Oklahoma
Weekend Wrap: What We Learned From Oklahoma’s West Coast Swing
Oklahoma wasn’t faced with the stout schedules of past opening weekends, but the Sooners still got tested in a number of their contests to get rolling in 2025.
Patty Gasso’s squad battled a solid San Diego State team through nine innings on Thursday, and then endured a marathon against Long Beach State where OU eventually prevailed after 11 innings on Sunday.
Breaking in nine freshman and five transfers was always going to be a process, but the No. 2-ranked Sooners showed plenty of grit to turn sometimes imperfect performances into wins.
“I’ve been putting them through a lot,” Gasso said on Thursday. “This trip has already been a lot — a lot on your legs, for sure. They handled it well and I’m really proud of that. So it’s been a good first weekend.
“I didn’t even really honestly know what to expect. But they fight, they work and I know we can go forward with something like that.”
Last offseason, Oklahoma lost pitchers Kelly Maxwell, Nicole May and Karlie Keeney as well as incredible defensive players all across the field.
And while the Sooners didn’t have to face the ’27 Yankees this past weekend, the pitching and defense was good enough for the team to lean on throughout the first month of the season while the offense really gets going.
Freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia committed the only error of the weekend in Game 1, but she bounced back and had a nice weekend on the left side of the infield.
Utah transfer Abby Dayton came up huge with a diving grab in center field on Sunday against Long Beach State that saved a run and prevented a loss.
Kasidi Pickering came up firing multiple times in that same contest on Sunday from left field, and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and Cydney Sanders both made numerous nice plays in foul territory on the corners.
All of that supporting a pitching staff that had a strong showing through the first six games.
Campbell transfer Isabella Smith pitched 12 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just tow hits and one walk while fanning 14 batters.
Kierston Deal bounced back from a start against CSUN where she allowed plenty of traffic on the bases by denying Long Beach State a single hit for six innings on Sunday.
True freshman Audrey Lowry was excellent in pressure-filled innings against San Diego State, only allowing a single unearned run against the Aztecs as a result of the international tiebreak runner, and Sam Landry grew throughout the weekend after leading the staff with 15 innings pitched.
Gasso promised that the 2025 Sooners would have a different feel about them, but her infield continues to be well drilled, and things should only get better throughout the season.
Ella Parker and Pickering are stepping into even bigger roles as sophomores, but both showed no signs of a second year dip.
Parker finished the weekend 13-for-22 with eight RBIs, five doubles and a homer while also drawing five walks.
Pickering went 7-for-20 with a pair of home runs, nine RBIs, a double, a triple and seven walks.
There were other outstanding performers form the rans of the newcomers — notably Dayton and catcher Isabela Emerling — but an offense built around Parker and Pickering can carry the Sooners a long way.
Notably, it was the clutch hitting from Parker and Pickering that helped ease the pressure on the rest of the team.
Parker and Pickering combined in the fifth inning against CSUN to give OU its first lead of the day. The sophomore duo then combined for five RBIs against San Diego State to help Oklahoma erase the early three run lead, and while the offense struggled with runners in scoring position against Long Beach State, Parker and Pickering seemed to always be on the bases to give the Sooners a chance.
Gasso’s best lineup card is still a question, and she’ll have plenty of pieces who will continue to battle for playing time.
Garcia and Sydney Barker appeared to share staring duties at shortstop depending on the matchup with the opposing pitcher early, though Garcia settled in at shortstop as the weekend wore on.
Hannah Coor’s injury saw Ella Parker get time in the outfield to clear a spot for Tia Milloy in the lineup as the designated player as well.
Garcia hit .167 in 18 plate appearances through the first six games, which was mirrored by Barker’s .167 average in four at-bats.
Mostly every freshman who saw playing time showed off the power they possess.
Milloy hit a pair of monstrous home runs and both Garcia and Barker each hit their first collegiate homers this past weekend.
Continued experience and work with JT Gasso would give the impression that all the freshmen will continue to improve this year, and the transfers can improve as well.
Ailana Agbayani went 3-for-15 through her first six games, but she hit .424 a year ago at BYU which leaves plenty of room for growth.
“Real happy with the way some of these guys are swinging the bat,” Gasso said after OU beat Loyola Marymount on Saturday. “I see that we’ve had nine different Sooners hit home runs over the course of (the first) five games.
“… So I’m loving what the defense is doing. Our pitching staff is doing great. Our offense just has some lulls at times and we’ve got to get that worked out.”
Oklahoma will be back in action this weekend in Waco, TX, where the Sooners will take on Baylor and Hofstra twice each in the Getterman Classic.
NORMAN — The Sooners were behind the eight ball for much of Tuesday’s game against Oral Roberts.
But one swing of the bat got them in a more favorable position.
Shortstop Jaxon Willits blasted a grand slam in the sixth inning to give No. 14 Oklahoma its first lead before eventually winning 7-6.
The Sooners trailed by as many as five runs before they rallied late.
In the first inning, Oral Roberts’ Cooper Combs hit a two-out grand slam to give the Golden Eagles a comfortable cushion. OU infielder Deiten Lachance got the Sooners on the board in the second inning with a solo home run, but ORU responded with a solo shot of its own in the next frame.
The Golden Eagles made it a 6-1 run game in the top of the fourth, and they appeared to be on cruise control. But in the bottom of that frame, OU’s rally began.
Dasan Harris made it a four-run game again with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth before Camden Johnson hit a sacrifice fly of his own in the fifth.
Then, in the sixth, the Sooners took their first lead of the game.
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Harris singled before Kyle Branch and Connor Larkin walked to load the bases. Willits then swung at the first pitch he saw, sending it well over the right-center field fence.
Neither team scored after Willits’ home run, as OU relief pitcher Xander Mercurius retired nine ORU batters in a row to seal the Sooners’ one-run win.
Michael Catalano started on the mound for Oklahoma, but his outing was short-lived — he gave up four earned runs on two hits and five walks in 1 ⅓ innings.
After coach Skip Johnson relieved Catalano in the second inning, six different OU arms entered the game. Reid Hensley collected the win, while Mercurius got the save.
OU improved to 28-12 overall with the win, while Oral Roberts dropped to 23-15. The Sooners are 7-3 in midweek games this season, and they clinched the season sweep of the Golden Eagles on Tuesday.
Next, the Sooners will hit the road for a three-game series against Auburn. The Tigers, ranked No. 11 by D1Baseball, are 10-8 in SEC play and took two of three games against Florida over the weekend.
The series will open on Friday, and first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
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NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
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Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
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Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.
District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.
Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.
District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.
What we know
Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:
All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.
Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.
We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.
Putnam City Schools
All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.
Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.
The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.
School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
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