Oklahoma

Oklahoma softball defeats Texas in game two behind Kierston Deal’s complete performance

Published

12 months ago

April 27, 2025

Oklahoma softball defeats Texas in game two behind Kierston Deal’s complete performance

No. 4 Oklahoma (41-5, 15-5 SEC) defeated No. 3 Texas (42-8, 13-7 SEC) 7-2 in game two on Saturday.

Oklahoma’s win in game one and Arkansas’ win over Texas A&M yesterday moved the Sooners into first place in the SEC standings. With Texas sitting in third, Oklahoma looked to further separate itself in the rankings to secure the No. 1 seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament.

Junior left-handed pitcher Kierston Deal’s dominant, complete performance helped lead the Sooners to victory, as Deal, backed by a strong Oklahoma defense, kept a high-powered Texas offense in check for the majority of the game.

Deal made her 13th start of the season, repping an 8-1 record with a 2.98 ERA. After senior right-handed pitcher Sam Landry’s performance in game one, a big question heading into the game was how the rest of the Sooners’ pitching staff would hold up against a powerful Texas offense.

Deal answered with a strong start in the first three innings. Similar to game one, Deal and the Sooners’ defense held the Longhorns to three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit in the second and striking out two batters.

B2B punchies for @DealKierston 💥ℹ️» https://t.co/Th2U6csrhI pic.twitter.com/qII2twCIIi
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) April 26, 2025

Oklahoma struck first for the second straight game with a two-out solo home run from sophomore utility Ella Parker deep over the right-field wall, giving Oklahoma a 1-0 lead in the third. The homer was the Sooners’ first hit of the day and the start of an explosive offensive rally.

Junior left-fielder Abigale Dayton crushed a ball deep to right-center field, sending game one’s player of the game, junior second baseman Ailana Agbayani, home from first and extending Oklahoma’s lead to 2-0 in the fourth.

“I think it was just allowing myself to work for my team. They’ve been picking me up the last few games so being able to produce for them was really big,” Dayton said. “(Kierston Deal) is on the mound pitching a great game, so how do you not come up clutch for her?”

Dayton’s RBI double was her first hit of the series but not her last. With bases loaded and two outs in the fifth, Dayton lined a ball up the middle which was muffed by Texas’ center fielder Kayden Henry, allowing two runners to score and pushing the Sooners’ lead to 5-0.

Abby woke up on the clutch side of the bed today ❕5-0 Sooners! pic.twitter.com/W8NNM3CHtt
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) April 27, 2025
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Deal remained dialed in the circle, not allowing a single Texas hit through four more innings. The Longhorn’s offense couldn’t find an answer for Deal’s pitches, and when it did find contact, the Sooners’ defense moved quickly to make plays all over the diamond.

“Plays like that get you so fired up as a pitcher because all you want to do is just feed them ground balls, so they can make double plays,” Deal said. “You pitch so free knowing that you have a defense like that playing behind you.”

Redshirt freshman third baseman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas provided extra insurance in the sixth with a two-run home run, as Oklahoma took a 7-0 lead for its largest of the series.

Cap’n wants in 💣7-0 Sooners! pic.twitter.com/kZE78UqzZj
— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) April 27, 2025
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The Sooners looked to seal the deal in the top of the seventh as a strikeout and pop fly sat down the first two Longhorn batters. However, Texas’ Victoria Hunter responded with a single followed by a two-run homer, eliminating a possible shutout before a final-out pop fly to sophomore right fielder Kasidi Pickering capitalized a dominant 7-2 Oklahoma win.

“The Sooners are normally finding their best late in the season,” head coach Patty Gasso said after the game. “To be able to do what we’re doing against Texas is a big deal to us and taking us forward to the SEC.”

The outing was Deal’s second complete game of the season, finishing with three strikeouts, four hits and two runs. The defensive performance was the Sooners’ best in the last three games, and the offense finished strong, scoring runs in each of the last four innings.

Next, Oklahoma will look to hand Texas its first series sweep in SEC play in game three at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Love’s Field on ESPN2.

What channel is Oklahoma vs. Texas on today?

TV channel: ESPN2

Start time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Love’s Field

Notes: Oklahoma is coming off a 7-6 series-opening win over Texas.

Oklahoma softball schedule

Feb. 6: Oklahoma 7, Cal State Northridge 2

Feb. 6: Oklahoma 11, San Diego State 6 (9 inn.)

Feb. 7: Oklahoma 8, Cal Baptist 0 (5 inn.)

Feb. 7: Oklahoma 13, Cal State Fullerton 3

Feb. 8: Oklahoma 9, Loyola Marymount 0

Feb 9: Oklahoma 2, Long Beach State 0 (11 inn.)

Feb. 15: Oklahoma 8, Hofstra 0 (5 inn.)

Feb. 15: Oklahoma 9, Baylor 1 (5 inn.)

Feb. 16: Oklahoma 11, Hoftsra 3 (5 inn.)

Feb. 16: Oklahoma 8, Baylor 0 (5 inn.)

Feb. 22: Oklahoma 8, Tulsa 0 (5 inn.)

Feb. 23: Oklahoma 8, Wichita State 1

Feb. 24: Oklahoma 8, Bowling Green 5 (8 inn.)

Feb. 24: Oklahoma 9, Abilene Christian 1 (5 inn.)

Feb. 28: Oklahoma 9, Marshall 1 (5 inn.)

Feb. 28: Oklahoma 9, Kansas 1 (6 inn.)

March 1: Oklahoma 8, Kansas 0 (5 inn.)

March 1: Oklahoma 11, Marshall 0 (5 inn.)

March 2: Oklahoma 17, Kansas City 1 (5 inn.)

March 7: Oklahoma 10, South Carolina 9

March 9: Oklahoma 10, South Carolina 9

March 9: Oklahoma 2, South Carolina 1

March 12: Oklahoma 10, Tulsa 2 (6 inn.)

March 14: Oklahoma 7, Arkansas 0

March 15: Oklahoma 6, Arkansas 4

March 16: Oklahoma 10, Arkansas 7

March 19: Oklahoma 8, East Texas A&M 0 (5 inn.)

March 21: Oklahoma 8, Missouri 0

March 22: Oklahoma 1, Missouri 3

March 23: Oklahoma 5, Missouri 1

March 26: Oklahoma 19, Wichita State 16

March 28: Oklahoma 2, Tennessee 5 (8 inn.)

March 29: Oklahoma 4, Tennessee 1

March 30: Oklahoma 3, Tennessee 5

April 1: Oklahoma 13, UT Arlington 2 (5 inn.)

April 4: Oklahoma 12, St. Thomas 4 (5 inn.)

April 4: Oklahoma 6, UCF 0

April 9: Oklahoma 11, Oklahoma State 3 (5 inn.)

April 12: Oklahoma 5, Alabama 1

April 13: Oklahoma 1, Alabama 6

April 14: Oklahoma 1, Alabama 2

April 18: Oklahoma 4, Mississippi State 0

April 20: Oklahoma 6, Mississippi State 5

April 20: Oklahoma 9, Mississippi State 6

April 25: Oklahoma 7, Texas 6

April 26: vs. Texas at 6:30 p.m. (TV: ESPN2)

April 27: vs. Texas at 1 p.m. (TV: ESPN2)

May 1: at Florida at 5 p.m. (TV: SECN)

May 2: at Florida at 5 p.m. (TV: SECN)

May 3: at Florida at 2 p.m. (TV: ESPNU)

This story was edited by Josh McDaniel.

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Jahsiear Rogers ‘Knew It Was Time to Showcase’ His Talents In Spring Game

Published

11 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma’s Jahsiear Rogers ‘Knew It Was Time to Showcase’ His Talents In Spring Game

NORMAN — The Oklahoma Sooners liked their wide receiver room a year ago. They want 2026 to be even better.

Isaiah Sategna’s return helps that desire. Earning experienced pass catchers Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone via the transfer portal gives you added play makers. But after the Sooners Spring Game on Saturday, an unlikely hero emerged.

When Jahsiear Rogers flipped from Penn State to Oklahoma last December, he drew the usual excitement that comes with a new commitment. But few expected him to climb the depth chart this quickly, even with the injuries that hit Emmett Jones’ room.

Rogers did just that and more on Saturday. He led all pass catchers with five receptions for 70 yards in Oklahoma’s annual Red/White game.

“I knew it was time to showcase,” Rogers said after the game. “It was amazing to see the fans and get used to the OU way. I’m a playmaker. They really want to put the ball in playmakers hands. I pretty much knew I had to lead the white team.”

Rogers got the ball rolling early. On the second offensive play for the white team, backup quarterback Whitt Newbauer rolled to his right wide, then stopped and looked towards the middle of the field where he saw Rogers running open. Newbauer connected with Rogers for a 39-yard gain.

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With Rogers on the white team, he is running against (most of) Oklahoma’s starting defense. As fate would have it, on that 39-yard reception, Rogers beat his favorite teammate to compete against — Reggie Powers.

“He is just a leader, good guy,” Rogers said of Powers. “Me and him go after it every day in practice. Reggie is strong. When I come at him, I have to really come at him.”

Rogers’ big play over Powers was the second-longest catch of the spring game — Sategna’s 50-yard reception that appeared to be a touchdown before coaches pulled it back to set up a red-zone rep. The other four catches weren’t flashy, but they were important in their own way, and Rogers looked like he belonged on the field.

“I love it. As long as I can get the ball, I can be me. I love it,” Rogers said. “When I am on the field, I am ready to go. I am ready to be a playmaker.”

The season is still months away, and Rogers hasn’t earned a spot high on the depth chart yet. A strong spring and an encouraging Red/White Game can only lead to early playing time if he carries that momentum into summer and fall camp.

More experienced players will return from injury and receivers who’ve been in the program for a few years will have an extra leg-up.

But Rogers is taking everything in stride and leaving no stone unturned in his development.

“Just learning from the older guys,” Rogers said. “Manny Choice, Isaiah Sategna, Trell Harris, Mackenzie Alleyne. Really all of them. We lean on each other, learn from each other. That is kind of how our room is.”

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma knocks off Missouri in series opener

Published

23 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma knocks off Missouri in series opener

The Oklahoma baseball team is back in the mix and trending upward.

After a rough few weeks in Southeastern Conference play, the 14th-ranked Sooners have won three of their last four games to get to .500 at just beyond the halfway point of the league slate. Friday’s 9-6 win over Missouri allowed Oklahoma to move to 8-8, tied with three other teams for eighth in the standings.

Friday’s win wasn’t truly that close, even. OU took a 9-3 lead into the ninth before Mizzou made it somewhat interesting with three runs in the frame. Two of them came with two outs, though, and Mason Bixby induced a groundout with the bases empty to hold on.

The large edge came via a home run-happy night. The Sooners popped four over the wall at Kimrey Family Stadium, including three in a four-run seventh inning that gave OU a four-run lead.

Jason Walk, who hit one of the four homers, had the best day at the plate. He went 2 for 5 with the shot, three RBIs and a run. Camden Johnson, who also homered, went 2 for 3 with a walk, a double and two runs, and Dasan Harris went 2 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs, and three runs. Trey Gambill hit the Sooners’ other jack.

Oklahoma jumped out to a four-run lead in the second behind four hits and a walk. Missouri helped the Sooners out with an error that resulted in a bases-loaded situation and three unearned runs registered to Tigers starter Josh McDevitt.

The runs were more than enough for Oklahoma’s LJ Mercurius, who pitched six strong innings, giving up three runs on six hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.

Game 2 in the series is set for 4 p.m. Saturday and the finale will be played Sunday at 2 p.m., weather permitting.

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Oklahoma

The man behind Route 66’s Totem Pole Park: The history of a 90-foot Oklahoma landmark

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

Press Room

The man behind Route 66’s Totem Pole Park: The history of a 90-foot Oklahoma landmark

Just miles off Route 66 in Rogers County stands one of Oklahoma’s most unusual roadside attractions: a 90-foot concrete totem pole built largely by one man over more than a decade.

Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park is home to what is widely described as the world’s largest concrete totem pole, created by Oklahoma folk artist Nathan Edward Galloway during his retirement years.

The park sits near Chelsea and continues to draw visitors traveling Oklahoma’s stretch of Route 66.

A project decades in the making

An early photograph shows the towering concrete totem pole at Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park near Chelsea, Oklahoma, shortly after its completion in the late 1940s.

Credit: Rogers County Historical Society

According to the National Park Service, Nathan Edward Galloway was born in 1880 in Springfield, Missouri. He later worked as a manual arts teacher at Sand Springs Home before retiring in 1937 to property near present-day Chelsea in Rogers County.

After retiring, Galloway began building what would become Totem Pole Park. Using concrete, steel rebar, wood, and red sandstone, he created a series of colorful, highly decorated totems and structures across the property.

Atlas Obscura reports that Galloway began construction in 1938 with the goal of building durable totem poles from sturdy materials, and he surrounded his land with tapered concrete monuments and decorative features.

Between 1937 and 1948, Galloway constructed the park’s centerpiece: a 90-foot-tall totem pole carved with bas-relief designs. Travel Oklahoma describes it as a Route 66 icon and a state landmark.

Eleven years and 90 feet of concrete

The detailed bas-relief designs include birds and Native American-inspired figures that circle the structure from base to peak.

The main totem took roughly 11 years to complete, according to Atlas Obscura. The structure is made of red sandstone framed with steel and wood, then covered with a thick concrete exterior.

The tower features more than 200 carved images, including representations of birds and Native American figures facing the four cardinal directions. Near the top are four nine-foot figures representing different tribes.

Galloway’s version differs from traditional totem poles of the Pacific Northwest, which are generally carved from red cedar.

The structure rises from the back of a large, three-dimensional turtle. The turtle base was carved from a broad sandstone outcrop on the site and painted in bright colors.

The totem is hollow and rises about nine stories, with the ground level measuring about nine feet in diameter. Inside, plastered walls feature painted murals of mountain-and-lake scenes and bird totems, along with Native American shields and arrow points. At the top, the cone is open to the sky.

Picnic tables supported by small concrete totems, a totem barbecue fireplace, and gate structures designed to resemble fish fill the park grounds.

The Fiddle House

Beyond the towering pole, Galloway’s artistic interests extended into music and woodworking.

An 11-sided structure known as the “Fiddle House” sits on the property and resembles a Navajo hogan, according to the National Park Service. The building houses many of Galloway’s hand-carved fiddles and other creations.

The Rogers County Historical Society says the Fiddle House Museum retains many of Galloway’s handcrafted violins and artifacts.

From neglect to restoration

The 90-foot concrete totem at Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park stands restored and repainted, following decades of preservation work. — The 90-foot concrete totem at Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park stands restored and repainted, following decades of preservation work.

Galloway continued working on the park until his death in 1961. After he died, the site gradually fell into disrepair.

In 1989, the Rogers County Historical Society acquired the property. A major restoration effort took place from 1988 to 1998, with art conservators and engineers studying the structures and repairing damaged materials.

Additional repainting and preservation projects began in 2015.

Today, Totem Pole Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It remains open year-round with free admission and is managed by the Rogers County Historical Society.

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