Sooners split games against Long Beach State, Cal

It took three days into the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic before Oklahoma dropped a game.

The Sooners opened the tournament Saturday with a loss to Long Beach State, 6-4, before responding with a 7-5 win over California. The Sooners are now 12-2 on the season, and they finish the Mary Nutter Classic on Sunday with an 11 a.m. game against Washington (FloCollege).

Here’s a quick recap of Saturday’s double-header

Long Beach State 6, Oklahoma 4

Trailing 6-2 to Long Beach State heading into the seventh inning, the Sooners needed a bunch of late plays to go their way.

It looked like they might pull it off.

True freshman Kendall Wells – who has arguably been Oklahoma’s most explosive offensive player — opened the frame with a leadoff home run. The Sooners then got an RBI single from Kai Minor, cutting the deficit to two runs with two base runners on and two outs.

But with the tying run on first base, Gabbie Garcia struck out to end the game, with the Sooners’ late rally falling just short. The Sooners lost to Long Beach State, 6-4, in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.

The Sooners fell behind 2-0 early as Sydney Berzon struggled in the circle. But they managed to tie it in the top of the fourth with a solo home run from Allyssa Parker and an RBI double from Lexi McDaniel.

But Long Beach State took a commanding lead in the sixth inning after scoring four runs in the frame. Audrey Lowry — who has been OU’s standout pitcher — gave up an RBI single before surrendering a three-run home run.

Both the Sooners and Long Beach State logged nine hits apiece, but the Sooners left 10 runners stranded compared to seven for Long Beach State. The freshman trio of Wells, Parker and Minor each had two hits.

Oklahoma 7, Cal 5

The Sooners fell behind early against Cal, too.

Kierston Deal got the start in the circle and continued her struggles to start the season. She allowed six hits and two runs through 1.1 innings as the Golden Bears built an early lead. The Sooners really looked in trouble as they trailed 4-1 heading into the sixth inning.

The offense finally capitalized The Sooners scored five runs on four hits during the frame, which was capped off by an RBI single from Kai Minor.

Sydney Berzon allowed a leadoff home run in the seventh inning, but struck out the next three batters to keep Cal at bay and secure the win for the Sooners.

The Sooners finished with 13 hits but left 11 batters stranded.