Oklahoma's Defense, Pitching Picked the Wrong Time to Falter

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s Friday meltdown suddenly has the Sooners on the brink of elimination.

After going up 6-2 in the fourth inning, 3-seeded OU allowed nine runs in the final two innings to fall to Mississippi State 11-9 in Game 1 of the Norman Super Regional.

Oklahoma allowed four hits in the sixth and made an error after Sydney Barker was unable to field a ball at third, as well as allowing a run to score on a passed ball.

In the seventh, the Bulldogs put five runs on the board after stringing together five hits and drawing two walks.

Mississippi State had stranded seven runners in the first three innings and only had one run to show for it, but the Sooners succumbed to the pressure late.

“Our defense just — we don’t fumble balls like that. We don’t. We just don’t, but they were hitting the ball hard,” OU coach Patty Gasso said after the loss. “There were some balls hit hard to Barker, some hard at Ailana (Agbayani), but we do make those plays, so our defense would tell you that this wasn’t their best day. I think our pitchers would tell you the same.”

The four errors marked a season-high for Oklahoma, but it’s not the first time this season the Sooners have melted down late.

OU allowed a six-run sixth inning against Arizona on the second night of the season after Arizona drew four walks, reached once on an error and hit a homer.

Long Beach State strung three hits together and drew a walk to plate four in the sixth at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Feb. 21.

Texas hit two home runs in the eighth inning of the series finale between the Red River rivals on April 12, which was the only real blemish in SEC play until Texas A&M pieced five singles together in the series opener that was initially suspended and then resumed on March 1 in College Station.

Then the Sooners allowed Georgia to score 10 unanswered runs in the SEC Tournament to lose 10-5, a contest that Oklahoma appeared to have put in the rearview with a dominant showing in last weekend’s Norman Regional.

OU’s pitching and defense will both have to get back on track on Saturday at noon.

Mississippi State’s 15 hits were the most allowed ever in a Super Regional by Oklahoma, and the four errors were the most in a Super Regional for the Sooners since falling to Washington in 2010.

The Bulldogs got to see half of OU’s pitching staff, too, on Friday.

Miali Guachino started the contest to try and take advantage of the right-hander-heavy Mississippi State lineup.

Senior Sydney Berzon entered in relief, but she surrendered four runs on four hits — though only one of those runs was earned.

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Left-hander Aurey Lowry, who logically would be in line to start on Saturday, pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for the Sooners, and she allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits.

A loss on Saturday would see Oklahoma fail to reach the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2015, which was also the last time OU dropped a Super Regional contest.

“We’re going to see who we are, and we’re ready to show who we are,” Gasso said. “We go down fighting, especially here at home, but anywhere. We understand what’s at stake, and we’re going to be ready to make this right.”

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