Oklahoma Softball’s Near-Record-Setting Game vs. UTEP Included Unexpected Contract Terms

When the Oklahoma Sooners traveled to El Paso, Texas, and put up an astonishing 34 runs against UTEP, they weren’t getting paid to be there.

A records request obtained by Softball On SI revealed that nowhere in their contractual agreement to play each other did UTEP pay Patty Gasso’s eight-time national championship team to come play, nor were they entitled to receive complimentary tickets for their own fans and family to be in the stands.

Instead, the Sooners smoked the Miners at home for free in five explosive innings. Three of those innings saw eight runs, then 12 runs, then 14 runs.

ayyy lesssgo!!!#ChampionshipMindset | @OU_Athletics pic.twitter.com/zeGFH6r9PO
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 15, 2026

While 34 runs are eye-popping, it wasn’t a program record for the team. Sunday’s matchup was one run shy of tying the single-game record for runs scored, previously set with 35 against Arkansas Pine Bluff in 2014.

Tia Milloy and Gabbie Garcia both hit grand slams in the same inning, while Allyssa Parker homered twice, and Kasidi Pickering doubled three times to tie a program record. Sophomore Chaney Hilton hit her first home run, while Abby Dayton hit an inside-the-park home run.

.@tia_milloy 🤝Gabbie

2 GRAND SLAM INNING. pic.twitter.com/cYuYgmxBgg
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 15, 2026

Dayton 500 💨

Inside-the-parker for Abby! pic.twitter.com/fQvRFloAxv
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 15, 2026

Sixteen batters took the plate in the third inning, scoring 12 runs, eight of which came from Garcia and Milloy’s grand slams. Parker’s three-run homer and Pickering’s RBI double added to the scoring.

Across the entire outing, the Sooners saw 51 plate appearances, notched 25 hits, and left only three runners on base while drawing 10 walks. Across the weekend, OU totaled 21 home runs after their six against UTEP, moving the season total to 38 through nine games.

As for the circle, Sydney Berzon threw three scoreless innings, while Berkley Zache closed the game to complete the shutout. UTEP, on the other hand, rotated through six pitchers. Ryann Presswood saw the most action with three innings, followed by Kendall Angulo with one inning. The rest of the arms didn’t make a full inning.

Other programs across the country have gone to great lengths to get the Sooners to play on their field and get extra fans in the stands. Now, compared to college football, where teams pay other teams to play at their facility, the money in softball is slim. The average three-game guarantee is between $2,500-$5,000 or hotel rooms, not both.

The same records request obtained by Softball On SI revealed that across the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons, Oklahoma had entered several agreements for matchups with schools like Abilene Christian, Arizona State, and Loyola Marymount that either covered the cost for hotel rooms for the span of the contests or provided a certain number of complimentary tickets for the visiting team. Abilene Christian covered the cost of 17 hotel rooms, while ASU and LMU provided 50 complimentary tickets for the visiting team.

Oklahoma has been a must-watch over the last several years, but it’s becoming increasingly demanding of other programs to invite them to play and make some money off of it. The same couldn’t be said for UTEP.

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