The last time that No. 3 Texas softball met No. 4 Oklahoma, the archrivals were dueling for the Women’s College World Series Championship. The Sooners took the crown in the second game of the series in dominant fashion, clutching their fourth national championship in a row.
Ten months later, on the horizon of the series between the two in Norman, Oklahoma, a lot has changed.
Both Oklahoma and Texas were used to dominating in the Big 12, but the level of talent in the Southeastern Conference has proved superior. Newbies to the conference, both had to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. However, both teams are holding their own and meeting expectations, with the Sooners having surpassed expectations with an almost completely different roster from last year.
The stakes of this weekend’s series are more than bragging rights in a rivalry. Currently tied at second in the SEC standings, both boast a conference record of 13-5. The series winner could be awarded the No.1 seed at the SEC tournament early next month.
“Power – they’ve got power,” Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso said of Texas. “Big hitters, they’ve got speed, very well balanced, very athletic, good arms in the outfield. Great catcher, one of the best. They’ve got it all, so this is a huge challenge for us. We’ve got to have some success off their pitching staff, have a good game plan and stick to it.”
Texas is 3–3 across its last two series. In almost every game, the team’s batting was sluggish and couldn’t fight until the late innings. If the Longhorns let the Sooners take an early and drastic lead, it will be incredibly difficult for them to come back in a sure-to-be hostile environment at Love’s Field. The batting approach, especially in being patient and making opposing pitchers work, needs to improve before the team takes the diamond this weekend.
One of Oklahoma’s biggest weaknesses lies within its pitching depth. The Sooners have a solid leader in senior Sam Landry. She has an earned-run-average of 1.89, has struck out 126 batters and has pitched 118.2 innings thus far. Freshman pitcher Audrey Lowry came in expected to be the No. 2, but a muscle injury heavily limited her this season. Lowry returned to conference play last week after her injury in early March, but was pulled during the first inning after allowing five hits and four runs. There are no signs that she is fully healthy or will be back in the circle consistently.
There is a significant drop in consistency and experience outside of Landry and Lowry, and OU runs the risk of overusing Landry before the championship season.
OU’s bats were quiet over the mid-season stretch, losing back-to-back series against No. 1 Tennessee and No. 14 Alabama. However, the Sooners’ lineup looked more comfortable in their sweep against Mississippi State.
“With their good pitching and our hitting (we’ll see where we’re at,” Oklahoma softball senior infielder Cydney Sanders said. “It’s going to be a test of what we learned from previous games, it’s going to be a cool sight to see.”
Even though stats can tell fans a lot about how the series could turn out, this kind of rivalry trumps any number, the all-time record or history — anything could happen.
