The Oklahoma softball team might have been dealt another ace.
After losing to No. 9 Tennessee in Game 1 on Friday night, the No. 2 Sooners got revenge on Saturday with a 4-1 win at Love's Field. The rubber match for the top-10 SEC series will be at 1 p.m. CT Sunday in Norman.
The Sooners are 31-2 after losing a game the past two weekends. They still haven't dropped an SEC series, though. Tennessee, meanwhile, at 28-7 overall, is battling to stay above .500 in conference play at 4-4.
On Friday night, OU ace Sam Landry was eventually worn down in extra innings and former Sooner Sophia Nugent hit a two-run blast in the eighth inning that wound up being the dagger. Landry finished with a career-high 141 pitches.
The Sooners showed Friday night and during Wednesday's 19-16 slugfest with Wichita State that they desperately needed another pitcher to step up when Landry can't go or just needs some relief.
Going into the series, without Landry's numbers, OU had a 3.63 team ERA, which would be second-worst in the SEC. Landry, though, had posted a 1.31 ERA before Friday night, showing why Patty Gasso left Landry in the circle until the levee broke.
Saturday, though, showed a glimpse that the Sooners could already have what they need so badly with lefty Kierston Deal. While improving to 7-0, Deal went the distance, giving up just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out five against Tennessee.
Deal helped stir the worry about this OU softball team after Wednesday night. She gave up six runs on six hits in only 2.1 innings. Deal also received the L when OU lost to Missouri last week.
But against a top-10 SEC team, she was dealing.
After Saturday, Deal has more starts than any other pitcher on OU's staff, upping Landry by one. In 10 starts and 54 innings, Deal has a 2.72 ERA and has held opponents to a .214 batting average. Saturday was her first complete game of the season, while Landry has went the distance six times.
Landry is the clear ace of this team. But for the Sooners to extend their championship streak to five, they must have a reliable No. 2 throughout SEC play and in the postseason.
Audrey Lowry, who's battling an injury, could eventually be that, but Deal showed she could also be another ace up Gasso's sleeve.