Ella Parker grand slam a welcome sight for OU softball, Sooners blank Knights
OU softball head coach Patty Gasso was not going to change anything. She didn’t care what the numbers said about star sophomore Ella Parker.
Gasso wasn’t going to sit Parker out in a game that mattered. Not sure if one hit will be the turning point, but it was one heck of a hit.
Parker crushed an opposite field grand slam to pace OU to a 6-0 victory against visiting Central Florida on Friday night at Love’s Field in the Okana Invitational.
Parker came up with OU leading 2-0 in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded and zero outs. She was hitless in her previous 11 plate appearances, including her initial one Friday.
She’s only hitting 2-for-30 (.067 average) overall in SEC play as she has been battling through some sort of lower body/leg injury. Gasso stressed Parker has to learn to play through it. Eventually, it’s going to get better, but it takes time.
Not sure who was happier about the hit, Parker or her teammates. She was absolutely mobbed by her fellow Sooners, eager to celebrate a big moment for Parker. It is her sixth home run of the year and just her second since Feb. 28.
“I was a little shocked,” Parker told SoonerScoop. “I screamed so loud. It just felt good to come to home plate with open arms. It was almost like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. But it felt so good to run into my teammates and be able to celebrate with them.”
That was more than enough for OU ace Sam Landry. She earned her 11th win this season. After allowing two hits in the first inning, Landry was dominant.
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She threw 4.2 innings, allowing three hits with zero walks and four strikeouts. It paved the way for the return of Audrey Lowry. The freshman saw her first action since March 12. Lowry struck out the first batter on her way to a scoreless outing, retiring all seven she faced.
“Just the frustration wanting to get back out there as soon as I could,” Lowry said. “Just doing it for my team. Cheering for everyone while I was out. It felt really good to be back.”
Sophomore Kasidi Pickering extended her hitting streak to 13 games. She had two hits and added yet another walk to her season’s total.
“This is a quality win for our RPI,” Gasso said. “We’re starting to talk about that a little bit and where we need to start moving ourselves. Overall, just quality.”
Up next
Can we get it in? No. 3 OU (34-3, 9-3 SEC) is scheduled to take on UCF one more time at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. So far, the Sooners have been able to get the two games in without any rain delays. But it sure looks dicey for Saturday.
“I’ve already liked what we’ve done thus far,” Gasso said. “I do not know and just for your information we’re meeting tomorrow at 8:30 to decide what to do. Hear the temps are really gonna drop. The wind’s going to pick up and neither team wants to play in those types of conditions when you’ve got so much in front of you conference-wise. So we’re going to talk about it.”
