Week 9 OU Softball Report: Bedlam up next, 'Bama awaits
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The Skinny
The Sooners played three games last week, won two of them by run-rule and tossed a combined shutout in the other, and still where they stand nine weeks into their season is all about what’s in front of them rather than what’s behind.
Take your pick on who the most important of Oklahoma’s opponents are this week. On Wednesday, the Sooners resume the Bedlam rivalry for a single game in Oklahoma City, inside what everybody still calls Hall of Fame Stadium — Devon Park? Never heard of it — before heading out for a three-game series at Alabama with a certain scheduling twist.
Rather than playing a traditional series that begins on Friday and ends on Sunday, or the less traditional set that begins on Thursday and concludes on Saturday, the Sooners won’t play their first game against the Crimson Tide until Saturday before finishing up on Monday.
Non-traveling Sooner fans are likely cool with it, the first of the three being broadcast on ESPN2 and the next two on SEC Network rather than SEC Network+, which can be a very hard place to find the games you wish to watch.
Prior to a new set of polls coming out on Tuesday, the Cowgirls (23-11, 5-5 Big 12) were ranked 18th, yet bound to drop after losing two of three at Arizona, one by run-rule and one by shutout. Meanwhile, the Tide may hold serve at No. 24 after dropping two of three at No. 5 LSU, nabbing an 8-5 victory on getaway Sunday.
To be sure, the Alabama series is more important going forward, but Bedlam is still Bedlam, so take your pick.
Given the availability of both Sam Landry and Audrey Lowry — more on them below — OU appears to be in a better place in the pitching circle. And, at the plate, though Ella Parker continues to struggle, Kasidi Pickering and others are still swinging hot bats.
More on that below, too.
The Bedlam games is on ESPN2 as well.
Get ready.
It ought to be fun.
The Schedule
Last week
— def. Texas-Arlington 13-2 (5 innings)
— def. St. Thomas 12-4 (5 innings)
— def. Central Florida 6-0
This week
— vs. Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City
— at Alabama, 3 p.m. Saturday
— at Alabama, 5 p.m. Sunday
— at Alabama, 6 p.m. Monday
Record: 34-3 (9-3 SEC)
Streak: Won 3
Team numbers
Entering last week
Games: 34
Batting avg: .328
On-base pct: .461
Slugging pct: .632
Home runs: 65
Triples: 7
Doubles: 53
Stolen bases: 48
Caught stealing: 7
ERA: 2.45
SO/IP: 214/217
Fielding pct: .971
Errors: 19
Unearned runs allowed: 12
Entering this week
Games: 37
Batting avg: .343
On-base pct: .469
Slugging pct: .651
Home runs: 72
Triples: 7
Doubles: 60
Stolen bases: 49
Caught stealing: 9
ERA: 2.42
SO/IP: 228/234
Fielding pct: .979
Errors: 20
Unearned runs allowed: 13
Individual leaders
Batting average: Kasidi Pickering .446, Gabbie Garcia .420
On-base pct: Kasidi Pickering .609, Cydney Sanders .518
Slugging pct: Kasidi Pickering .902, Gabbie Garcia .850
RBIs: Kasidi Pickering 38, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 38
Home runs: Kasidi Pickering 11, Gabbie Garcia 11
Triples: Sydney Barker 2, Kasidi Pickering 1, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 1, Gabbie Garcia 1, Dayton Abigale 1, Ailana Agbayani 1
Doubles: Ella Parker 12, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 12
Hits: Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 46, Gabbie Garcia 42
Runs: Nelly McEnroe-Marinas 43, Kasidi Pickering 38, Abigale Dayton 38
Stolen bases: Abigale Dayton 12, Ailana Agbayani 8
ERA: Sam Landry 1.83, Audrey Lowry 1.95
Wins: Sam Landry 11, Isabella Smith 8, Kierston Deal 8
Innings pitched: Sam Landry 84, Kierston Deal 56
Strikeouts: Sam Landry 99, Isabella Smith 41
Inside the numbers
• Big hit, slump continues: Ella Parker crushed what had to be a very cathartic grand slam in the third inning of OU’s 6-0 victory over Central Florida. Still, after getting a day off against Texas-Arlington, it was Parker’s only hit of the week in six at bats. Beginning with the South Carolina series, she’s gone 5 for 41 over her last 16 games
• Pickering still killing it: Remember the absolute tear Kasidi Pickering was on? It continued this past week with three more two-hit games, including a home run against Texas-Arlington. After being retired only once the previous week, she went 6 for 8 at the plate with two walks. That is, over the Sooners’ last seven games, she reached base in 22 of 25 plate appearances.
• She did it: Little used Corri Hicks, a freshman, got a rare start against Texas-Arlington and received one at bat, pinch-hitting, against St. Thomas. She hit home runs in both games, the first two home runs of her collegiate career.
Notes of note
Landry sharp, Lowry back
Sam Landry made the most of her time in the circle last week, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings at the best team the Sooners faced, Central Florida. In those frames, she allowed three hits, struck out four and walked nobody.
The bigger news, though, was the return of Audrey Lowry to the circle, who had not pitched since March 12 at Tulsa. It was Lowry who relieved Landry against UCF on Friday, throwing 2 1/3 perfect innings, striking out three batters, lowering her earned run average to 1.95.
Sooner pitching has not been sharp of late, making it a fairly big deal if OU can count on both Landry and Lowry at full strength, each coming off a strong outing, with Bedlam and a trip to Tuscaloosa coming up.
Appreciating Abigale
Kind of quietly, Abigale Dayton, the junior transfer from Utah, originally from Riverside, California, is putting together a huge Sooner season. She doesn’t carry the pop of a few others, but she’s hitting .330, has started every game, has scored as many runs as Kasidi Pickering (38), leads the team in stolen bases (12), has yet to commit an error in the outfield and, by getting hit by nine pitches and drawing 22 walks, carries an on-base percentage (.492) a healthy 162 points higher than her batting average.
Good show.
Until next time …