Weekend Wrap: Oklahoma is Back in Control, Yet the Best is Still to Come

Even after the weekend’s events at Love’s Field, Gasso still believes her team’s best ball is ahead of them. 

“I’m excited about this because we’ve been waiting,” Gasso said after Sunday’s finale. “I think Alabama was a really tough time for us. Nothing’s working, it just didn’t feel right, but one thing I can guarantee is we’re always going to peak sometime and I think we’re moving in that direction and this is the time you want it. You don’t want to do it early in the season and then drag yourself through the rest of the season. 

“We stayed steady, we had a few bumps but now I can feel the escalation of where we’re going right now.”

The top-to-bottom production Oklahoma got out of its lineup against No. 17 Mississippi State rolled into the weekend.

Despite letting Texas back into the games on Friday and Sunday, it always felt like OU’s offense would be able to find more runs if called upon. 

Catcher Isabela Emerling was the only member of the Sooners’ starting lineup who failed to register a hit all weekend, but she still added two RBIs and a walk in the series, including bringing home the decisive ninth run on Sunday with a sacrifice fly. 

Oklahoma ran up the pitch count on Longhorn ace Teagan Kavan, allowing the lineup to get to the other pitchers on the staff quickly, and flashed all the signs of an elite offense in all three contests. OU scored seven runs with two outs over the weekend, and Sunday the Sooners led five of the six innings they came to the plate off with walks.

“Those long at-bats turn into something special. It fires up our team,” Gasso said. “We understand what you're doing for us and their fight. That's a fight. It's a fight. It's foul it off, foul it off, ball three, foul it up. Whatever it looks like, it's a battle. And that's what we've really been fighting to learn how to do.”

Full Staff Effort

Sam Landry was going to battle, that was know coming into the weekend. 

But Deal’s seven inning performance on Saturday and Smith’s 10-batter domination on Sunday were welcome signs. 

Even when things got hectic due to pitching changes, Landry was fired up by what Smith showed on Sunday. 

“I thought Bella pitched absolutely amazing,” said Landry, “and I told her after the game that she set up everything that the rest of the pitchers were able to do.”

From here on out, Oklahoma can’t rely on solely one arm if it wants to get back to the Championship Series at the Women’s College World Series. 

Smith built on a strong showing in relief against Mississippi State the weekend prior, and Deal needs to show she can get back into “the zone” as she was against Tennessee and Texas. 

But Deal has shut down two of the best offenses the Sooners have seen all year, she just has to find consistency as the postseason looms. 

Magic Number

While Oklahoma was rolling Texas, the rest of the SEC continued to beat itself up.

Texas A&M, who entered the weekend as the nation’s top-ranked team and the leaders in conference, lost two games to No. 9 Arkansas. 

The No. 4-ranked Volunteers lost a game to No. 16 Ole Miss, and Florida and No. 10 LSU split the first two games of the series with the rubber match coming on Monday night. 

Predicting the final weekend of the regular season is a fool’s errand, but Oklahoma can rest easy knowing its fate lies in its own hands. 

If the Sooners take two games from Florida, OU will cap off its first season in the SEC by adding the regular season conference title to the glitzy new trophy room at Love’s Field.