It was too little, too late for the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in the series against No. 4 Oklahoma, as the Longhorns were swept in a series for the first time since 2023.
In the opening and closing games of the series, Texas managed to get within range of a comeback win but was closed out. And in game two, Texas could not manage anything offensively after going down early. In all three games, the Longhorns allowed the Sooners to get the early lead and, despite their best efforts, could not rally in the later innings.
Trailing in game one 7–5 and heading into the top of the seventh inning, the Longhorns had all the talent and momentum to take the lead, but it was not enough. With second and third base occupied, junior catcher Reese Atwood was intentionally walked. In the subsequent play, redshirt junior outfielder Ashton Maloney scored to cut the deficit by one. Still, with two outs and two runners left on base, graduate infielder Joley Mitchell hit a pop fly to end the game, as Texas fell to the Sooners 7–6.
Oklahoma took a 6–0 lead by the end of the third inning, a feat highlighted by a grand slam hit by junior infielder and pitcher Ailana Agbayani. Texas’ senior pitcher Mac Morgan was sent in the circle in place of sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan. The ace allowed seven hits and six runs, throwing just two strikeouts.
Senior utility Mia Scott finally put the Longhorns on the board after blasting a solo homer. Mitchell sent a single up the middle to score Atwood, cutting the deficit to four runs.
The Longhorns gave the fans who drove up from Austin some hope of yet another comeback in the top of the fifth, as they continued to chip away at the Sooners’ lead, scoring three runs off a single by Scott and Atwood.
“We got behind there early, and congratulations to Oklahoma — they played well,” head coach Mike White said. “They hit the ball extremely well off Teagan Kavan, and that forced us to make a change, but we were able to slow them down a little bit. We did fight back and make a game of it, and it was really interesting at the end, but, unfortunately, we lost out on this one.”
Despite showing a good fight and offensive efficiency on Friday, Saturday’s battle was much more lopsided, as Texas was dominated by Oklahoma, falling in game two 7–2 and losing the series.
The Sooners scored in four consecutive innings to take a 7–0 lead by the end of the sixth inning, triggered by a solo homer by sophomore utility Ella Parker. Texas pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez started in the circle after having a solid day on Friday, but she allowed seven hits and five runs.
Meanwhile, the Longhorn batters could not put anything together and were limited to just four hits by OU’s pitcher, junior Kierston Deal, who retired eight straight Texas batters through the top of the fourth inning.
Texas avoided its first shutout of the year after putting together three straight hits in the top of the seventh, marked by a two-run homer by sophomore infielder Victoria Hunter to make it a final score of 7–2.
“We were beaten pretty soundly tonight by a good team that fed on themselves and did a good job,” White said. “They had good pitching, good defense, and overall out-hit us throughout the game. I’m just disappointed we weren’t able to carry over from last night into this game, but also that had to do with Deal and the way she was able to mix her pitches around with different locations and did a good job with her off-speed.”
As they have done all weekend, the Sooners came out hot once more in the closing game of the series on Sunday. Putting together nine runs in the first three innings of the game, home runs in innings one and two and a combination of base hits put the Longhorns in jeopardy of losing via the run-rule if they could not answer back within the next two innings.
With their backs against the wall, Texas was able to respond, scoring eight unanswered runs through two innings. A massive rally of base hits conjured up the six-run rally to get the Longhorns within striking distance. And in the next inning, a two-run home run courtesy of sophomore infielder Katie Stewart brought Texas storming back to tie the ball game.
However, the run was not enough for the Longhorns to avoid the sweep. In the bottom of the sixth, the Sooners managed a sacrifice fly that brought home their ninth run, putting the hopes of a successful comeback to rest. With its last opportunity to bat, Texas grounded out twice and was struck out once to get the doors closed on the comeback.
