Oklahoma and Kansas met Saturday in the Norman Regional, with the Sooners trying to keep moving through the NCAA Tournament after an 11-0 win over Binghamton on Friday afternoon. Kansas arrived with momentum too, having edged Michigan 1-0 a day earlier.
The game turned quickly in the second inning when Kasidi Pickering launched a two-run homer and Isabela Emerling followed with a solo shot, giving Oklahoma a 3-0 lead and marking the program’s 13th instance of back-to-back homers this season. Miali Guachino held Kansas in check through three innings, striking out five and allowing one hit, a sharp response from the pitcher who gave up two earned runs and struck out three in Oklahoma’s loss to Georgia in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
Oklahoma entered the regional as the No. 3 overall seed and opened Friday by run-ruling Binghamton 11-0, a result that kept it in control of the bracket and set up Saturday’s meeting with Kansas. The winner of OU-Kansas was scheduled to face the winner of Michigan-Binghamton in another elimination game later Saturday, with every inning carrying direct consequences for who stayed alive in Norman.
There is also a bigger number hovering over the weekend. Kendall Wells needs one home run to tie UCLA’s Megan Grant for the NCAA single-season record, a chase that gives Oklahoma another headline as it works through the postseason. But for this game, the immediate question was simpler: whether the Sooners’ power and pitching would carry them one step closer to the regional title or leave them forced into another elimination round.
