NORMAN — A minor tweak to the lineup meant everything for Oklahoma as the Sooners took the Bedlam Bell and a series sweep from Oklahoma State Wednesday night at Marita Hynes Field with a 9-3 victory over the rival Cowgirls.
OU coach Patty Gasso replaced freshman shortstop Jessica Legendre with junior Stacia Aleman, and it paid big dividends. Sophomore Savannah Long, who usually starts at second base, moved to short, where she started most of last season, and Aleman took over on the right side of the infield.
Both Long and Aleman homered in a six-run sixth inning that powered the Sooners’ victory.
“I just think we needed to put someone in there with some more experience and it’s a decision we made,” Gasso said. “Jessica Legendre is someone we’ve just been kind of hanging on to in the lineup, but we felt we probably needed to make a change.”
Legendre’s bat has struggled this season. She’s hitting just .122 and .094 in conference play.
And putting Aleman in the lineup gave the Sooners a spark.
“I think she definitely earned more playing time with the way she played tonight,” Gasso said. “I know our team really drew off her and fed off her enthusiasm that she brought to the game.”
Aleman, who had been to the plate just three times in conference play, picked up her first hit since the Sooners’ March 5 loss to Oklahoma City with a single through the right side of the infield in the fourth inning.
In the sixth, she followed Long’s monster three-run shot with a home run of her own that brought in Susan Ogden after the Cowgirls had tightened the game to 3-2 in the top half of the frame.
“We just really wanted to get the win, and we fought all game,” Aleman said. “We knew we needed to get to her, and Savannah just stepped up and went long. Then I was just looking to get a base hit, just keep going after her because we needed to keep getting runs and not quit.”
The last time Aleman started a game was March 8 at Tulsa.
It worked out Wednesday, and her home run gave her three round-trippers on the season.
“Coach came to me (this week) and told me she was going to work me at second base and see what happens,” Aleman said. “I’ve shown that I deserve a chance to be in this lineup. But I have to keep performing, you can’t ever give up if you want to stay in this lineup.”
Sooner pitcher Nicole Denes went the distance, allowing three runs on nine hits. All the Cowgirls’ runs came in the final two innings.
OSU struggled in the field, as its outfielders had three sure outs fall out of their gloves. The worst, and the only one that counted for an error, came in the sixth when OU had two runners on.
Mariee Mena popped it up to center field, where Shanel Scott got under the ball. But it came off her glove and fell to the ground, bringing home Kristin Vesely.
Long then made the Cowgirls pay with her three-run homer. Long finished 1-for-3 with four RBIs, and Aleman finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
Susan Ogden was 2-for-3 and drove in a run. She improved to 4-for-6 with four RBIs against OSU this season.
Oklahoma returns to the field this weekend when it hosts Kansas. The Jayhawks are ahead of the Sooners in conference play with a 6-8 Big 12 record. The two teams take the field at 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
Jeff Johncox
366-3535
jjohncox@normantranscript.com
