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OU Softball: Oklahoma Takes Series Over Arkansas Behind Late Rally

The Sooners scored each of the last four innings to erase a pair of deficits and take down the Razorbacks on Saturday.

Ryan Chapman

Oklahoma third baseman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas
Oklahoma third baseman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas / John Hoover / Sooners on SI

Oklahoma survived another back-and-forth contest to notch its second SEC series victory on Saturday. 

Arkansas got to OU starting pitcher Kierston Deal in the third and the fifth innings to put the Sooners in a hole late in the day’s second contest from Bogle Park in Fayetteville. 

But the OU offense proved to be too much for Arkansas again. 

Homers from Isabela Emerling and Kasidi Pickering leveled the game for the No. 1-ranked Sooners, but it was a bases loaded walk drawn by freshman Sydney Barker that nosed Oklahoma in front for good in the sixth. 

Steady defense and another stellar showing from right-hander Sam Landry, who pitched a complete game shutout in the first game on Saturday, pushed the visitors across the finish line. 

OU held on for a 6-4 on Saturday to move to 25-0 overall and 5-0 in SEC play. 

"They’re a good team," OU coach Patty Gasso said after the win. "Arkansas has got a good pitching staff so we knew our pitching staff had to bow up today. Sam did a great job. Eventually our hitting came through. I think our defense saved us quite a bit. They played really, really well."

The No. 12-ranked Razorbacks fell to 20-5 on the year and 1-4 in conference contests, and they’ll have to rally to win Sunday’s series finale, just as Arkansas did last weekend after dropping the series to No. 22 Ole Miss. 

Final Box Score
Final Box Score / OU Stats

Landry’s steadying hand has been a welcome addition after OU's pitching staff struggled against No. 9 South Carolina last weekend, and Deal flirted with disaster again from the start on Saturday. 

Despite striking out three in the first inning, she issued a pair of walks and had to escape a mess of her own making by fanning the final batter of the frame. 

She again had a pair of runners aboard in the second after allowing a single and hitting a batter, but Deal battled back to keep the Razorbacks off the board again. 

Her luck would run out in the third. 

Kailey Wyckoff doubled to start the inning, then Bri Ellis singled. Wyckoff could have scored off Ellis’ single had Nelly McEnroe-Marinas not made a phenomenal stop diving to her right, but the OU third baseman sailed her throw to first, which allowed both Wyckoff and Ellis to move up 60 feet into scoring position. 

Raigan Kramer’s single scored Wyckoff to give the Razorbacks their first lead of the series, and then Arkansas doubled its advantage when Ella McDowell grounded out to second. Though the run scored, Ailana Agbayani made an impressive play to keep the ball in the infield and prevent Kramer from moving over to third. Deal got two more outs to keep the score at 2-0 as the game moved to the fourth inning. 

McEnroe-Marinas gave OU some life in the next frame by drawing a two-out walk. 

Freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia then doubled to the wall, allowing McEnroe-Marinas to cut the deficit to 2-1 by going first to home, but Garcia was thrown out trying to stretch her double into a triple, halting the rally. 

The fourth inning was only the beginning for the Sooners.

Abby Dayton started things off with a double in the fifth, which brought up Emerling. 

Oklahoma’s catcher fouled a pair of pitches off, but she squared up Arkansas pitcher Payton Burnham’s 2-2 delivery. 

Emerling launched a two-run shot that nearly cleared the outfield berm in left center field to put OU up 3-2. It was her eighth bomb of the year, which leads the team. 

"Our offense is too good to be held back," Gasso said. "Up and down the lineup, they’re really good. They’re just better than I thought they would be at this time. They’re stronger. They hit the ball hard — they can smoke the ball — but they also lay down bunts, they can steal bases. So it’s kind of coming at you at all angles."

Deal allowed the first two batters aboard in the bottom of the fifth via a single and a walk, and though Gasso replaced Deal with right-hander Isabella Smith, but those two runners would come back to bite OU. 

McDowell’s second RBI of the game came on a single that tied things at 3-3, then a sacrifice bunt by Atalyia Rijo put Arkansas back in front 4-3. 

Smith then got a groundout to end the inning, and Oklahoma’s offense again came to the defense of its pitching staff in the sixth inning.

Pickering hammered a solo home run to right field, which knotted the game back up at 4-4 and signaled the end of Burnham’s day. 

"Big for her. She’s been frustrated," Gasso said. "You can see that a little bit. The lefty-lefty matchups don’t work well for lefties usually but she’s fine. She’s going to be fine. She’s a mature hitter." 

Arkansas put ace Robyn Herron in for the second time on Saturday to try and quiet the Sooners’ bats, but McEnroe-Marinas immediately doubled off Herron to give OU a runner in scoring position with one out. 

A hit batter and a walk loaded up the bases for Barker with two outs. 

The Oklahoma freshman fell behind 1-2 in the count and battled through seven pitched to earn the bases loaded walk and put the Sooners back in front 5-4.

Agbayani nearly ripped a screamer through the left side that could have scored two, but Rijo, the Arkansas shortstop, made a fantastic catch to limit the damage and end the top half of the inning. 

McEnroe-Marinas later added an insurance run with a two-out RBI-single to give Landry a 6-4 lead to protect in the bottom of the seventh.

The righty got the first two outs of the inning, but Courtney Day’s double snuck just under the outstretched glove of Pickering in right field. 

McDowell was unable to hurt the Sooners again, however, as she grounded out to Garcia to end the contest. 

"I think just the defense worked really well today," Landry said. "Let them hit, let the defense work and keep them guessing, like I said, and just keep mixing it up and never stay the same in any at-bat." 

The series finale will start at 11 a.m. on Sunday, and the contest will air on the SEC Network. 

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Ryan Chapman
RYAN CHAPMAN

Ryan is managing editor 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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