OU Softball: Oklahoma 'Ready' for Tulsa, Will Use Midweek Bout as 'Final Preparation' for Arkansas

The Sooners have already beaten Tulsa once this year, but coach Patty Gasso will demand her team's full attention as OU travels to take on the Golden Hurricane on Wednesday.

Oklahoma's Ella Parker / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Before Oklahoma can take on another talented SEC foe — an Arkansas team with deep ties to the OU coaching staff — the No. 1-ranked Sooners are making a pit stop. 

For the second time this season, OU will take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, with this battle taking place at the Collins Family Softball Complex (5 p.m., ESPN+). 

Oklahoma dispatched the Golden Hurricane 8-0 earlier this season at Love’s Field, but coach Patty Gasso wants her team to have its full focus on the task at hand instead of looking ahead to the No. 12 Razorbacks. 

“That was a draining weekend we just went through (against South Carolina),” Gasso said on Tuesday. “They already beat Tulsa. You better have your eyes open and ready to play. Tulsa knows how to beat us. They’ve done it before in midweek. That would really hurt our cause.”

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Gasso said she’s looking to get some innings for players that have had to share time thus far this season.

Pitcher Sam Landry, who missed the South Carolina series, is in line to take the circle at some point against Tulsa. 

“She threw today and was frustrated because she wanted more and we shut her down,” Gasso said. “You’ll see her on the mound tomorrow. I think that should be enough to have her ready for the weekend. … We're looking for Sam Landry to go out and have good control and feel like she's ready to go for the weekend.”

Landry’s 1.47 ERA is second on the team, and she’s pitched a team-high 33 1/3 innings, but she just had to watch as the pitching staff allowed 19 runs in three games against South Carolina. 

Wednesday’s contest could also serve as a big opportunity for freshmen like Sydney Barker and Tia Milloy, who got fewer chances to make an impact in the three tight games against the Gamecocks. 

“You might see Sydney Barker working a little bit at first base as well because I think she's really good and needs to find a place to help us out,” said Gasso, “and I think that might get Cydney Sanders off her feet at times, which I think could help her.”

Barker is hitting .360 in her 25 plate attempts this year, and she’s totaled 18 RBIs. 

Milloy is batting .222 in 36 plate attempts, but five of her eight hits have been home runs. 

A victory would move the Sooners to 23-0 on the year, but crucially, it would allow the team to continue to build momentum as they head into their first-ever road series in SEC play. 

“We are coming in ready to go,” Gasso said. “We are using it as one last preparation for Arkansas. We’ve got to compete tomorrow. We can’t go up thinking ahead. 

“That’s the problem with some teams. They’re so wrapped up and already learning about the opponent for the weekend, they just skip over the mid-week. You can’t do that. We won’t do that.”

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