OU Softball: Explosive Fourth Inning Lifts Oklahoma Past Oklahoma State in Bedlam

OKLAHOMA CITY — A clutch showing from Oklahoma’s defense in the fourth inning turned Wednesday’s Bedlam battle.

Oklahoma starter Sam Landry found herself in a bases loaded jam with no outs and Oklahoma State already ahead, but a diving stop by OU second baseman Ailana Agbayani paired with a strikeout by the steady righty helped the Sooners seize momentum.

The jolt of energy at Devon Park was all Patty Gasso’s offense needed.

Sophomore outfielder Maya Bland hammered the second home run of her career in the bottom half of the frame, a three-run shot, and Ella Parker and Gabbie Garcia both added RBIs of their own.

The No. 2-ranked Sooners closed out the win over No. 17 OSU 11-3 to pick up the crucial midweek win in five innings.

"That was definitely the turning point of the game. And we just got hot," Gasso said after the win. "... Down the line, everybody kind of contributed in some way or another, but the dugout was on fire, fire, fire, fire.

"... I felt a big momentum opportunity that we grabbed, and I'm really excited to see where we go with this. This was a big-time win for us."

Oklahoma moved to 35-3 overall on the year and OSU fell to 23-12 before a crowd of 9,259 fans — a mark that broke the regular season NCAA softball attendance record set in 2023’s opener between OU and Texas in OKC.

The Sooners had to overcome a pair of errors in the first inning to get back into Wednesday’s contest.

Landry was unable to cleanly field Rosie Davis’ chopper back to the mound, and her scoop over to first missed Cydney Sanders and rolled into foul territory, allowing Tallen Edwards to slide under the tag at the plate and put OSU up 1-0.

In the ensuing at-bat, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas was unable to field a grounder at third, which gave Davis enough time to come home from second to double the lead.

"It was really loud," Landry set of the enviornment. "I think the loudness is something we kind of deal with at Love’s (Field) as well but I think today I kind of let it get to me a little bit too much at the beginning of the game and I was trying to fight the nerves and anxiety I had versus playing with it. But I think after the first few innings I kind of found how to play with it, play through it and take in the moment."

The Sooners were unable to cash in on a pair of two-out hits by Parker and Agbayani in the first two innings, then Davis dealt further damage.

She put Oklahoma State up 3-0 with a solo shot in the third, which was her sixth long ball of the year.

Sophomore star Kasidi Pickering finally got OU going in the third, however.

Bland opened the frame by drawing a leadoff walk, then Pickering belted her 12th home run of the season well beyond the wall in right field to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Agbayani's catch in the fourth kept things rolling and kept the OU-heavy crowd on its feet.

"It’s big. It’s huge," Gasso said. "But we get used to it because she’s doing that at practice. She is a really outstanding infielder and she loves that stuff and she wants to be fed that at practice all the time. So for everyone else, it's amazing. And for us, it's like, ‘yeah, that’s Ailana.'"

The fourth inning rally was aided by an OSU error that allowed McEnroe-Marinas to reach after Bland’s blast.

Parker and Garcia then took advantage of the two-out mistake to put the Sooners on top 7-3 entering the fifth.

Hannah Coor added another run for the Sooners with an RBI-single in the fifth, and Pickering nearly homered.

The ball bounced off the top of the wall, but it popped back into the outfield, so Pickering had to settle for a double that extended the lead to 9-3.

Parker added another RBI, this one a double, to complete her 3-for-3 night at the plate, then Garcia walked the game off with a single.

Oklahoma will jump back into SEC play this weekend.

The Sooners will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 23 Alabama. Saturday’s series-opener will start at 3 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN2.