Oklahoma twice surrendered four-run leads against Mississippi State and the Bulldogs exploded for nine runs in the final two innings to steal an 11-9 win over the No. 3-seeded Sooners in the NCAA Norman Super Regional on Saturday.
The Sooners (51-9) had every opportunity to put this game away at several points, but the pesky Lady Bulldogs refused to fold in this one.
Mississippi State scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on a bases-loaded infield single. Oklahoma responded, putting up a 5-spot in the bottom half of the inning, powered by a trio of home runs off the bats of Kendall Wells, Isabela Pickering and Kendall Wells.
Both teams scored single runs in the fourth inning to make it 6-2 in favor of the Sooners, and that's the way things stood until the sixth.
Mississippi State rallied for four runs in the visitor's half of the sixth inning to knot the score at 6-6. The Bulldogs combined a double, three singles an OU fielding error and a wild pitch to draw even with the Sooners.
Super freshman Kendall Wells blasts two home runs and accounts for 8 of the 9 OU runs
Once again, in the bottom half of the sixth, OU responded as Kendall Wells unloaded for her second home run of the game and 39th of the season, a moon shoot to deep center field. And just like that, the Sooners were back out in front 9-6, with Mississippi State facing its final at bat in the seventh inning.
No words, just blessed 🫶
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) May 22, 2026
K Wells' 39th 💣 pic.twitter.com/LXCv9Zx6zR
The seventh inning opened with Oklahoma ace Audrey Lowry in the circle and needing just three outs to protect a three-run lead and secure the Game 1 win for the Sooners. That was not Mississippi State's plan, though.
A double sandwiched between three singles, an intentional walk and an unintentional free pass brought the Bulldogs all the way back to tie the score at 9 apiece. Then, with the bases still loaded and two outs, Tatum Silva delivered the game-winning hit, slashing a single off the glove of OU second baseman Ailana Agbayani, who threw wildly to first allowing the fourth and fifth runs of the inning to score for an 11-9 Mississippi State lead.
The performance by three Oklahoma pitchers (starter Miali Guachino, followed by Sydney Berzon and Lowry) was very erratic, falling behind on counts and walking five with just six strikeouts. The Sooners' staff ERA for the day was 9.00. Lowry was charged with the loss, just her fourth of the season to go along with 22 wins.
The Sooners are one of the best fielding teams in the nation. Entering this weekend's Super Regional series against Mississippi State, Oklahoma was tied for fourth in Division I softball with a fielding percentage of .983 and having committed just 25 errors in 59 games. The Sooners uncharacteristically committed four costly errors on Friday that contributed to their defeat.
This game was frighteningly reminiscent of Oklahoma's recent loss to Georgia in the SEC Tournament. The Sooners opened up an early 5-0 lead before squandering it away,, giving up 10 unanswered runs in a a 10-5 Georgia victory. Head coach Patty Gasso delivered a stern message to her team afterwards, and the Sooners responded with a three-game series sweep in last weekend's NCAA Norman Regional, outscoring three opponents by a combined 28-1.
The win was Mississippi State's first win in an NCAA Super Regional in just two Super Regional appearances. Conversely, it was Oklahoma's first loss in a postseason Super Regional game after 18 consecutive wins. It also snapped the Sooners 31-game home winning streak in NCAA postseason action.
With the improbable victory, Mississippi State recorded their second win in 16 games this season when trailing after six innings. The Sooners, on the other hand, were 14-0 this season when leading after the sixth inning.
Oklahoma must now win two games, on Saturday and Sunday, to advance to the Women's College World Series for what would be the 10th consecutive season. The Sooners have lost back-to-back games just one time this season (to Texas and Oklahoma State in mid-April.
History is working against the host-team Sooners, however. Historically, 79 percent of teams that win the opening game in a Super Regional series have advance to the WCWS.
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