Oklahoma softball closed out the first month of the season in a dominant home-opening series at Love's Field that felt like they were playing a video game.
While the offense crushed Alabama State, Sam Houston and Southeastern Louisiana with a ludicrous 116 combined runs, the six-game stretch also gave an opportunity for Patty Gasso to address the pitching staff’s problems. This time around, each of the five Sooners earned five-inning mercy rule wins in the circle.
To complement the enormous score tally by Oklahoma in its first outings on home turf, pitchers Allyssa Parker, Audrey Lowry, Miali Guachino, Sydney Berzon and Kierston Deal allowed just 15 runs from the visiting batters, who were struck out 27 times during those four days.
OU softball’s historic home-opening weekend has a pitching-by-committee to thank
Parker made her debut on the mound for Thursday’s record-breaking 32-0 beatdown against Alabama State, where the two-way freshman allowed only two hits in three innings while contributing five RBI to the shutout of the Hornets. She went 4-for-10 at the plate while scoring 11 runs and blasting three bombs over the weekend.
dual threat @AllyssaParker pic.twitter.com/3vRGO4TyDE
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 27, 2026
Gauchino and Deal faced the same opponent on Friday and Saturday, with the latter making her first appearance as a starter this season. Freshman Berkley Zache did not start, but provided relief for Deal and Parker in their starts. Deal remained the only OU pitcher that didn't use the weekend to solve their issues while giving up a team-high five runs in four innings before Zache relieved her.
Lowry and Berzon took on Sam Houston State on Friday and Saturday, where they and Guachino allowed five combined runs from the Bearkats. The lengthy slate ended with a complete game by Lowry against Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday. She saw the most action over the weekend with 9.1 innings and the most batters struck out with seven. The sophomore lefty’s 1.83 ERA is currently the season-highest among the group, though Guachino has established herself as the No. 2 arm in the bullpen with a 2.69 ERA.