Sam Landry guts out complete game to give Oklahoma chance at Sooner Magic
The Oklahoma Sooners ability to come through in clutch situations is something to marvel at. They're never out of a game until the final out has been recorded. When Ella Parker's blast to centerfield cleared the fence, Sooner Nation erupted while the rest of the softball world sighed in disbelief that the Sooners pulled off the incredible again.
But that doesn't happen without a resilient pitching effort from Sam Landry.
Landry showed her mettle throughout Oklahoma's 4-3 win over the Tennessee Volunteers. After allowing two earned runs in the first inning, she buckled down and held Tennessee to just one unearned run over the final six innings. Tennessee found ways to get on base, but Landry found ways to keep them from extending their 3-1 lead late in the game, thanks to some fantastic defense behind her.
Landry never let the game get away from the Sooners. If not for her efforts going toe-to-toe with SEC Pitcher of the Year Karlyn Pickens, the Sooners may not have a chance for Ella Parker's magical moment in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Though head coach Patty Gasso and assistant coach Jennifer Rocha had conversations about making a change, Landry responded the right way throughout the game.
"Sam just was falling behind in counts, so we were talking a bit," Gasso said. "But she kept getting outs. Started getting more groundball outs for us later in the game. Conversations with her is just steady. Steady. Stay steady. Stay with it. 'How are you feeling?' 'Oh, I get so mad at myself.' 'Ok, bring it back. Bring it back.' Again, pitchers don't want to let down their team. It's emotions. Pitchers deal with a lot. They deal with a lot of that emotion, high and lows. She gutted it out today."
It was an emotional, pressure-packed game against a really good Tennessee Volunteers game that never took their foot off the gas. But Landry and the Oklahoma defense had an answer for everything the Vols threw at them over the final few innings.
"Not every pitch is going to go my way, but this team is amazing in everything they do," Landry said after the game. "I trust them. I was telling Nelly (McEnroe-Marinas) before the game - she's not in here - but I was just like 'I just have a feeling about this game. Something is going to happen.' Double plays. Ella's hit. Two home runs. Just something about it. I knew if I stayed locked in, they were going to come around. I just kept them where I could."
Landry's efforts, with a lot of help from the defense, kept the game within striking distance for a Sooners offense that always has a chance to make something special happen until the final out is recorded. And it can't be understated how important Thursday's win was for the Sooners.
It allows them a day off before they play the Texas Longhorns in the winner's bracket of the Women's College World Series. It allows Landry a recovery day after throwing 139 pitches in her complete game effort. The road ahead is still a difficult one, but it would have been even more difficult with a loss.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
15 Auburn Tigers named to Shrine Bowl 1000 watchlist
While the 2025 college football season is yet to begin, players are being named to watchlists for some of the college all-star games. On Monday, the Shrine Bowl 1000 watchlist was released for the 2026 edition that will be played on Jan. 27 in Frisco, Texas. Auburn was well represented on the list, featuring 15 players. A lot of hope and expectations are being placed on Jackson Arnold this season as a transfer from Oklahoma. The people at the Shrine Bowl like the potential of Arnold as he was named to the watchlist. Joining him on the offensive side of the ball is another transfer with Eric Singleton who arrives at Auburn from Georgia Tech. Singleton has been featured high on many mock drafts this off-season. Something that should excite Auburn fans is the number of offensive linemen named to the watchlist. Five players from the offensive front made the list. Center Connor Lew made the list to no surprise. Also, tackles Xavier Chaplin and Izavion Miller plus guards Mason Murphy and Dillon Wade. The offensive line has been a group of concern over the years, but this group could change that narrative. The defensive side of the ball has eight players listed in the Shrine Bowl 1000 watchlist. Three EDGE rushers were mentioned led by possibly Auburn's top prospect Keldric Faulk. Big things are expected for Faulk this season. Keyron Crawford and Sam Houston State transfer Chris Murray join Faulk. The Auburn secondary is represented by Kayin Lee, Rayshawn Pleasant, and Raion Strader. The lone Tigers linebacker was Maryland transfer Caleb Wheatland. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Phillip on Twitter This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Shrine Bowl 1000 watchlist features 15 Auburn players
USA Today
15 hours ago
- USA Today
Top free agent options at tackle after Cowboys avoid season-ending injury to LT Guyton
For around 45 minutes, the expectation was that the Dallas Cowboys were going to be without left tackle Tyler Guyton for the year. Now that things aren't nearly that bad, he'll miss the next 4-6 weeks, the front office still needs to re-consider their backup plans. No matter the player, teams with quality front offices have contingencies in place before entering training camp should the unthinkable happen. When concern was heavy that Guyton had torn his ACL in the team's second padded practice of training camp, they likely started thinking about Plan B. Initially, Plan B will look like giving a shot to the in-house options. Asim Richards and Nate Thomas had been taking the backup snaps at left tackle behind Guyton. Hakeem Adeniji has experience at left tackle, but through the first week of camp the team had been working him exclusively as the backup right tackle as it looked like the new coaching regime preferred dedicated sides of the field. Much was made of how the team didn't sign any mid-level veteran during free agency, somewhat giving a vote of confidence to Guyton, who struggled in his rookie season after moving over from playing right tackle at Oklahoma. But now that leaves the team with little experience at the spot meant to protect their $60 million per year quarterback Dak Prescott. After such a scare, it's probably prudent for the team to start to make those calls, in cause Guyton's recovery and rehab takes longer than expected. The problem is this year, more than any other season, going outside of the building doesn't offer many quality options. Tyron Smith Flashing back to March, the club re-signing their future Hall of Famer in order to give him his proper goodbye, allowing Tyron Smith to retire as a Dallas Cowboy. They might want to pick up the phone and see if watching people report to training camp has stirred some juices up. It's a long shot, but Smith started 10 games last year, and his 23 combined starts over his last two years is technically the most he's seen in a stretch since 2018-2019. It's not like Smith is coming back for the dog days of August, but perhaps there's a world where the team talks him into returning after camp, giving him a six-week window to get himself back in game shape to help for the stretch of the season. Jedrick Wills The best option might be the most difficult to pull off. Wills is a recent top-10 overall pick, selected by Cleveland in the 2020 draft. He's never lived up to the billing, but he has been a serviceable tackle in the past. The problem is that Wills declared he intended to sit out all of 2025 to give himself a year away from the game to heal up. He's dealt with a series of knee issues and wants to see if taking a year off will allow things to strengthen to the point he can return to the field full healthy. Of course, Wills has played his entire career in Cleveland. The Browns are absolutely bad enough to turn someone off from football. Wills is a free agent though and could've signed elsewhere, but there's zero reason why the Cowboys shouldn't call him to gauge his current interest in returning to the game. Germain Ifedi Ifedi may be the most sane and possible option. Despite sitting out all of 2023, Ifedi had a really strong close to his 2024, with 80+ pass blocking grades against Miami and Baltimore in the final two weeks of the season. The first two-thirds of his season were an abject failure, but perhaps things are on the upward swing for the eight-year veteran. George Fant A truly break-glass-in-case-of-emeregency, Fant's starting days are likely well behind him. However, bringing him in for a trial run to see if there's anything left in the tank for the nine-year veteran might be wise. Fant started his career with Seatle and has spent time with the New York Jets, Houston Texans before returning to Seattle for two games last season. Fant has never been a consistent performer, but he's waiting for a call and there isn't much else on the market at this point.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pair of Oklahoma Sooners named to Maxwell Award watch list
The Oklahoma Sooners boast some offensive firepower at the helm heading into 2025. And both are out of the transfer portal. John Mateer and Jaydn Ott were big-time additions for Brent Venables and Jim Nagy, and the two former West Coast stars provide a lot of the optimism for what should be a resurgent season in 2025. Fall camp will kick off on Wednesday, marking the beginning of the 2025 season. With the Season just over a month away, watch lists will begin rolling out, and the Sooners' backfield mates landed on the Maxwell Award watch list. The Maxwell Award is given to the most outstanding player in college football. Three former Sooners have won the award. Tommy McDonald won the Maxwell back in 1956. Jason White won the award during his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 2004. Baker Mayfield is the most recent recipient of the national honor, winning the award in 2017. In 2018, when Kyler Murray won the Heisman, the Maxwell went to Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Mateer is coming off a 2024 season in which he led the nation in total touchdowns with 44 and had nearly 4,000 yards of total offense for Washington State. Ott is coming off an injury-plagued 2024 season, but back in 2023, he ran for 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns for Cal. He's hoping he can have a bounce-back year this year ahead of the 2026 NFL draft. Mateer and Ott will need to have big years for the Sooners in 2025 to be in the running for the prestigious award. If they do, the Sooners could be on their way to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams. This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: John Mateer, Jaydn Ott named to Maxwell Award watch list
