No. 3 Oklahoma run-ruled No. 18 Arizona 21-3 in front of a sold-out crowd at Hillenbrand Stadium Saturday night, evening the series at one a piece heading into Sunday’s rubber match.
First pitch between Oklahoma (2-1) and Arizona (3-1) is at 11 a.m. on ESPN+. The Wildcats won the series opener 11-6 on Friday.
“Nobody likes losing,” Regan Shockey said, reflecting on the loss. “Right now it’s a 1-1 series, it’s just one loss. Whatever the score may be it’s a loss and that’s that.”
Oklahoma opened the game hot, jumping out to a 5-0 lead after the first inning. All nine of its hitters made plate appearances, with two run home runs coming from Ella Parker and Gabbie Garcia. The other run came from a single by Ailana Agbayani.
The five runs given up by starting pitcher Sarah Wright forced a pitching change, bringing in Friday night’s starter, Jenae Berry.
“We got behind in counts. We knew we were going to have to get ahead and be able to chase them out of the zone,” Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said about the outing of her pitching staff. “I think we got way too behind and then had to throw some stuff they were looking for.”
Oklahoma tacked on another run in the second with a two-out single by Nelly McEnroe–Marinas, bringing in Parker (who stealed second base earlier in the count).
The first two hitters for Arizona reached base with a single from Grace Jenkins and a beautifully laid bunt by Tayler Biehl, the hero from Friday night’s game with a grand slam. Both were left stranded with Arizona’s next three batters fouling out, lining out, and grounding out on a fielder’s choice.
Both Shockey and Serenti Trice reached base on singles with one out in the bottom of the third. The next two batters flied out, one to left field, the other to right field, leaving two more base runners for Arizona stranded.
Oklahoma’s offense exploded for 10 runs in the fourth inning
Their first three batters loaded the bases on a bunt by Kasidi Pickering, a single by Kendall Wells richocheting off the glove of Biehl, and McEnroe-Marinas being walked.
Pickering reached home on a groundout by Garcia.
Allyssa Parker had a three-run shot to left field, putting Arizona in a double-digit deficit.
Two batters later, Lexi McDaniel hit a two-run homer, increasing Oklahoma’s lead to 12.
Arizona brought Wright back into the game.
Isabella Emering singled to center field, bringing in Pickering.
Ella Parker hit another home run for Oklahoma, this time a three-run shot to deep center.
The Sooners’ offense kept hammering the Wildcats pitchers in the fifth. Kai Minor and Pickering took them deep, making it seven home runs by six different hitters.
Allyssa Parker brought in another run for the Sooners, making the score 20-0, forcing the Wildcats to bring in Jalen Adams to get the final out.
Before securing the final out, Oklahoma added another run with a single from Minor to bring in Sydney Barker.
In the fifth inning, Arizona’s first five batters reached base. Addison Duke scored on a single down the left field line by Sydney Stewart, and Jenkins was walked, bringing in Shockey.
Biehl looked like she hit another grand slam, only for it to fall short of center. Kez Lucas scored on the sacrifice fly, making the final score 21-3.
“We grow through these moments, not the 11-6 win; those are awesome, but at the same time, this is going to build us into a better team if we approach it correctly,” Lowe said about what a loss like this means early on in the season. “I think it’s gut-check time and it’s time to figure out how we’re gonna respond.”
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