Weekend Wrap: Oklahoma Again Enters Postseason on Heels of Series Defeat

Oklahoma’s final weekend of the regular season was an odd one.

The No. 1-ranked Sooners dropped two of three games to No. 9 Flordia, but still captured the SEC regular season title.

No. 5 Tennesse’s victory over No. 2 Texas A&M on Friday proved to be enough for Patty Gasso’s team to capture its first hardware in their new conference and the top overall seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament.

Dropping a series in Gainesville isn’t the end of the world by any means, but Gasso will still want more consistency from her group as the postseason arrives.

Prime Time Ella

Oklahoma's Ella Parker has been at her best over the past month. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ella Parker’s sophomore season hit a rut at the start of conference play due to her well-documented leg injury.

That appears to be a problem of the past.

Parker built on her fantastic weekend against Texas with another impressive showing against the Gators.

Across the three-game set, Parker went 8-for-12 at the plate with four RBIs and a walk.

The strength of OU’s lineup against the Longhorns was production from top-to-bottom.

But as the opposing pitching gets better and better deep into the postseason, the veteran hands of Parker and Kasidi Pickering will be enough to keep the Sooners in every game.

Ace Sam Landry has shown she can battle in the circle as well, which is a proven recipe to wins in May.

One Step Back

Oklahoma left-hander Kierston Deal struggled against Florida. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The performances from Kierston Deal and Isabella Smith in the circle were massive in last week’s Texas series.

The duo struggled to build on that showing on the road, however.

Deal lasted just 12 batters on Friday, allowing five runs on three hits while striking out one, and the left hander issued four walks.

Smith wasn’t much better in relief, allowing four runs on five hits and an additional walk.

Freshman Audrey Lowry was solid to close Friday’s 9-4 loss. She faced eight batters and was responsible for no runs while allowing three hits.

Landry can power Oklahoma through Super Regional action, and the Sooners should have enough to breeze through Regionals.

But Gasso and associate head coach and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha will have to have consistency behind Landry to stack wins at the SEC Tournament and to feel confident about tossing anyone else into the circle should OU return to Oklahoma City.

The good news is the entire pitching staff has performed better at home, and once Oklahoma concludes its stay at the SEC Tournament, the Sooners won’t have to leave the state for the remainder of the postseason.

The Path Ahead

2025 SEC Softball Tournament Bracket | SECsports.com

As the top overall seed, OU also locked down one of the four coveted double byes at the SEC Tournament.

Texas A&M and Texas claimed the 2-seed and 3-seed, so the Sooners would only matchup with one of those clubs in the SEC Championship should Oklahoma take care of business on Thursday and Friday.

Gasso and her team await the winner of 8-seeded Mississippi State and 9-seeded LSU.

OU swept the Bulldogs during the regular season, but it didn’t see the Tigers this year.

If there are minimal upsets, 5-seeded Arkansas or 4-seeded Tennessee looms in a potential semifinal matchup on Friday.

Outside of winning the conference tournament, the only other thing the Sooners are playing for this weekend is seeding.

It would be a shock for the Sooners to fall outside the top five national seeds once the NCAA Tournament field is announced next Sunday, however, so the battle for seeding is only to earn the best matchup on paper, as OU’s Regional and Super Regional path will run through Love’s Field.