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Arkansas forces rubber game as OU's offense stalls

by: Jesse Crittenden04/19/26JesseCrittenden

NORMAN — Oklahoma hasn’t had many issues offensively this season. The Sooners rank second nationally in scoring offense and first in home runs.

But Arkansas pitcher Payton Burnham simply clamped the Sooners’ offense on Saturday night.

Burnham pitched 6.1 innings and limited the Sooners to just four hits as a team, didn’t surrender a walk and also struck out three batters. The Sooners just never found a rhythm.

Add in a couple of key hits from the Razorbacks, and that made the difference. The Sooners fell to the Razorbacks, 3-2, at Love’s Field to force a rubber game on Sunday.

The problems started early for the Sooners, who went scoreless through the first four innings with just one hit. The Razorbacks took an early lead in the second inning after back-to-back base hits against Miali Guachino.

Isabela Emerling finally broke the silence with a leadoff home run in the fifth inning, briefly tying the game at 1-1. The hit marked 16 home runs this season for Emerling.

But the Razorbacks quickly regained the lead with a two-run home run against Sydney Berzon in the sixth inning. Kendall Wells snagged a run back in the bottom of the frame with a solo home run — her 33rd home run of the season — and cut the deficit to one run.

Berzon retired the side in the seventh inning, setting up some potential late-game heroics for the Sooners’ offense. Instead, Burnham retired the side in order as the Sooners simply never found an answer.

Guachino got the start and pitched 2.1 innings, allowing two hits, one run and two walks without a strikeout. Berzon pitched the rest of the way, allowing two hits and two runs with one strikeout.

The Sooners fall to 41-6 on the season. They’ll look to secure the series win at 1 p.m. on Sunday (SECN+).

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