Week 11 Sooner Softball Report: Sooners right the ship, take aim at Texas
The Skinny
Oklahoma did itself many favors last weekend.
Most directly, the Sooners pulled themselves out of an offensive slump that had seen them score three or fewer runs five times over the span of eight conference games, losing all five of them.
Their sweep of Mississippi State didn’t come with an offensive onslaught. OU won no games by run-rule and did not amass double-digit runs in any of the contests.
Still, 19 runs over three victories over a ranked team, accounting for their first conference sweep since taking three games from Arkansas more than a month ago, had to feel good, particularly with Red River rival Texas on the way to Love’s Field.
In the latest coaches’ poll, Texas is ranked No. 2 and OU No. 3.
Texas A&M is ranked No. 1.
Also, should the Texas series not go well, having taken three games from a quality opponent like the Bulldogs ought to keep OU looking at a top-eight national seed, the requirement to host a super regional, as it prepares for its final conference series at Florida.
OU and Texas share identical records (13-5) against SEC foes and appear evenly matched, too. Though Texas is hitting .301 against conference foes and OU just .258, the Sooners are outslugging the Longhorns .515 to .503 and getting on base at about the same clip: Texas .373, OU .369
Texas has been better in the circle, but not by a wide margin.
Against SEC opponents, the Longhorns carry an earned run average of 2.63 to the Sooners 3.30, and their No. 1 pitcher, Teagan Kavan, who may well tangle with Sam Landry twice this weekend, carries a 1.56 in-conference ERA to Landry’s 2.06.
The Sooners, of course, have home field and history on their side.
Ought to be fun.
The Schedule
Last week
— def. Mississippi State 4-0
— def. Mississippi State 6-5
— def. Mississippi State 9-6
This week
— vs. Texas, 5 p.m. Friday
— vs. Texas, 11 a.m. Saturday
— vs. Texas, 1 p.m. Sunday
Record: 39-5 (13-5 SEC)
Streak: Won 3
Team numbers
Entering last week
Games: 41
Batting avg: .333
On-base pct: .455
Slugging pct: .630
Home runs: 77
Triples: 7
Doubles: 66
Stolen bases: 51
Caught stealing: 10
ERA: 2.43
SO/IP: 247/259
Fielding pct: .979
Errors: 23
Unearned runs allowed: 16
Entering this week
Games: 44
Batting avg: .330
On-base pct: .451
Slugging pct: .632
Home runs: 84
Triples: 7
Doubles: 72
Stolen bases: 53
Caught stealing: 12
ERA: 2.53
SO/IP: 260/280
Fielding pct: .979
Errors: 25
Unearned runs allowed: 16
Individual leaders
Batting average: Kasidi Pickering .431, Ella Parker .386
On-base pct: Kasidi Pickering .579, Ella Parker 523
Slugging pct: Kasidi Pickering .879, Gabbie Garcia .762
RBIs: Kasidi Pickering 43, Nelly McErnoe-Marinas 43
Home runs: Kasidi Pickering 13, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 13
Triples: Sydney Barker 2, Kasidi Pickering 1, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 1, Gabbie Garcia 1, Dayton Abigale 1, Ailana Agbayani 1
Doubles: Ella Parker 14, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 12
Hits: Kasidi Pickering 50, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 49
Runs: Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 49, Kasidi Pickering 43
Stolen bases: Abigale Dayton 12, Ailana Agbayani 10
ERA: Sam Landry 1.89, Isabella Smith 2.59
Wins: Sam Landry 15-3, Isabella Smith 9-1
Innings pitched: Sam Landry 118 2/3, Kierston Deal 58 2/3
Strikeouts: Sam Landry 126, Isabella Smith 43
Inside the numbers
• Art of the steal: Momentarily, Abigale Dayton leads the Sooners in stolen bases with 12 and Alexa Agbayani is next with 10. However, Dayton (5) and Agbayani (4) are also responsible for nine of OU’s caught stealings. Collectively, they’re getting the bag just 70.1 percent of the time, while the rest of the Sooners have been successful 91.2 percent (31 of 34) of the time. Perhaps Ella Parker (8 of 8) and Tia Milloy (6 of 6) should get more green lights.
• Lowry in reverse: A question since conference play began has been who’s OU’s No. 2 pitcher behind Sam Landry. Audrey Lowry finally received a start after being so effective in spot duty, but it did not work out. In the middle game of the Mississippi State series, Lowry lasted just a third of an inning while getting stuck with five hits and four runs, sending her earned run average from 1.98 to 2.75.
• Bats can still get louder: The Sooners needed to score some runs and they finally did against the Bulldogs, posting 22 hits and 19 runs over the three-game series. Still, as a team, they’re only slashing .258/.369/.515 in conference play, boasting just two .300 hitters: Kasidi Pickering at .423 and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas at .317.
Notes of note
The arc of Ella
What a ride it has been for Ella Parker, who may be headed back to a .400 batting average after finally emerging from a slump that at one point had her 6 of 49 (.122) over a 19-game stretch.
Now, she may finally be out of it.
Over her last four games, one against Alabama and three against Mississippi State, Parker’s gone 5 of 10 with a pair of RBIs and six runs scored, pushing her season batting average back to .386. Parker also drew five walks for a .667 on-base percentage over the same four-game span.
Continuing that kind of production against Texas would be another huge step forward.
Smith back in the mix
As mentioned above, Audrey Lowry’s short stint as a starting pitcher proved unsuccessful. Still, her failure turned into Isabella Smith’s opportunity and the Campbell transfer made the most of it.
Smith, who once upon a time carried a 0.38 earned run average eight appearances into her Sooner career, had been out of favor since allowing six hits and two runs over a two-inning spot against Missouri on March 22. In a span of 14 games afterward, she notched only three appearances.
Nonetheless, she was handed the ball with one out in the first inning against Mississippi State and promptly settled down the game, giving her team a chance to get back into it. Smith pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowed three hits and a single run, striking out one and walking three, getting credit for the win to move her record to 9-1.
She gutted it out.
Sooners headed where?
At least two outlets had released new bracketology reports as of late Monday night.
One of them, collegesportsmadness.com, has the Sooners receiving the No. 3 overall seed, hosting a four-team Norman Regional that would also include Oklahoma State, Omaha and Long Island.
The other, which might be more reputable, coming from Softball America, part of the On3 Network — which also includes SoonerScoop.com — has OU with the No. 6 national seed, hosting a Norman Regional that also includes Stanford, Omaha and Eastern Illinois.
Until next time …
Thanks, well said, on the mark.