Few programs step onto the softball diamond without at least a hint of intimidation when facing Oklahoma.
The No. 3-ranked Sooners entered Tuesday having blasted 133 home runs while hitting .426 as a team. Freshman standout Kendall Wells has launched more home runs on her own than more than 150 Division I programs.
Wichita State showed the composure needed to challenge a powerhouse for much of the evening at Love’s Field but ultimately fell 12-3 in six innings.
The Shockers (19-14, 7-5 American) surrendered four runs in the first inning, setting an early tone as Oklahoma (35-3, 8-1 SEC) remained a perfect 15-0 at home this year and 23-0 all-time against the team in black and yellow.
Wichita State returns to Wilkins Stadium for a three-game series against Tulsa beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Senior Jade Sanders started in the circle and ran into immediate trouble, allowing three runs to the first five batters she faced before exiting after taking a hard-hit ball to her lower left leg.
Gabby Fakes was called on in relief and provided much-needed stability. Fakes, a sophomore transfer from Wisconsin, settled in and held the Sooners scoreless over the next three innings.
Fakes worked the outer half of the strike zone effectively, limiting solid contact and keeping Oklahoma off balance. The Sooners couldn’t figure out the approach and managed just two hits across the second, third and fourth innings as Wichita State began to settle in defensively.
That steadiness carried over to the batter’s box.
Sophomore Ausha Moore began a three-run third inning with her 11th home run of the season, sent a ball over the right-field fence, 4-1. Freshman Kammie Smith followed with a two-run homer to left, trimming the deficit to 4-3. Moore now leads the American Conference in home runs after her solo shot.
The surge briefly shifted the momentum. The crowd at Love’s Field quieted, and Wichita State appeared poised to challenge a program it had not defeated since 2007.
But the opening didn’t last.
Oklahoma’s defense tightened and limited the Shockers to just two hits the rest of the way. In the fifth inning, the Sooners broke through with two solo home runs to push the lead back to three, 6-3.
They added to it in the sixth.
Wells, after a 0-for-2 start at the plate, connected on a pitch low and away for her 27th home run of the season, extending the lead to 9-3. The three-run shot also set a Southeastern Conference single season record.
Isabela Emerling followed later in the inning with a three-run blast of her own to secure the run-rule victory.
Sanders (4-4) took the loss, allowing four runs — three earned — on two hits in 1/3 of an inning. Fakes allowed five runs on eight hits in relief, while sophomore Ava Sliger gave up three runs on three hits.
Smith and graduate student Johnna Schroeder each hit 2-for-3. Smith added a double and home run to her season total. Moore finished 1-for-3 at the plate with her solo home run in the third.
For a stretch, a team on pace to rewrite the record books was kept in check. For a stretch, a team winless against a perennial power stood within reach of a breakthrough.
But against a program like Oklahoma, missed opportunities don’t linger for long.
