Oklahoma has not lost a home softball game -- not a series or a single game -- to Texas in the previous 10 seasons. Nothing will change that this season.
OU came into its giant home softball series against Red River rival Texas, ranked third in the country, one spot back of the Longhorns. A three-game sweep of Texas has enabled the Sooners to take over the top spot in the SEC and may just move them back into their familiar spot at the head of the class in the national rankings.
Oklahoma sweeps Longhorns in massive SEC softball series
Sooner pitching ace Sam Landry had another big weekend in the circle, and the OU offense was in top form collecting 10 hits in all three games and sharing the wealth from top to bottom in the lineup. In Oklahoma's dramatic 9-8 win in Sunday's series finale, for example, eight of the nine starters in the lineup scored a run.
After taking the first two games in the series, the Sooners started out Sunday as if they were going to make short work of the visiting Longhorns. With a pair of runs in the first, three more in the second and another three-spot in the third, Oklahoma stormed out to an 8-0 lead and threatened to send Texas packing by run-rule in an abbreviated five-inning game.
Almost as quickly as the Sooners had jumped out to what appeared to be an insurmountable advantage, though, it was gone. Texas sent nine hitters to the plate in a fourth-inning explosion that delivered six runs on seven hits (all singles) off of three Oklahoma pitchers, and just like that, seemingly in the blink of an eye, the Longhorns were back in the game.
OU starter Isabella Smith retired the first Texas batters she faced before the Longhorns recorded their first hit to lead off the fourth inning. OU head coach Patty Gasso elected to remove Smith at that point, ostensibly to give the Longhorn hitters a different look the second time through the order.
Freshman Audrey Lowry entered the game and received an extremely rude welcome.
The first six batters she faced reached base on five singles and a walk. Lowry was removed after allowing four runs to score without recording an out. Paytn Monticelli was summoned from the bullpen. She lasted just two batters before Gasso called on her ace, Landry, the Game 1 winner, to stop the bleeding.
By the time the fourth inning ended, the Oklahoma lead was down to two runs, and that was erased an inning later when Texas' Katie Stewart hit a long home run to center field to tie the score. New ballgame.
Landry struck out the side in the Texas sixth, and in the bottom of the inning, OU's Isabella Emerling hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, driving in Nelly McEnroe-Marinas to put the Sooners back up 9-8.
Landry faced the heart of the Texas order in the seventh inning. A walk to Reese Atwood put the tying run on base with one out, but Landry got the next two hitters on a strikeout and a ground out to finish off the series sweep for the Sooners.
Left-handed starter Kiersten Deal gave OU a huge boost in the middle game of the series on Saturday, pitching a complete-game masterpiece in a 7-2 Sooner win. Deal allowed just two runs on four hits against one of the best offensive lineups in college softball.
The Texas runs and two of the Longhorns' four hits didn't come until two were out in the seventh on a two-run home run by Victoria Hunter.
Oklahoma never trailed in a single inning in any of the three games. The Sooners jumped out to 6-0, 7-0 and 8-0 leads, respectively, in each of the three games before Texas scored its first run.
The Sooners have swept three of four SEC series at Love's Field. Oklahoma heads to No. 6 Florida this weekend with a 1 1/2 lead over Texas A&M and a two-game edge over Tennessee in the SEC standings.
Notable notes from a highly satisfying Red River Rivalry weekend
- Oklahoma has won 36 of its last 39 softball games against Texas.
- Texas sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan is one of the best in the country. She had a 20-3 record and a 1.63 ERA in 137.1 innings coming into the series with Oklahoma. She started Games 1 and 3 against the Sooners and didn't last past the third inning in either game, her two earliest exits of the season. Kavan worked a total of 4.1 innings in the two games, allowing 14 earned runs on 12 hits. I'll do the math for you: That's an earned run average of 24.50.
- OU freshman Gabbie Garcia hit two home runs in the series. Her three-run blast in the second inning on Sunday was her 14th of the season, tying her with redshirt-freshman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas for the team lead.
- Ella Parker hit home runs in consecutive games on Saturday and Sunday. Her two-run blast on Sunday gave her 101 career RBI.
- Kasidi Pickering had a single on Sunday, giving her 22 hits in the last 23 games.
- Senior first baseman Cydney Sanders exceeded 100 career walks during the series.
- Junior Ailana Agbayani had six hits, including a grand slam home run in Friday's series-opening win.
- All four of Oklahoma's series sweeps in SEC play this season were against top-15 opponents.
- The Sooners are 35-0 this season when scoring six or more runs and leading after six innings.
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