No. 3 OU (52-9) decimated No. 20 Mississippi State (42-19) 7-1 in game two of the Norman Super Regional on Saturday to even the series and keep its national championship hopes alive.
Just 24 hours after the Sooners took their first blemish on their previously perfect postseason record at Love’s Field, OU took head coach Patty Gasso’s game one postgame comments to heart and shut down any thoughts of a series sweep.
“We’re ready to show who we are,” Gasso said on Friday. “We're going to be ready to make this right tomorrow.”
OU wasted no time getting back to its postseason norm of pouring on runs early; it erupted for seven runs in the third inning, headlined by a three-run shot by freshman designated hitter Lexi McDaniel that capped off a four-run two-out rally.
“Lexi is big in big moments, she doesn't shy away from that,” Gasso said postgame. “We had a couple of runners on, which was important to get her that opportunity to do what she does, and that changed the game dramatically.”
So far this offseason, OU has outscored opponents 44-13, giving opponents little to no chance to stay in games with the outlier being game one on Friday.
Along with their postseason scoring dominance, OU has been an unstoppable force across the entire season in series play as the Sooners are 2-0 in series in which they lost the first game and 5-0 in series in which they lost a game at any point. OU is also seeking its ninth series win against Southeastern Conference opponents after going 8-0 in series in conference play, and its 10th consecutive Women’s College World Series appearance, the longest active streak in the nation.
OU’s offensive onslaught was only half of the story during Saturday’s contest. Sophomore left-handed pitcher Audrey Lowry handled business in the circle throwing 59 strikes on 87 pitches including two strikeouts, and allowed just five hits and one run across all seven innings. Lowry’s performance was a stark difference from her game one performance in which she pitched just over an inning but allowed five runs on six hits to close out the loss.
“I forgot about yesterday, and I'm just working for today,” Lowry said. “Being present is really important, and Coach Rocha, she just said ‘be a boss.’ Just go out there and go for it, and be present every pitch, and just do your thing.”
Lowry was backed up by an airtight Sooners’ defense that also flipped the script on its game one performance in which they had four errors that cost them four runs. This time around, OU had a perfect 1.0 fielding percentage with no errors, establishing a true no fly zone in the outfield.
“Yesterday … we would all say one of our worst performances, and the rebound has been amazing, and that's what this team can do,” Gasso said. “They can turn it on in a second. They didn't like what happened yesterday in any phase of the game. … There was a commitment last night that said we're going to sleep well, and we're going to get this done, and that is Sooner softball.”
With the series tied up at a game apiece and the season on the line, OU will take on Mississippi State in game three of the Norman Super Regional at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday at Love’s Field.
This story was edited by Audrey McClour.
