By Morgan Kacalek
On Saturday, April 13, BYU defeated No. 2 Oklahoma 9–4 after an intense 7-inning game. BYU had a total of 11 hits, which is the most the Sooners have allowed in a game since 2021. This was also BYU’s first win over a top 5 team since 2014 against No. 2 Tennessee.
According to KSL Sports, the Cougars gained a 3–0 lead after 3 scoreless innings, but Oklahoma answered back in the 4th by tying the game thanks to a 3-run home run by Tiare Jennings. BYU then regained the lead in the top of the 5th, bringing the score to 6–4. The Cougars then closed the game by scoring three more runs in the top of the seventh.
The Sooners committed two errors and were outhit 11–8.
After the game, Coach Patty Gasso explained, “BYU just came in fearless and attacking, and they did a phenomenal job.” She says, “We didn’t have our game today, or a lot of things that didn’t go right for us. Some of them were mental mistakes. Some of them were maybe a little bit of nerves, some was too much emotion.”
The Cougars have had a rocky start to their season so far, struggling more in the recent UCF series. They left a combined total of 35 runners on base and as a team batted .268. They only averaged 3.33 runs in the series compared to their 6.89 runs-per-game season average so far.
This game could very well be the turning point for BYU because they now stand with a record of 28–18, while the Sooners fall to 37–4. Gasso says, “…And I think that tonight…I am really anxious to see what comes of this. And how…we need to take a deep breath and reset and really understand what we need to do better.” Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how both teams react to the outcome of this game and the rest of the games to be played in the future.
beniciapaw.com 