No. 2 Sooners clipped by No. 6 Texas, 4-2, in WCWS winners bracket
OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 2 Oklahoma (51-8) responded with two runs in the second inning to erase an early deficit, but No. 6 Texas (53-11) scored one in the fifth and another in the sixth as the Sooners came up short, 4-2, in a winners bracket meeting Saturday, May 31.
The Sooners now face No. 16 Oregon (54-9) in an elimination game Sunday, June 1 at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. The winner of that game will face Saturday night’s UCLA-Texas Tech winner at 6 p.m. Monday, June 2.
Sooners senior righthander Sam Landry (24-5) went the distance against Texas, allowing eight hits and three earned runs with two walks and two strikeouts. Solo home runs from the Longhorns in the fifth and sixth innings were the decisive plays.
“I thought defensively the team looked very good,” Landry said of her teammates. “We were just trying to keep the ball in the park, and it doesn’t always go that way … I mean, they got a good hit on it. We’re ready to bounce back tomorrow.”
Right-handed pitcher Teagan Kavan (26-5) threw a complete game for Texas, scattering seven hits while collecting eight strikeouts and walking two.
“She was kind of moving the ball up early, and then she started really hammering the zone down and mixing in those change-ups,” Gasso said. “She was really tough today. I give her 100-percent credit. She was really, really good. And our timing was off, and our plans were a little bit uncertain.”
Sophomore designated player Ella Parker and Gabbie Garcia both tallied two hit days, while Abigale Dayton singled in one. Kasidi Pickering added OU’s other RBI .
The Longhorns took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a double-steal with a late throw to home, plus a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Sooners got even in the second as Cydney Sanders walked, Ailana Agbayani reached on an error and Dayton flared an RBI single to center. Pickering tied the score by beating out the throw on a double play attempt, bringing in another.
After both sides spun zeros over the next six half innings, Texas’ Kayden Henry gave the Longhorns a 3-2 lead with a solo shot to right in the bottom of the fifth. First baseman Joley Mitchell closed out the scoring with a solo home run in the sixth.
Oklahoma made a push in the seventh inning. Parker reached on a hit by pitch and moved to second when Nelly McEnroe-Marinas singled to right. Kavan escaped by retiring the next two batters.
Notes
- Landry is 6-1 in postseason games this season
- OU has only scored two or less seven times this season
- OU is 6-1 against Texas in the Women’s College World Series
- It was just the fifth time OU didn’t have a home run in a game this year
- Oklahoma turned two double plays, giving the Sooners five for the Women’s College World Series and 28 on the season
- Landry worked her 18th complete game of the season
- The Sooners were on a five-game winning streak against ranked SEC teams heading into the game with Texas
- OU is now 22-1 in its last 23 games against Texas in the state of Oklahoma
- OU is 3-1 against Texas this season and 23-7 against ranked teams on the year
- Oklahoma left nine runners on base, tied for the fourth most it had in a game this season
- It was OU’s first loss since May 3
