Completed Event: Softball versus Kentucky on April 4, 2026 , Win , 12, to, 2 , (5 inn.)
Final
Softball
12
vs Kentucky
2
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Friday, April 17
5:30 p.m.
University of Oklahoma
vs
Arkansas
Photo by: Brendall Vargas/University of Oklahoma
Marquee Matchup at Love’s Field
April 16, 2026 | Softball
No. 1 Sooners Host No. 6 Razorbacks This Weekend
NORMAN — A top-ten matchup is on the slate for this weekend as No. 6/8 Arkansas (35-6, 10-5 SEC) heads to Love's Field for a three-game series with the No. 1 Sooners (40-5, 13-2 SEC) Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
• Friday, April 17 at 5:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m.
• Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m.
Due to Friday's time change, broadcast information is to be announced for the series opener. Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) and Amanda Scarborough (analyst) will be on the call for Friday's game. DJ Mathis (play-by-play) and Nicole Mendes (analyst) will be in the booth for SEC Network+ broadcasts on Saturday and Sunday. Radio broadcasts for games one and two will be available on The Franchise (107.7 KRXO-FM) and The Franchise 2 (1560 KEBC-AM), while Saturday's game will be carried exclusively on The Franchise 2 (1560 KEBC-AM).
PROMOTIONS
• A packed weekend of promotions begins with Friday's Alumni Night and fans wear white theme. Fans will also have "Home Run Royalty" photo opportunities in the left field concourse. A "Home Run City USA" photo opportunity will also be set at Gate 1.
• Senior Abby Dayton will be honored as part of the 2026 Senior Series. Dayton posters will be given away at the game, as will 500 home run crowns. Classmate Ailana Agbayani will be honored Sunday in continuation with the Senior Series, with Agbayani posters available for fans.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
• Arkansas makes its first trip to Love's Field. The Sooners swept the Razorbacks in Fayetteville in March of 2025. The two teams met in the SEC Tournament Semifinals, with Gabbie Garcia hitting a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh in an 8-6 win. The Sooners set an SEC Tournament record with six home runs in that game, while also mounting the largest comeback victory in SEC Tournament history.
• OU is 29-2 all-time against Arkansas. The last time these two teams met in Norman was during the 2018 NCAA Super Regional. The Sooners have won 15 consecutive games against Arkansas.
FIRST PITCH
• OU took two of three at No. 4 Texas last weekend before dropping a 6-4 decision to No. 21 Oklahoma State at Devon Park on Wednesday evening. The Sooners have lost consecutive games for just the first time this season.
• The Sooners were named the top team in the latest NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Top 25 Poll, OU's first time holding the top spot this season.
• Oklahoma is 40-5 and 13-2 in Southeastern Conference play, holding a one-game lead over second-place Alabama in the conference standings. The Sooners tied with Grand Canyon as the first teams to 40 wins this season.
• OU is in the midst of playing 13 of 14 games against ranked teams, including six against top-10 squads.
• Oklahoma has won 29 games by run-rule, including seven in SEC play. OU has posted a double-digit scoring effort 25 times.
• OU has hit at least one homer in 42 of 45 games and had a streak of at least one home run in 20 consecutive contests between Feb. 21 and March 27.
• Kendall Wells set the SEC single-season home run record previously held by Bri Ellis (Arkansas), Bailey Hemphill (Alabama) and Mia Davidson (Mississippi State). She did so in just 37 games.
• Wells set the NCAA freshman single-season home run record Saturday at Texas. She broke a three-way tie with former Sooners Jocelyn Alo (2018) and Lauren Chamberlain (2012) and Hawaii's Kelly Majam (2010).
• Oklahoma has scored 502 runs in 45 games. The Sooners tallied 454 runs in 61 contests a year ago.
• OU went on a 22-game winning streak earlier this season, marking the 10th instance in head coach Patty Gasso's career that the Sooners have had a winning streak of 20-plus games.
• The Sooners are 18-0 at home this season and 6-0 in SEC play. OU is 16-1 in SEC home games since joining the league ahead of the 2025 season. As a team the Sooners are hitting .462 in home games, with Lexi McDaniel leading the team with a .606 batting average at Love's Field. Ailana Agbayani is hitting .543 (19-for-35).
• The OU outfield has consistently featured Abby Dayton in left field, Kai Minor in center and Ella Parker in right. The trio has combined for a 1.000 fielding percentage this year, with Ella Parker posting three outfield assists and Kai Minor another.
• Ella Parker is knocking at the door of another milestone. She has 199 hits entering the game and would become the third active Sooner to reach that milestone (Abby Dayton and Ailana Agbayani both reached it in 2026).
NOTABLE NUMBERS
• Oklahoma has hit 150 home runs and was the fastest to 100 in NCAA history. OU has already hit 30 more homers than it did in 61 games last year. OU has six different players with at least 10 home runs 14 have at least 3 homers.
• The family ties run deep between the two teams. Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso and associate head coach JT Gasso will be in opposite dugouts of son and brother, DJ Gasso. DJ Gasso served as a graduate assistant on the Oklahoma staff at the start of his collegiate coaching career, as did current Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel.
• Oklahoma currently has the longest home-winning streak in the nation. The Sooners have won 30 games in a row at Love's Field. Their last loss at home came in a 5-3 defeat against No. 10/9 Tennessee March 30, 2025.
• Isabela Emerling has upped her batting average .195 points from last year. She is hitting .407 through 39 games and has homered 14 times with 43 RBIs (had 12 homers and 37 RBIs in 2025).
SCENE SETTERS
• OU is on a historic pace in a number of offensive categories this season. The Sooners are hitting .412 as a team and for context, OU's program record is .405 in the 2021 season. The Sooners slashed their way to program records that season, slugging .778 in 2021 while reaching base at a .490 clip. The Sooners are leading the country with an .843 slugging percentage and tout a .506 on-base percentage.
• OU and Arkansas play at Love's Field for the first time in series history. The Razorbacks last played in Norman during the 2018 NCAA Super Regional.
• The Sooners have hit more home runs than 60 teams in Division I have for total runs scored. OU set the NCAA single season runs record with 638 in 2021, doing so in 60 games. Oklahoma averaged 10.6 runs per game that season. The Sooners are averaging 11.15 runs per game through 45 contests this season, on pace for 613.5 runs in the regular season alone in 2026.
FLEXIN' FRESHMAN
• The Sooner freshmen Lexi McDaniel, Kai Minor, Allyssa Parker and Kendall Wells have combined for 57 home runs, 155 RBIs, 156 runs and a .418 batting average.
• Freshman centerfielder Kai Minor is not only leading OU with a .477 batting average, but she is leading all Division I freshmen in that category - as well as the entire Southeastern Conference. She ranks fourth in the league in hits (62) and fourth in stolen bases (16).
• Kendall Wells set the SEC single-season home run record (27) as well as the NCAA single-season freshman home run record after hitting her 31st Saturday at Texas.
• Allyssa Parker is one of six Sooners with double-digit home runs, having hit 10 this season in just 58 at-bats. On March 7 she achieved the rare feat of tripling and spinning a complete game in the circle.
• Lexi McDaniel is on pace to become the third OU freshman with double-digit homers, posting nine to go with a .446 batting average in 74 at-bats. She also has three pinch-hit homers. McDaniel was also named SEC Freshman and D1Softball Freshman of the Week.
• In the circle, freshman Berkley Zache has posted a 2.80 ERA across eight appearances. She hasn't allowed an earned run since her collegiate debut at No. 17/18 Arizona Feb. 7.
• All four freshmen position players played in Wednesday's Bedlam game, with three of them starting (Kai Minor, Kendall Wells and Lexi McDaniel). Allyssa Parker also pitched and earned a hit in that game.
CIAO BELA
• Redshirt-senior Isabela Emerling has 14 home runs through 39 games played, one more than her total from all of last year. The Sooners are 22-0 in her OU career when she hits at least one home run in a game.
• Emerling hit the game-winning grand slam against Ole Miss Monday, March 23. That grand slam marked the eighth of her career, tying her for fifth all-time in NCAA history in that category. She hit a solo home run to give OU insurance in the 3-0 win against No. 4 Texas.
• March 24 she was named SEC Player of the Week. It's the second late-inning game-winning grand slam of her OU career after doing so in a nine-inning 11-6 win against San Diego State on the first day of the season in 2025. She also added a key game-tying home run in OU's 4-1 win against Oregon in the 2025 WCWS.
DAYTON 500
• Abby Dayton knocked off two milestones March 27, surpassing 200 career hits while reaching 200 career games. The veteran is turning in the best offensive year of her career as she is hitting .444 with an .800 slugging percentage.
• Traditionally an outfielder, Dayton slid in to play third base for the first time in her collegiate career and turned a double play in the win March 8 against Abilene Christian.
• Dayton is on pace to post one of the best seasons in OU history in the "toughest-to-strikeout" category. The lefty hitter has only struck out once in 119 plate appearances (90 at-bats) this season. The program record is held by Sandy Ochoa in 1987 (only struck out once in 115 at-bats).
GIFT OF GAB
• Sophomore shortstop Gabbie Garcia ranks in the top 25 in the country in home runs (18, T-14th) and RBIs (55, 21st). Garcia hits big and in bunches, pacing the Sooners with four games of 5+ RBIs. She is second on the team in multi-hit games with 17.
• In 105 career games she is hitting .372 with 116 hits, 97 runs, 113 RBIs, 38 home runs. The everyday shortstop helped OU set a single season double plays turned record (31) in 2025. She has made only seven errors in 279 chances, all of which have come at shortstop. She was named to the 2025 SEC All-Defensive Team and helped OU turn four double plays against Abilene Christian March 8, tied for the most by a team in NCAA Division I this season.
SOPHOMORE ARMS
• The Sooner sophomore pitching duo of Audrey Lowry and Miali Guachino both have double-digit wins, combining for a 30-3 record in the circle. Lowry leads the team in innings pitched (90) and ERA (2.10), while Guachino leads OU with a .209 opponents' batting average and 82 strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The Sooners play their final non-conference game of the season Tuesday, April 21 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Love's Field.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
• Friday, April 17 at 5:30 p.m.
• Saturday, April 18 at 7 p.m.
• Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m.
Due to Friday's time change, broadcast information is to be announced for the series opener. Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) and Amanda Scarborough (analyst) will be on the call for Friday's game. DJ Mathis (play-by-play) and Nicole Mendes (analyst) will be in the booth for SEC Network+ broadcasts on Saturday and Sunday. Radio broadcasts for games one and two will be available on The Franchise (107.7 KRXO-FM) and The Franchise 2 (1560 KEBC-AM), while Saturday's game will be carried exclusively on The Franchise 2 (1560 KEBC-AM).
PROMOTIONS
• A packed weekend of promotions begins with Friday's Alumni Night and fans wear white theme. Fans will also have "Home Run Royalty" photo opportunities in the left field concourse. A "Home Run City USA" photo opportunity will also be set at Gate 1.
• Senior Abby Dayton will be honored as part of the 2026 Senior Series. Dayton posters will be given away at the game, as will 500 home run crowns. Classmate Ailana Agbayani will be honored Sunday in continuation with the Senior Series, with Agbayani posters available for fans.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
• Arkansas makes its first trip to Love's Field. The Sooners swept the Razorbacks in Fayetteville in March of 2025. The two teams met in the SEC Tournament Semifinals, with Gabbie Garcia hitting a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh in an 8-6 win. The Sooners set an SEC Tournament record with six home runs in that game, while also mounting the largest comeback victory in SEC Tournament history.
• OU is 29-2 all-time against Arkansas. The last time these two teams met in Norman was during the 2018 NCAA Super Regional. The Sooners have won 15 consecutive games against Arkansas.
FIRST PITCH
• OU took two of three at No. 4 Texas last weekend before dropping a 6-4 decision to No. 21 Oklahoma State at Devon Park on Wednesday evening. The Sooners have lost consecutive games for just the first time this season.
• The Sooners were named the top team in the latest NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Top 25 Poll, OU's first time holding the top spot this season.
• Oklahoma is 40-5 and 13-2 in Southeastern Conference play, holding a one-game lead over second-place Alabama in the conference standings. The Sooners tied with Grand Canyon as the first teams to 40 wins this season.
• OU is in the midst of playing 13 of 14 games against ranked teams, including six against top-10 squads.
• Oklahoma has won 29 games by run-rule, including seven in SEC play. OU has posted a double-digit scoring effort 25 times.
• OU has hit at least one homer in 42 of 45 games and had a streak of at least one home run in 20 consecutive contests between Feb. 21 and March 27.
• Kendall Wells set the SEC single-season home run record previously held by Bri Ellis (Arkansas), Bailey Hemphill (Alabama) and Mia Davidson (Mississippi State). She did so in just 37 games.
• Wells set the NCAA freshman single-season home run record Saturday at Texas. She broke a three-way tie with former Sooners Jocelyn Alo (2018) and Lauren Chamberlain (2012) and Hawaii's Kelly Majam (2010).
• Oklahoma has scored 502 runs in 45 games. The Sooners tallied 454 runs in 61 contests a year ago.
• OU went on a 22-game winning streak earlier this season, marking the 10th instance in head coach Patty Gasso's career that the Sooners have had a winning streak of 20-plus games.
• The Sooners are 18-0 at home this season and 6-0 in SEC play. OU is 16-1 in SEC home games since joining the league ahead of the 2025 season. As a team the Sooners are hitting .462 in home games, with Lexi McDaniel leading the team with a .606 batting average at Love's Field. Ailana Agbayani is hitting .543 (19-for-35).
• The OU outfield has consistently featured Abby Dayton in left field, Kai Minor in center and Ella Parker in right. The trio has combined for a 1.000 fielding percentage this year, with Ella Parker posting three outfield assists and Kai Minor another.
• Ella Parker is knocking at the door of another milestone. She has 199 hits entering the game and would become the third active Sooner to reach that milestone (Abby Dayton and Ailana Agbayani both reached it in 2026).
NOTABLE NUMBERS
• Oklahoma has hit 150 home runs and was the fastest to 100 in NCAA history. OU has already hit 30 more homers than it did in 61 games last year. OU has six different players with at least 10 home runs 14 have at least 3 homers.
• The family ties run deep between the two teams. Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso and associate head coach JT Gasso will be in opposite dugouts of son and brother, DJ Gasso. DJ Gasso served as a graduate assistant on the Oklahoma staff at the start of his collegiate coaching career, as did current Arkansas head coach Courtney Deifel.
• Oklahoma currently has the longest home-winning streak in the nation. The Sooners have won 30 games in a row at Love's Field. Their last loss at home came in a 5-3 defeat against No. 10/9 Tennessee March 30, 2025.
• Isabela Emerling has upped her batting average .195 points from last year. She is hitting .407 through 39 games and has homered 14 times with 43 RBIs (had 12 homers and 37 RBIs in 2025).
SCENE SETTERS
• OU is on a historic pace in a number of offensive categories this season. The Sooners are hitting .412 as a team and for context, OU's program record is .405 in the 2021 season. The Sooners slashed their way to program records that season, slugging .778 in 2021 while reaching base at a .490 clip. The Sooners are leading the country with an .843 slugging percentage and tout a .506 on-base percentage.
• OU and Arkansas play at Love's Field for the first time in series history. The Razorbacks last played in Norman during the 2018 NCAA Super Regional.
• The Sooners have hit more home runs than 60 teams in Division I have for total runs scored. OU set the NCAA single season runs record with 638 in 2021, doing so in 60 games. Oklahoma averaged 10.6 runs per game that season. The Sooners are averaging 11.15 runs per game through 45 contests this season, on pace for 613.5 runs in the regular season alone in 2026.
FLEXIN' FRESHMAN
• The Sooner freshmen Lexi McDaniel, Kai Minor, Allyssa Parker and Kendall Wells have combined for 57 home runs, 155 RBIs, 156 runs and a .418 batting average.
• Freshman centerfielder Kai Minor is not only leading OU with a .477 batting average, but she is leading all Division I freshmen in that category - as well as the entire Southeastern Conference. She ranks fourth in the league in hits (62) and fourth in stolen bases (16).
• Kendall Wells set the SEC single-season home run record (27) as well as the NCAA single-season freshman home run record after hitting her 31st Saturday at Texas.
• Allyssa Parker is one of six Sooners with double-digit home runs, having hit 10 this season in just 58 at-bats. On March 7 she achieved the rare feat of tripling and spinning a complete game in the circle.
• Lexi McDaniel is on pace to become the third OU freshman with double-digit homers, posting nine to go with a .446 batting average in 74 at-bats. She also has three pinch-hit homers. McDaniel was also named SEC Freshman and D1Softball Freshman of the Week.
• In the circle, freshman Berkley Zache has posted a 2.80 ERA across eight appearances. She hasn't allowed an earned run since her collegiate debut at No. 17/18 Arizona Feb. 7.
• All four freshmen position players played in Wednesday's Bedlam game, with three of them starting (Kai Minor, Kendall Wells and Lexi McDaniel). Allyssa Parker also pitched and earned a hit in that game.
CIAO BELA
• Redshirt-senior Isabela Emerling has 14 home runs through 39 games played, one more than her total from all of last year. The Sooners are 22-0 in her OU career when she hits at least one home run in a game.
• Emerling hit the game-winning grand slam against Ole Miss Monday, March 23. That grand slam marked the eighth of her career, tying her for fifth all-time in NCAA history in that category. She hit a solo home run to give OU insurance in the 3-0 win against No. 4 Texas.
• March 24 she was named SEC Player of the Week. It's the second late-inning game-winning grand slam of her OU career after doing so in a nine-inning 11-6 win against San Diego State on the first day of the season in 2025. She also added a key game-tying home run in OU's 4-1 win against Oregon in the 2025 WCWS.
DAYTON 500
• Abby Dayton knocked off two milestones March 27, surpassing 200 career hits while reaching 200 career games. The veteran is turning in the best offensive year of her career as she is hitting .444 with an .800 slugging percentage.
• Traditionally an outfielder, Dayton slid in to play third base for the first time in her collegiate career and turned a double play in the win March 8 against Abilene Christian.
• Dayton is on pace to post one of the best seasons in OU history in the "toughest-to-strikeout" category. The lefty hitter has only struck out once in 119 plate appearances (90 at-bats) this season. The program record is held by Sandy Ochoa in 1987 (only struck out once in 115 at-bats).
GIFT OF GAB
• Sophomore shortstop Gabbie Garcia ranks in the top 25 in the country in home runs (18, T-14th) and RBIs (55, 21st). Garcia hits big and in bunches, pacing the Sooners with four games of 5+ RBIs. She is second on the team in multi-hit games with 17.
• In 105 career games she is hitting .372 with 116 hits, 97 runs, 113 RBIs, 38 home runs. The everyday shortstop helped OU set a single season double plays turned record (31) in 2025. She has made only seven errors in 279 chances, all of which have come at shortstop. She was named to the 2025 SEC All-Defensive Team and helped OU turn four double plays against Abilene Christian March 8, tied for the most by a team in NCAA Division I this season.
SOPHOMORE ARMS
• The Sooner sophomore pitching duo of Audrey Lowry and Miali Guachino both have double-digit wins, combining for a 30-3 record in the circle. Lowry leads the team in innings pitched (90) and ERA (2.10), while Guachino leads OU with a .209 opponents' batting average and 82 strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The Sooners play their final non-conference game of the season Tuesday, April 21 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Love's Field.
Players Mentioned
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OF
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LHP
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RHP/UTL
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UTL
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RHP
/ SoftballSB Highlights: OU 4, Texas 3
Saturday, April 11
SB Highlights: OU 3, Texas 0
Friday, April 10
SB Highlights: OU 12, Kentucky 2
Saturday, April 04
SB Highlights: OU 9, Kentucky 1
Friday, April 03
