Oklahoma softball: Sooners foil Texas upset bit with walk-off win

Down two runs a facing their final at bat, the two-time defending national champion Oklahoma softball team rose from the ashes, scoring three times in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 4-3 win over archrival Texas.

A single to left-center field by Kinzie Hansen with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning scored pinch runner Avery Hodge from third with the winning run.

Rylie Boone, the player her teammates like to call the “party starter,” led off the inning for OU with a sharp single to right field. That turned over the Sooner lineup and brought leadoff hitter and home run leader Jayda Coleman to the plate, and the sophomore delivered with an opposite-field blast over the left-field fence. Just like that, the game was tied at three and there still were no outs.

Coleman’s home run knocked Texas starter Mac Morgan out of the game. Freshman Citaly Gutierrez came on in relief and issued a walk to Tiare Jennings and an infield single to Haley Lee. A wild pitch advanced both runners to second and third. Grace Lyons grounded to shortstop and Jennings was tagged out trying to score from third. Alyssa Britto was intentionally walked. That loaded the bases and set up Hansen’s game-winning hit and Oklahoma’s walk-off victory.

Alex Storako, the transfer from Michigan started the game in the circle for the Sooners and pitched well, going six innings and allowing three runs on five hits and striking out six Longhorn hitters before giving way to Jordy Bahl, the winning pitcher Friday night, in the final frame. Bahl was awarded the win in relief on Saturday, improving her record to 10-1.

Texas scored single runs in the first and fifth innings courtesy a pair of uncharacteristic fielding errors by the Sooners. Oklahoma came into the game leading the nation in fielding percentage and had committed just six errors in 32 games.

Oklahoma narrowed the margin to 2-1 in the bottom half of the fifth, scoring on a pair of singles and a Texas error trying to field a sharply hit ball by Lee that scored Coleman from second. Texas immediately responded on a home run by Viviana Martinez the next half inning to reestablish the two-run Longhorn advantage.

With the come-from-behind win, Oklahoma has now beaten Texas in 28 of the last 29 games. The win also extends Oklahoma’s streak of consecutive Big 12 series wins to 69 and consecutive home wins to 51.

No. 1-ranked Oklahoma improves to 32-1 on the season, while No. 8 Texas falls to 30-7-1 after dropping the first two game in the 2023 regular-season Red River rivalry series.

The two teams will conclude the three-game series with an afternoon game on Sunday.