Oklahoma softball rebounds from Tennessee series loss with abbreviated week

Sophomore Ella Parker fueled a 6-0 Oklahoma win over Central Florida on Friday, capping a three-win, weather-shortened week for the No. 3 Sooners.

The Sooners (34-3, 9-3) were scheduled to play three nonconference games this weekend as hosts of the OKANA Invitational. Originally scheduled for Friday thru Sunday, the weekend series was moved up a day to a Thursday start because of expected inclement weather.

Oklahoma defeated the St. Thomas Tommies 12-4 in five innings on Thursday, followed by the shutout over UCF on Friday. Saturday afternoon's game with UCF was canceled because of bad weather and will not be rescheduled.

Sooners beat St. Thomas, UCF in OKANA Invitational

The week's action started out with a 13-2 road win in five innings against the University of Texas-Arlington on Tuesday. OU was able to get back in the win column after losing two of three games at home to No. 9 Tennessee last weekend.

Freshman catcher Corri Hicks drove in four runs, including her first career home run, and Gabbie Garcia collected three doubles in as many plate appearances as the Sooners pounded out 15 hits in recording their 16th run-rule win of the season.

Campbell transfer Isabella Smith started for the Sooners and worked into the fourth inning, allowing two runs on five hits and striking out three to pick up her eighth win of the season.

Senior Cydney Sanders led an eight-run second inning on Thursday evening against St. Thomas with a pair of home runs in the same inning, her eighth and ninth of the season.

All of Oklahoma's runs in the game came in two innings. The Sooners scored four times in the fourth behind home runs by freshmen teammates Sydney Barber and Hicks.

Head coach Patty Gasso went with three pitchers in the game despite the fact OU was in total control from the start. Junior left-hander Kiersten Deal started and worked the first two innings, earning her eighth win without a loss.

Parker's grand slam provided all the runs the Sooners needed, and the pitching combination of senior Sam Landry and freshman Audrey Lowrey shut down UCF on three hits as Oklahoma recorded its 12th shutout of the season, tied for 10th-most in the country.

Oklahoma is next in action on Wednesday in a Bedlam rivalry game with Oklahoma State in Oklahoma City. The Sooners return to conference play next weekend in a road matchup at No. 23 Alabama.

Notable notes from this week's Oklahoma softball action

• In the Sooners' 6-0 win over UCF, Kasidi Pickering extended her hitting streak to 13 games.

• Cydney Sanders' grand slam home run against UCF was her first of the season and OU's sixth of the year.

• When Oklahoma scored eight runs in the second inning in Thursday's win over St. Thomas, it was the third time this season the Sooners have scored eight runs in an inning.

• OU freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia had three hits against St. Thomas. It was her third three-hit game in the last six.

• Ten different Oklahoma hitters collected at least one hit in the Sooners' 12-4 win over St. Thomas.

• Freshmen accounted for nine of Oklahoma's 13 runs in the Sooners' win over UT Arlington.