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No. 4 Oklahoma completed a three-game sweep of No. 3 Texas on Sunday, securing a hard-fought 9-8 victory in the series finale at Love’s Field. With the win, the Sooners (42-5, 16-5 SEC) moved into first place in the Southeastern Conference, a position they’ll look to build on as the regular season nears its end. Texas (42-9, 13-8 SEC) mounted a late rally, but Oklahoma’s offense and pitching staff held firm to secure the sweep.

The Sooners wasted little time setting the tone. By the third inning, they had built an 8-0 lead, thanks to an explosive offensive performance. In the first inning, sophomore utility Ella Parker put Oklahoma on the board early with a two-run home run to right field. In the second inning, freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia extended the lead with a three-run home run on the 12th pitch of her at-bat.

“Our lineup is connecting now,” head coach Patty Gasso said postgame. "Top to bottom, it is becoming very lethal. We saw that this weekend.”

The Sooners’ offense continued to capitalize on Texas mistakes in the third, when senior first baseman Cydney Sanders stole home following a failed pick-off attempt by the Longhorns’ catcher. Junior outfielder Abby Dayton laid down a perfect bunt to score junior infielder Ailana Agbayani, and Garcia added a single to left field, bringing junior catcher Isabela Emerling home to make it 8-0.

Starting pitcher Isabella Smith was dominant through the first three innings, allowing just one hit while striking out one and walking none. The senior right-handed pitcher had kept Texas’s offense in check, facing the minimum number of batters while blanking the Longhorns.

Smith was taken out of the game to an ovation, having kept Texas at bay for the first three innings, but the mood at Love’s Field quickly turned more anxious.

With a comfortable 8-0 lead, Gasso decided to make a pitching change to preserve her ace for the postseason and bring in freshman pitcher Audrey Lowry to start the fourth inning.

“You may be wondering, but we really have to give our pitchers opportunities, and that’s what we did,” Gasso said after the win. “I loved what Bella did. We wanted to give her one time through the lineup. We knew what we wanted to do so that you bite off a piece but not fill you up too much.”

With the freshman now on the mound, Texas wasted no time taking advantage of the change. After Lowry allowed a quick single to lead off the inning, the Longhorns loaded the bases, capitalizing on the altered pitching dynamic.

The Longhorns quickly pressured Lowry, scoring their first run on a single by Reese Atwood. Then, Longhorn first baseman Joley Mitchell followed with a two-run double off the wall, narrowing the gap to 8-4. With Lowry struggling to find her rhythm, Gasso turned to junior right-handed pitcher Paytn Monticelli to take the circle.

Monticelli inherited a challenging situation and struggled to escape the inning as Texas added two more runs on back-to-back singles. The score was now 8-6, and the Sooners' once-comfortable lead was suddenly in jeopardy.

Despite the rough inning, Monticelli managed to end the fourth without further damage, but the game’s momentum had shifted dramatically.

“We do not regret bringing in these pitchers because they need this work,” Gasso said.

That’s when senior right-handed pitcher Sam Landry entered the game. Coming into a high-leverage situation, Landry quickly retired two batters, ending the inning and preventing further damage.

Landry worked a quick two outs to get the Sooners out of the fourth inning. The game was still hanging in the balance, but Landry had at least stopped the bleeding.

The Longhorns didn’t let up, tying the game at 8-8 in the fifth inning with a two-run home run from Longhorn shortstop Katie Stewart. But Landry once again settled in, working around a walk to retire the next two batters and give the Sooners' offense a chance to regain the lead.

“I love having the ball in my hand,” Landry said. “If something goes wrong, throw me in. I want the ball. I’m always ready.”

Oklahoma responded in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Emerling drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to center field, making it 9-8. With a one-run lead heading into the seventh, Landry re-entered the game to close it out. She retired the side without allowing a baserunner, sealing the 9-8 victory and earning her the win, improving to 16-3 on the season.

Smith’s solid three innings set the tone early, then Lowry and Monticelli faced adversity but kept the team in the game. However, Landry’s calm and experienced presence on the mound in a critical moment was instrumental in the victory.

“(The pitching) didn’t go exactly the way we wanted it to, but we knew how far we would go,” Gasso said. “ I wanted to see Paytn and Audrey – that's something Coach Rocha really wanted to see, that our pitchers get an opportunity.

"We need a staff going forward. It was a tough trial on them in a big atmosphere, but they had to feel that, and how to do that without nerves being in the way."

The game also set a new single-game attendance record at Love’s Field, with 4,609 fans filling the stands. The weekend series drew a total of 13,734 fans, another record for the program.

Next, the Sooners travel to Gainesville to finish their regular season with a series against Florida. The first game will be at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 1st.

This story was edited by Hannah Bryant.

OU softball 2025 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: Oklahoma 7, Texas 2

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)

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