Oklahoma softball is back home this weekend after back-to-back weekend SEC series on the road.
The No. 2 Sooners (30-1, 8-1) host No. 10 Tennessee (26-6, 2-3) for a three-game series at Love's Field beginning on Friday.
OU and Tennessee have met a dozen times previously in their softball history, but this is the first time as members of the SEC. The Sooners own a 7-5 record in the all-time series, and the two teams have split four games in Norman. The most recent game between the Sooners and Volunteers was in the 2023 Women's College World Series, with Oklahoma posting a 9-0 run-rule victory.
Oklahoma suffered its first loss of the season last weekend at Missouri, but managed to capture the series. Tennessee wasn't quite as fortunate in its road trip to No. 16 Arkansas. The Razorbacks took two of three from the Vols.
On Wednesday, the Sooners survived a 35-run slugfest at Wichita State, pulling out a 19-16 win in a game that saw 31 combined hits and eight home runs. It was the most runs allowed by an OU pitching staff since 2019, sparking concerns about the difficult SEC schedule ahead for the four-time defending national champions.
Twelve SEC teams are ranked in the top 25 nationally, based on the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, and two others are in the top four receiving votes. That's 14 of the 16 SEC teams, which underscores the strength and quality of the SEC in softball.
The Sooners are No. 2 nationally and No. 2 in the SEC, with the top-4 teams in the nation residing in the SEC, headed by No. 1 Texas, which regained the top spot following OU's loss to Missouri.
The first game in the Tennessee series is set for 6 p.m. CT Friday night. Game time on Saturday and Sunday is 1 p.m. Saturday's game will be televised on ESPN. The games on Friday and Sunday will be on SEC Network+.
What fans need to know
Oklahoma
- Freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia went hitless in the final two games at Missouri last weekend. That snapped a 16-game hitting. Garcia's three-run home run in the opening game of the Mizzou series and another two-run jack against Wichita State gave her a team-best 11 for the season. Between March 1-9, she homered in five consecutive games, the first OU freshman to homer in five straight games since Jocelyn Alo did it in 2018.
- Sooner pitching ace Sam Landry, a transfer from Louisiana, pitched two complete games and earned Oklahoma's two wins against Missouri last weekend. The senior starter has a 10-0 record and ranks 10th in Division-I softball with a 1.04 ERA and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.71).
- Oklahoma ranks second in the SEC in home runs (60), third in on-base percentage (.468) and slugging percentage (.649), and fourth in runs scored (250 or 8.3 per game).
- The Sooners have 11 come-from-behind wins in 31 games this season and is one of 13 teams in college softball to have double-digit comeback wins.
Tennessee
- Two Tennessee Volunteers rank in the top 15 in the SEC in hitting. Redshirt sophomore outfielder Taylor Pennell is hitting .446 and leads the team in home runs (11) and runs batted in (45). Senior outfielder Kinsey Fiedler also is hitting above .400 at .433.
- Junior right-hander Karlyn Pickens owns a 10-4 record and nine complete games in 13 starts, and leads the SEC with an 0.91 ERA. The Tennessee pitching staff leads the country in ERA (1.33), opponents' batting average (.152), runs allowed (55) and strikeouts (277).
- Tennessee is 30-6 in true road games since the 2023 season.
- When the Volunteers score in the first inning, they are 16-1 this season.