ATHENS, GA — Oklahoma softball didn’t find its offensive rhythm until the later innings of Thursday’s SEC Tournament opener — but thanks to a dominant performance in the circle, the Sooners didn’t need much.
Behind a stellar one-hitter from Sam Landry, second-ranked OU secured a 4-1 victory over LSU at Jack Turner Stadium.
With the win, the Sooners (44-7) advance to Friday’s semifinal, where they’ll face either Arkansas or Tennessee at 3 p.m. OU swept the Razorbacks earlier this season but dropped two of three against the Volunteers at home.
Landry was sharp throughout, aside from a brief hiccup in the second inning when she issued two walks. The senior right-hander then retired 10 straight batters before giving up another walk to former Sooner Avery Hodge to open the sixth. Hodge was erased on a fielder’s choice, and LSU’s Jalia Lassiter followed with a soft grounder to third.
Nelly McEnroe-Marinas charged the ball and made a high throw to first that pulled Cydney Sanders off the bag. After a review, Lassiter was awarded an infield single — LSU’s lone hit of the game and the one that ended Landry’s no-hit bid.
The Tigers managed to push across a run on a sacrifice fly, but that would be all. In the seventh, LSU threatened with a couple of hard-hit balls, but OU’s defense held firm. Abigale Dayton tracked down a deep shot into the left-center gap, and Landry closed the door by inducing a groundout from Maddox McKee.
Landry (19-4) finished with seven strikeouts and four walks in her 12th complete outing of seven or more innings this season.
OU got on the board early — and unconventionally — in the first inning without recording a hit. Kasidi Pickering and Ella Parker opened with walks, and after a sacrifice bunt by McEnroe-Marinas, Gabbie Garcia walked to load the bases. Sydney Berzon then hit Sanders, forcing in a run.
Berzon settled in after that, retiring eight Sooners in a row and keeping the offense quiet until the fourth, when Sanders walked and Sydney Barker followed with a hard RBI single up the middle for OU’s first hit.
Sanders came up big again in the fifth, launching her 11th home run of the season — a two-run shot to left-center on a full count. The blast came after Parker led off the inning with a double, extending her hitting streak to seven games.
