OU Softball: Oklahoma Stunned by Former Sooner Sophia Nugent, Tennessee Takes Series Opener
NORMAN — A blast from Oklahoma’s past haunted the Sooners on Friday night.
Sophia Nugent, who played two seasons in Norman, clutched up for Tennessee in the eighth inning.
She launched a two-run bomb to put the No. 9-ranked Volunteers in front, and a wild pitch by OU’s Sam Landry gave Tennessee another insurance run before handing the game over to ace Karlyn Pickens to close out the win.
Ella Parker, Cydney Sanders and Ailana Agbayani were unable to produce any magic in the bottom of the inning with Oklahoma’s backs against the wall, and Tennessee took the series opener 5-2 at Love’s Field on Friday night.
“Tennessee is very good. They’re very good,” OU coach Patty Gasso said after the game. “They’re good on defense. They’re good hitters, their pitching staff. Of course Sophia Nugent would be the one who hit the ball out, but they’re tough to beat.”
Moments prior to Nugent’s homer, the Sooners thought they had won the game.
Kasidi Pickering singled in the seventh inning with speedster Hannah Coor on second, and Gasso waved Coor to the plate.
Tennessee right fielder Gabby Leach had other ideas, however, as she delivered a pinpoint throw to Nugent at the plate to gun down Coor and extend the game.
Pickens sent the contest to the eighth, and her offense delivered.
“They made a really good play at home plate, I mean I had to send the runner,” Gasso said. “And I thought we had a good chance. She did a really good job with her throw and we had the right runner. We had Hannah Coor. So they made big plays when they needed to. And for us, it’s timely hitting.”
Pickens proved her worth on Friday night.
The nation’s fourth-ranked pitcher in ERA combined with starter Sage Mardjetko to hold the OU offense in check.
Oklahoma went 4-for-14 at the plate with runners on and 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position, stranding eight baserunners against a pitching staff leading the nation in combined ERA.
Pickens allowed six hits, but struck out six and was only responsible for one run on the night.
“We’ve worked on both pitchers actually,” Gasso said. “And having six hits in a home run and scoring one run on her is valid. It’s just not enough, we need more. But I thought we were really trying to minimize strikeouts, put the ball in play the best we could.”
Oklahoma fell to 30-2 on the year and 8-2 in SEC play, while Tennessee improved to 28-6 overall and 4-3 in conference action.
Tennessee struck first courtesy of designated player Amayah Doyle’s two-run shot in the second inning.
The Sooners loaded the bases on Mardjetko with freshman phenom Gabbie Garcia coming to the plate, which prompted the Volunteers to bring Pickens in from the bullpen.
Garcia was able to cut the lead by one run with a sacrifice fly, but Pickens escaped the jam with a 2-1 lead.
OU outfielder Abby Dayton leveled the game with a solo shot in the fifth inning, but the offense was unable to turn Cydney Sanders’ one-out double into anything in the bottom of the sixth.
A pair of singles from Coor and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas in the seventh gave the Sooners a pair of runners with one out, but the heroics from Leach saved the Volunteers.
Landry did what she could to settle the game down after allowing the two-run shot.
She retired eight straight batters from the third inning into the sixth, but the offense was unable to ever take a lead.
Oklahoma’s ace threw 141 total pitches across eight innings, allowing five runs, eight hits, a trio of walks and hitting two batters while only striking out a pair of Volunteers.
“I think I just didn’t go at the hitters enough today,” Landry said. “When I did, I was too much in the zone. Just an adjustment we’ve gotta make.”
On Saturday, the Sooners will look to avoid dropping their first home series since losing Bedlam last year.
Tennessee and Oklahoma reconvene at Love’s Field at 1 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Gasso said she’s excited to see how her team bounces back on Saturday with the series hanging in the balance.
“The mood in the locker room was not despair or anything like that,” Gasso said. “It’s a — you get the ability to see how good you really are, how together you really are. And I know they’re just — they’re going to be dreaming about softball tonight.”
