners ahead 3-0. Just one game earlier, Pickering had opened the Sooners’ season against Utah Valley with a grand slam.

When the Sooners play No. 7 Washington on Friday at 8:30 p.m., the test will get harder. FloSoftball will provide a live stream of the game.