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Oklahoma Blasts Its Way to Victory in SEC Opener

The Sooners' offense proved to be too much for Auburn, as OU plated nine runs in the second inning on Friday at Love's Field.
Ryan Chapman|
Oklahoma shortstop Gabbie Garcia high-fives Patty Gasso after hitting a home run at Love's Field.
Oklahoma shortstop Gabbie Garcia high-fives Patty Gasso after hitting a home run at Love's Field. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma out-gunned Auburn in a high-scoring SEC opener. 

The Sooners and the Tigers combined to hit seven home runs at Love’s Field on Friday night, but OU’s lineup proved too powerful for the visitors. 

Shortstop Gabbie Garcia homered twice, including once in a nine-run second inning, and three other Sooners totaled multiple RBIs in a 13-5 win in six innings. 

"Great crowd tonight. So much fun to be a part of," OU coach Patty Gasso said after the win. "So much fun that our players started a little bit nervous, I feel. Feel a little bit jittery with some of the newcomers. But it was just a fun environment and deafening at times when it got pretty loud."

OU out-hit Auburn 13-5, as the ability to string together hits other than the long ball proved to be the difference. 

Final Box Score
Final Box Score | OU Stat

Sophomore left-hander Audrey Lowry started in the circle for the Sooners, and while she allowed three home runs in four innings of work, she gave up a pair of solo shots as opposed to OU’s multi-run bombs. 

The Tigers hid ace Ella Harrison, instead starting with Abby Herndon, but the strategy proved ineffective. 

Auburn used four different arms, so the Sooners will have seen virtually every option out of the bullpen once Harrison takes the circle later in the weekend.

Though Oklahoma accounted for most of the offense on Friday evening, the Tigers actually took the lead in the second inning. 

Lowry allowed a single and hit a batter before Haven Roebuck smashed a homer to straightaway center. 

The OU left-hander quickly recovered to record three straight outs, and her offense erased the deficit. 

Garcia homered to start the bottom of the second, then Kai Minor put another runner in scoring position with a one-out triple. 

Auburn tried to get Minor at the plate when Ailana Agbayani dribbled the ball up the first base line, but Minor was able to slide under the tag and score, and things quickly fell apart for the Tigers.

"She hits the ball hard and if it’s not going out, it’s screaming past somebody. … It creates havoc," Gasso said of Minor. "If she gets a ball through a gap, it’s an easy triple for her."

Abby Dayton drove two more runs in with a double, and Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker hit back-to-back jacks to put the Sooners on top 7-4.

Auburn helped the Sooners with a pair of errors, including a dropped fly ball by right fielder McKaela Walker, and OU’s offense punished the miscues.

Minor returned to the plate to drop a two-RBI double into center field, which closed out the nine-run outburst in the second. 

"As soon as (their) three runs scored, in a weird way, I’m like we needed that," Gasso said. "… We haven’t been in that kind of fight. We haven’t had a team come out and just punch us in the mouth right away. So for us to punch back three additional punches is a good way to rebound and that kind of set us up for the rest of the game."

Walker got one run back with a solo shot in the third to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 9-4, and the Tigers sent their third pitcher of the game to the circle in the bottom half of the inning.

Blayne Godfrey settled things down momentarily by retiring the side in order.

Roebuck hit her second homer of the night, this one a solo shot, with one away in the fourth, but Oklahoma quelled any momentum gained in its portion of the inning. 

Parker drew a leadoff walk, which prompted Auburn to replace Godfrey with Charley Butler, but the pitching change was ineffective. 

Kendall Wells singled to put two aboard for Garcia, and the OU shortstop belted her second long ball of the night to put the Sooners on top 12-5.

"For me personally, it was just continuing to put runs up for our team, for our pitchers," Garcia said of her two-homer night. "Making sure they feel supported so they can go out there and be competitive." 

Freshman Allyssa Parker took over for Lowry in the circle in the fifth. Lowry allowed five runs on four hits, and she registered a pair of strikeouts while issuing one walk and hitting two batters. 

Oklahoma ended the game three outs early in the sixth. 

Wells singled again, allowing Patty Gasso to put Chaney Helton in to pinch run. 

Helton went from first to third on Garcia’s single to put runners on the corners with no outs. 

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Allyssa Parker stepped in, and she walked the game off with a sacrifice fly to right field. 

Garcia finished 4-for-4 with four RBIs, which marked the first four-hit game of her career, and Pickering, Minor and Dayton all totaled two RBIs. 

Wells also went 2-for-4 at the plate in her SEC debut. 

The Sooners and the Tigers will return for Game 2 of the series at Love’s Field on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is co-publisher at Sooners On SI and covers a number of sports in and around Norman and Oklahoma City. Working both as a journalist and a sports talk radio host, Ryan has covered the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the United States Men’s National Soccer Team, the Oklahoma City Energy and more. Since 2019, Ryan has simultaneously pursued a career as both a writer and a sports talk radio host, working for the Flagship for Oklahoma sports, 107.7 The Franchise, as well as AllSooners.com. Ryan serves as a contributor to The Franchise’s website, TheFranchiseOK.com, which was recognized as having the “Best Website” in 2022 by the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. Ryan holds an associate’s degree in Journalism from Oklahoma City Community College in Oklahoma City, OK. 

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