OU Softball: Oklahoma's Gabbie Garcia Gives Sooners Insurance in Win vs. Cal

After Oklahoma took a 5-1 lead in the second inning, Cal responded with a run to shrink the gap. The Sooners went scoreless in the bottom of the third as the game remained close.

Though Cal didn’t score in the fourth, the Golden Bears loaded the bases on two hits and a walk. It seemed like the momentum was shifting toward their dugout.

Garcia made sure that it didn’t last. 

Her bomb made it a 7-2 game, and before Cal ended the inning, Kasidi Pickering hit a grand slam to make it 11-2. The Golden Bears had no answer in the top of the fifth, so the Sooners didn’t have to go back to the batter’s box.

Garcia’s home run was one of many examples of good offense Saturday, according to OU coach Patty Gasso. 

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“You can see it in their eyes,” Gasso said. “They have a very good game plan. Throughout the lineup, I look up and I’m like, yes. It doesn't matter to me. Throughout the lineup, it’s that kind of feel.”

Garcia entered Saturday’s game 3-for-18 in her last five games.

The infielder had a handful of impressive moments during that span, including the walk-off three-run home run against Arkansas in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. But her batting average dropped from .371 to .347 during the stretch.

Saturday’s home run, which gave the Sooners insurance, came from an at-bat which Garcia said she treated like any other.

“It felt great in the moment,” Garcia said.

Garcia’s home run was one of seven Oklahoma hits in Saturday’s win. Pickering’s grand slam was one of two home runs for the outfielder, and the Sooners drew seven walks.

Oklahoma will play in the Norman Regional final on Sunday.

The Sooners’ first game — against either Cal, Boston University or Omaha — will begin at 1 p.m.