The anticipation for the next three games on Oklahoma’s schedule cannot be understated enough.
As the Sooners head to enemy territory in Austin for the Red River Rivalry weekend, they are going into the series against Mike White and his defending Women’s College World Series championship squad that will have bigger implications in the SEC title race than any other two teams on the field.
Both the Sooners and the Longhorns currently sit in the top three in conference standings, with Alabama coming between after the Crimson Tide handed the Longhorns two straight losses last weekend. A factor in both team's success up to this point has been an elite pitching staff, where the team ERAs are closely matched, as Texas is sixth in the SEC with 2.58 and Oklahoma is only one spot below with a 2.74.
Oklahoma and Texas both have dominant pitching staffs, but the Sooners have an edge elsewhere
Oklahoma has historically dominated its archrival with a 64-28 record in the softball edition of the classic showdown originally rooted in football, but this is the first-ever meeting where the current national title holder is the team south of the Sooner State border.
Texas has a formidable ace in Teagan Kavan, who gave OU its first loss in Oklahoma City last season and tossed another complete game in Game 3 of the championship final against Texas Tech. Although Sam Landry won't be there to avenge the 2025 defeat, it wouldn’t be necessary because Patty Gasso has built a dependable fleet of arms in the offseason that added Miali Guachino, Sydney Berzon, and Allyssa Parker.
In terms of performance, the most comparable Sooner to Kavan is Audrey Lowry. She holds a 2.08 ERA and a .203 opponent batting average over 80.2 innings in the circle, compared to Kavan’s 2.68 ERA and .234 opponent average in her 99.1 innings. The Texas ace has also thrown 124 strikeouts and 10 complete games.
While Kavan is the primary threat in the circle, the Sooners have the path of least resistance when it comes to sheer offense. The Longhorns have heavy hitters in Katie Stewart and Reese Atwood, whose bats won't be easy to shut down as a contributor to 63 home runs, but the Sooners lead the country with 144, which is more than twice that number. Among the six OU players with double-digit tallies, Kendall Wells is the NCAA leader with 30 homers and is only seven away from tying the single-season record.
Regardless of whichever team wins the series, neither is going down without a fight. The only inevitable outcome is knowing which side of the SEC tournament bracket the seeding will place them.