Skip to main content

No. 5 Oklahoma survives to take game one against No. 2 Texas

by:Jason Rhea•about 21 hours
Screenshot 2025-04-25 at 7.46.07 PM
Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Athletics

Behind a record-setting 4.587 people at Love’s Field, No. 5 OU softball notched a huge 7-6 win to open the series against No. 2 Texas.

Ailana Agbayani went 3-3, including a grand slam, to help propel the Sooners for the win. Sam Landry claimed her 16th victory of the season with a complete game in which she threw 115 pitches and gave up only two earned runs. “I was really proud of Sam,” said Patty Gasso after the win. “That’s a really tough lineup, and to get through them three or four times unscathed is almost impossible, so I was really proud of her fight.”

Both aces got the ball in this highly anticipated series opener between Oklahoma and Texas. Landry and Teagan Kavan matched pitch for pitch in the first inning. However, in the second inning, Oklahoma was able to scratch first. A leadoff double off Nelly McEnroe-Marinas, a walk by Cydney Sanders, and a single from Agbayani loaded the bases. An RBI groundout from Isabela Emerling got the Sooners on the board for a 1-0 lead. However, Kavan limited the damage to just one.

Oklahoma broke the game wide open in the third inning, knocking Kavan out of the game. Gabbie Garcia hit her 13th home run of the season to make the score 2-0. For the second time in as many innings, the Sooners loaded the bases after two base hits and a walk. The very next pitch was smashed by Agbayani over the left-center wall to extend the Sooners’ lead to 6-0. “My main thing is just to stay neutral and not try to get too high or too low. Especially with all the fans, I wanted to stay neutral and pass the bat.” Agbayani remarked on what the biggest key was to her huge night.

Texas started to claw back in the fourth inning, all with two outs. Mia Scott hit her seventh home run of the year to reduce the deficit by one. After a Reese Atwood walk and stolen base, Joley Mitchell hit a line drive that landed just in front of a diving Hannah Coor in center field. Landry got Katie Cimusz to ground out to end the inning and limit the damage to just the two runs.

The Longhorns continued their two-out work in the 5th inning. After an error by Garcia, Texas got back-to-back hits from Kayden Henry and Scott, the latter scored a run. Atwood continued her strong day, delivering another base hit, scoring two more Longhorns for five unanswered runs. The Sooners retired Mitchell to stop the bleeding and maintain the 6-5 lead.

Oklahoma bounced right back and got some momentum back. Agbayani continued her hot night at the plate and delivered her fifth RBI of the evening. After McEnroe-Marinas also got her third hit and second double of the game, Agbayani followed suit with another double of her own to score a run and give Oklahoma a 7-5 advantage.

Texas did not go down without a fight in the seventh inning. After the second error of the contest for Oklahoma, the Longhorns found themselves with two runners on and one out. An intentional walk to Atwood loaded the bases for Texas with two outs. A passed ball allowed Texas to cut the score to 7-6. But, Landry was able to get Mitchell to fly out for the final out and secure the Oklahoma win.

College Softball Conference Power Rankings: SEC | ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten
Latest Softball America Bracketology
Bubble Watch: Week 12

You may also like