On Saturday, the Sooners scored five unanswered runs in the seventh inning to steal the series opener at Alabama.
On Sunday, the Sooners simply didn't have it. It was all Alabama, from start to finish.
The Sooners fell to the Crimson Tide, 6-1, setting up a rubber game on Monday. The Sooners narrowly avoided being shutout for the first time since 2019.
The issues started in the circle for the Sooners. Kierston Deal got the start and surrendered three hits in the second inning, including an RBI single, that gave the Crimson Tide a 2-0 lead heading into the third inning.
In the third inning, Deal surrendered a leadoff home run to Kali Heivilin. Patty Gasso opted to pull Deal and insert Isabella Smith.
After Smith allowed a walk and back-to-back bunt singles to open the fourth inning, which loaded the bases with no outs, the Sooners again made a pitching change. Audrey Lowry was inserted for Smith, and the true freshman gave up just one run on a sacrifice fly and largely escaped the jam.
Lowry, however, surrendered a two-run home run to Abby Duchscherer in the fifth inning. That pushed Alabama's lead to 6-0, marking the largest deficit the Sooners have faced this season.
As much as the pitching staff struggled, the offense played just as poorly. Through the first six innings, the Sooners' lone hit came in the third inning on a two-out double from Kasidi Pickering. The team's lone walk came from Ella Parker in the first inning.
But with two outs on the board, Sydney Barker blasted a solo home run to left field to put the Sooners on the board and avoid the shutout. It marked the true freshman's sixth home run of the season and first in SEC play. However, Abigale Dayton fouled out on the next at-bat to end the game.
While the Sooners rallied late in Game 1, they've failed to score a run in 12 of 14 innings this weekend. They finished with just two hits in Game 2, tying their fewest in a game this season.
With the loss, the Sooners fall to 36-4 on the season and 10-4 in SEC play. They'll look to secure the series win — and avoid their second consecutive series loss — at 6 p.m. Monday (SECN+).
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