Sometimes, it really can be that simple when it comes to OU softball. If the Sooners get the timely hits, it’s an easy victory.
If they don’t? They gotta scratch and claw like everybody else. But this weekend, OU has met its match in Oklahoma State. It’s the Cowgirls coming up with the big hits.
Again and again, and it’s a Bedlam series victory for OSU before we even get to Sunday. Sparked by a five-run top of the sixth, OSU downed OU 6-2 on Saturday afternoon at Love’s Field.
It is the first home series loss for OU since 2006 against Texas. And it is the first OSU series victory against OU since 1997.
The game featured a three-hour, 24-minute rain delay. And once we got back to action, there wasn’t much that separated the two teams through the initial innings.
Let’s get right to it. The bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth.
The game tied 1-1, and OU had bases loaded with one out, thanks to an OSU error. Years past? The Sooners put up a crooked number, separate on the scoreboard.
Here? All OU could earn was an RBI walk by Alynah Torres. Lexi Kilfoyl bounced back with two strikeouts, and OSU came to pick her up in the sixth.
Nicole May had allowed one run in in five innings, but at 95 pitches? She didn’t have much left in the sixth. May allowed back-to-back solo home runs, leading to Kelly Maxwell coming in.
And Maxwell hasn’t been nearly as effective in relief as a starter. Maxwell gave up a three-run bomb to Jilyen Poullard that quieted the 4,534 in attendance.
The OU loss combined with the Texas win means the Sooners will not be the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament.
Head coach Patty Gasso has challenged her team all the last month. Show everybody what you’re made of. Sunday is a chance to salvage something in Bedlam and be the No. 2 seed.
Closing it up
Final game. No. 2 OU (45-6 overall, 21-5 Big 12) needs a win vs. OSU to maintain the No. 2 seed. If OSU sweeps Bedlam, the Sooners move to the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament.
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