Oklahoma's Ailana Agbayani celebrates a grand slam. SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

OU Softball: Ailana Agbayani Played Hero, Lifting Oklahoma Over Texas With a Grand Slam

Originally posted on Oklahoma Sooners on SI
By Ryan Chapman | Last updated Apr 25, 2025 9:58 PM ET

Memorable meetings between Oklahoma and Texas have a habit of crowning unlikely heroes.

Enter Ailana Agbayani.

The speedy second baseman has been a sure hand in the field for Patty Gasso and a constant threat on the basepaths this year, but the BYU transfer hasn’t shown off much power, until Friday that is.

She stepped up with the bases loaded in the third and punished Texas ace Teagan Kavan.

Agbayani hammered her second home run of the year, a laser to left field, to bust the game open and put the No. 3 Sooners on top 6-0.

“The grand slam was the big blow, the separator,” Texas coach Mike White said after the 7-6 loss.

It wasn’t the only damage Agbayani inflicted, however.

She singled in the second inning to load the bases up with no outs for OU. Isabela Emerling stepped in after Agbayani and scratched the first run of the game across on a fielder’s choice.

Then Texas roared back. The Longhorns plated a pair of runs in the fourth and three runs int he top of the fifth to cut the lead down to 6-5.

Agbayani doubled in the fifth to push the lead out to 7-5 — a run that proved necessary when the Longhorns scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, to close out her 3-of-3 night at the plate with five RBIs.

“I think my main thing was to just stay really neutral and not get to high or too low,” Agbayani said after the win. “… But I was just trying to stay neutral and really just think 'Just pass the bat.' And I feel like we did a great job today of just passing the bat to each other.”

Gasso knows her Sooners need contributions up and down the lineup to take the series over No. 2 Texas, so the outburst of power from her 6-hole hitter was a welcome sight.

“We have to. If you wanna win, you're gonna have to have some heroes up and down the lineup,” Gasso said. “… You've got to. And it can get contagious if you keep handing your bat.”

Gabbie Garcia also added a home run before Agbayani’s grand slam to add to the cause, and OU’s 10 hits came from six different batters.

“I feel like we have such a great team atmosphere that it's all about trusting the team,” Agbayani said. “And I feel like my confidence is really just showing our team's confidence and how we're really blending in, really mixing in well with each other, and just all bringing out our superpowers, too.”

A different Sooner will have a chance to put on her cape in Game 2 against the Longhorns, which was pushed back to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday from the originally scheduled start time of 11 a.m. due to severe weather that is expected to hammer Norman in the morning.

The second contest between OU and Texas will now be broadcast on SEC Network+.

This article first appeared on Oklahoma Sooners on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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