Softball notepad: Audrey Lowry hoping to build on Arkansas outing

NORMAN — It's officially postseason time in Oklahoma.

The two-seed Sooners open the Norman Regional at 5 p.m. Friday, as they take on Boston U (ESPNU). If the Sooners advance through the regional, they will host the winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional next weekend in the super regional round.

The Sooners are looking for their fifth consecutive national championship and the program's ninth overall.

Here's a few notes on the team as the Sooners prepare for the start of the postseason:

The pitching staff, particularly outside of Sam Landry, is a big question mark heading into the postseason.

Fortunately, Audrey Lowry comes into the postseason with a ton of momentum.

The true freshman was instrumental in helping the Sooners rally from a 6-1 deficit last week against Arkansas. Lowry - who was inserted into the circle in the fifth inning — didn't allow a base runner in three innings while adding three strikeouts, as the Sooners scored seven unanswered runs to beat the Razorbacks in the SEC Tournament semifinals.

It was a big confidence boost for Lowry, who has a 3.24 ERA on the season while limiting opponents to a .213 batting average. But there's been some ups and downs for Lowry, particularly as she missed several weeks earlier this season with an injury.

"I think just the support that I have here, especially with the pitching staff and the other players, is just really amazing," Lowry said Wednesday. "And it goes with everyone, even if you're in a slump, there's people who they're gonna pick you up no matter what. So it's just really having that support and working every day at practice collectively. It's just, it's really good."

OU coach Patty Gasso is seeing Lowry's confidence grow, too.

“What's really great about this team is they all want to help," Gasso said. "As frustrated as they are, maybe that they're not getting the pitching time, but they still want to help. ‘However I can help.'

"And Audrey just took that upon herself with that mentality. (She's like), 'If you give me two innings, I'm good. But I'm going to show you that you need to give me more.' And this settling of her heart rate and her breathing has really allowed her to grow in a way that we knew she was capable of. And I think that's what I'm most proud of."

Barker's performances the last few weeks have made it difficult to keep her off the field. But if the true freshman is in the lineup, that means someone else is out.

During the SEC Tournament Barker replaced Hannah Coor's spot in the outfield, and she would've started against Texas A&M had the game not been canceled. At different times in conference play, Barker started ahead of Cydney Sanders at first base. It's a revolving door for Gasso as she continues to tinker with the lineup.

But Gasso lauded Coors and Sanders for being good teammates even as Barker has pushed her way into the starting lineup.

"It's hard to accept, for sure," Gasso said. "But they've gotta be good teammates and understand. And likely both Cyd Sanders and Hannah Coor will find their way into a game. Hannah Coor will be in every single game. Whether she starts or not, (it doesn't) really matter. But the fact she's gonna be in a game, maybe for defensive purposes or come in and run for somebody, or maybe come in and get an at-bat then finish in the outfield, she'll be out there.

"Cyd Sanders is pretty much a daily starter. And If Sydney Barker comes in, maybe to get (Sanders) off her feet — that's probably more of why we're doing it is giving (Barker) more experience and getting Cydney Sanders off her feet. But there's no uncomfortable stuff with that."

The Sooners' path to the Women's College World Series is clear.

The first step is advancing through this weekend's regional, which includes Boston University (39-17), California (35-19) and Omaha (39-11). Those opponents aren't likely to be significant tests for the Sooners, who are the overwhelming favorite to advance and host next weekend's super regional.

But Gasso made it emphatically clear that they're not assuming anything this weekend.

"I don't care what anyone in the world says," Gasso said. "I know — and the team knows certainly from us — that we're facing champions. You don't get in this by luck. You get in because you did something really well. We have faced a couple of these teams before. We (faced) Omaha not too long ago. Very well coached. Good pitchers in this regional. Cal's got that feisty — they still have a Pac-12 mentality. Feisty, west-coast kind of toughness about them.

"So we've got our hands full. I'm not listening to one thing because nobody knows. I do, and I'm not listening to what naysayers might say or, 'Wow, you've got the easiest.' When people say that to you, you've got to plug your ears."

Not an OUInsider.com premium member? Sign up today to get loads of inside information on Oklahoma football, softball, basketball, and recruiting, all for just a few dollars a month. Click HERE to get started!

Follow us on Twitter @OUInsider and on Instagram @ouinsiderofficial!

Subscribe on YouTube by clicking here for daily video content on all things Oklahoma!