Latest news with #SamLandry
USA Today
02-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Oklahoma softball's Sam Landry to face former coach Gerry Glasco, Texas Tech in WCWS
Oklahoma softball's Sam Landry to face former coach Gerry Glasco, Texas Tech in WCWS Show Caption Hide Caption Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady and Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens lead WCWS players to watch The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson highlights several Women's College World Series key players to watch. Sam Landry will enter the pitching circle Monday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City with the weight of the world on her shoulders. The Oklahoma pitcher will be tasked with helping keep the No. 2 Sooners' dreams of a fifth consecutive national championship alive when she faces off against No. 12 Texas Tech in what could be the first of two games in a jam-packed evening at the Women's College World Series. As she does that, she'll be going up against more than a few familiar faces at the plate and in the opposing dugout. REQUIRED READING: OU softball's Sam Landry, Texas Tech's Gerry Glasco to meet in WCWS semifinals Before arriving at Oklahoma last year, Landry was a star for three seasons at Louisiana, where she played for first-year Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco and alongside five Red Raiders players. On Monday, a group of people who she worked with and grew close with over the previous three years stands in the way of her and a national title appearance. 'I'm a completely different pitcher, person and player than I was when I was at Louisiana,' Landry said Sunday after Oklahoma's elimination-game win against Oregon. 'We're still going to work it like any other game. Get the scout on them, find some holes and go through it. Keep it like any other game and not make it too big.' Here's a closer look at Landry's ties to the Texas Tech program, including her time at Louisiana and why she didn't follow Glasco to become a Red Raider: Sam Landry Louisiana career From virtually the moment she first stepped foot on a college diamond, Landry has been a difference-maker. The Mont Belvieu, Texas native was an immediately impactful player for Glasco at Louisiana, where she went 20-3 with a 2.15 ERA as a freshman in 2022. Her win percentage led all Sun Belt pitchers. She only got better from there. As a sophomore in 2023, she led the Ragin' Cajuns back to the NCAA tournament by earning most outstanding player honors at the Sun Belt tournament, where she struck out 18 batters and allowed only one run and three hits across 14 innings pitched. That same season, she threw a no-hitter against Lafayette while striking out a career-high 13 batters. In her third and ultimately final season at Louisiana, she helped lead the program to yet another NCAA tournament appearance while winning 24 games, striking out 165 batters and earning first-team all-Sun Belt honors. REQUIRED READING: Texas Tech softball vs. Oklahoma in WCWS: Scouting report, predictions for Red Raiders, Sooners Why didn't Sam Landry follow Gerry Glasco to Texas Tech? Texas Tech's roster is littered with several players who followed Glasco when he made the move from Louisiana to the Red Raiders. Why wasn't his star pitcher from the Ragin' Cajuns one of them? Landry had known Glasco since she was in middle school and he was coaching at a camp she attended with her team. She committed to him early, giving Louisiana a verbal pledge in February of her freshman year of high school. While with the Ragin' Cajuns, she developed a strong bond with Glasco and his wife, Vickie, regularly visiting their house and even taking in one of their dogs, a beagle named Beaux. Glasco has described Landry as being 'like a daughter to me.' 'They became my family out there,' Landry said to The Oklahoman. 'They were the first people I called if anything went wrong. It wasn't even from a softball standpoint; it was if something went wrong, Gerry is who I'm calling.' When Glasco left Louisiana for Texas Tech after the 2024 season, it stood to reason that Landry might tag along with him to Lubbock, particularly once she entered the transfer portal on July 1. At that time, though, the Red Raiders were among the programs pursuing Stanford transfer and reigning national player of the year NiJaree Canady. Texas Tech ended up signing Canady in late July — inking her to a million-dollar NIL deal — but even before that happened, Glasco knew there was at least a chance of landing arguably the sport's best pitcher and didn't want Landry to have her opportunities limited if she came to Texas Tech. 'I want you to be happy,' Glasco remembered telling her, according to The Oklahoman. 'And I think I've got a chance at getting Nija Canady. My relationship with you … you've always been like the ace, and I don't want to have a different relationship than that with you. It would be different, and I don't want to take any chance on losing my friendship with you.' Landry, who was pursued by many of the top programs in the sport, ultimately signed with Oklahoma, where she has been the Sooners' ace. This season, she's 25-5 with a 1.89 ERA and 180 strikeouts and made the all-SEC first team. She was recently the No. 1 pick in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League draft. Glasco has thrived in his new home, as well. After inheriting a program that went 8-16 in the Big 12 last season, he has led Texas Tech to a program-record 52 wins and its first-ever WCWS appearance. At least some of that success has been thanks to Canady, who has a 32-5 record and 0.86 ERA. 'I think it was my time to kind of separate and be able to watch him coach from the outside and live his dream,' Landry said to The Oklahoman. 'He's coaching with one of his daughters right now, and I think it's absolutely beautiful to see.'
USA Today
30-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Sam Landry guts out complete game to give Oklahoma chance at Sooner Magic
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.
New York Times
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
No. 2 Oklahoma overcomes early woes, downs No. 7 Tennessee on Ella Parker's walk-off homer in WCWS
Sooners ace Sam Landry had a feeling she couldn't quite put her finger on heading into No. 2 Oklahoma's first game against No. 7 Tennessee in the Women's College World Series. 'Something's gonna happen,' she remembered thinking. But through most of the game, nothing did — for Oklahoma, at least. The Sooners were trailing 3-1 with two outs and runners on first and third in the bottom of the seventh staring down a Friday game in the loser's bracket. That was until sophomore Ella Parker hammered a walk-off home run, her second of the game, over Devon Park's center-field wall off Tennessee's star pitcher Karlyn Pickens. Advertisement '(I) just understand to keep passing the bat,' Parker said postgame. 'I wasn't trying to make any moment too big.' Oklahoma won 4-3, earning an off day before playing No. 6 Texas on Saturday. Tennessee faces No. 3 Florida on Friday night in an elimination game. 'That was a gut punch,' Tennessee coach Karen Weekly said. 'We play Florida tomorrow. One team's going home. It's going to come down to which team can flush today the quickest.' ELLA PARKER WALKS IT OFF ‼️#WCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @OU_Softball — NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 29, 2025 The game felt like Tennessee's for the taking until the top of the seventh when Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso saw fans starting to leave the stadium and said she shared that with the team. 'People thought we were done,' she said. 'One thing, if you watched us through the season, we're never done.' Momentum started tilting out of Tennessee's favor in later innings as Oklahoma ramped up its defense, and fully shifted when Oklahoma turned a clutch double play with bases loaded to maintain the 3-1 deficit heading into its final turn at-bat. It was the Sooners' third double play of the game, and set the stage for their comeback. 'We work on double plays all the time so they're fun to turn in the game,' Landry said. 'They're definitely a momentum changer.' The Sooners gave up three runs throughout the first three innings but held the Volunteers scoreless after that. '(The Sooners) love, love defense so much that my shoulder, knee everything is falling apart because we just have to hit them ground balls constantly,' Gasso said. 'They're all great hitters but if you ask them what they like better they'll say defense. They believe, and I believe, defense wins championships.' third DP of the day 🔄 Three outs to work with. 📺ESPN — Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) May 29, 2025 Tennessee's Pickens retired two of the first three batters of the seventh inning. All game long, Pickens — who threw the fastest softball pitch in NCAA history last week with a 79.4 mile-per-hour flamer against Nebraska — was easily throwing 75 mph fastballs and the Sooners struggled at the plate for most of the game. Advertisement Gasso said to prepare for Pickens, the team set their pitching machines to nearly 80 mph in practice. 'You see the same thing out of Karlyn all seven innings. Karlyn is as steady as they come,' Weekly said. 'She's a warrior. Ninety nine times out of 100, she wins that game.' On Pickens' second pitch to her fourth batter of the seventh, Oklahoma's Kasidi Pickering hit a single that pushed Ailana Agbayani to third base before Parker brought it home — literally. Parker and Pickering lead the Sooners with a .418 and .409 batting average, respectively. They both rank second and third, respectively, on the team in RBIs. Pickens struck out eight and allowed five hits on 129 pitches. Landry threw 139 pitches, tallied two strikeouts and allowed eight hits. Oklahoma has yet to lose a game in this year's playoffs, escaping the regional round with three straight wins and then besting No. 15 Alabama in a straight set in the super regionals. Its pursuit of its fifth straight championship with its 14 newcomers now continues Saturday. 'Winning the first game sets you up. It's really, really important and I think this team doesn't even know that,' Gasso said.
USA Today
26-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
3 stars from Oklahoma Sooners super regional win over Alabama
3 stars from Oklahoma Sooners super regional win over Alabama The Oklahoma Sooners have swept through the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, outscoring their opponents 47-5 through five games. The Sooners are playing their best ball of the season in the postseason and haven't lost a game since their trip to Gainesville to end the regular season. Now, the Sooners head to their home away from home at Devon Park in Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series set to defend their four-straight national titles. It's been a team effort for the Sooners, who have received contributions from the entire lineup this postseason. From the veterans on the roster to true freshmen, Oklahoma is finding success in the circle and at the plate. Who were the top performers in the Sooners super regional win over Alabama? Here are the three stars from the weekend. More: Social media reacts to Oklahoma's 13-2 win over Alabama to advance to WCWS 1. Sam Landry, P Sam Landry threw a complete game shutout in game one of the series against Alabama. She allowed just six players to reach base and only once did a baserunner reach third base. Landry earned her 24th win of the season, striking out five in the process. Her effort allowed Patty Gasso to have some flexibility with her game two and three approach if necessary. Landry has been a star for the Sooners and if Oklahoma is going to win a national title this year, she'll lead the way from the circle. 2. Abigale Dayton, OF Transfer outfielder Abigale Dayton scored two runs in Oklahoma's game one win on Friday night, one of which came on Kasidi Pickering's two-run home run. On Saturday, Dayton was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. She's provided strong defense in the outfield but came through in the clutch at the plate. 3. Gabbie Garcia, SS Oklahoma's true freshman Gabbie Garcia has become a star in her first season in Norman. From playing a strong shortstop to providing power in the middle of the lineup, Garcia has simply become a big-time player in year one with the Sooners. Her two home runs in game two against Alabama gave her 20 homers on the season. Honorable Mention - Kierston Deal Oklahoma's pitching had become a point of contention heading into the postseason. Well, in the postseason, the Sooners pitching staff has stepped up, namely the rest of the group beyond Sam Landry. On Saturday, it was Kierston Deal, who provided a strong outing. She threw four innings, allowed three hits and two walks. Though two of the hits were home runs, she was able to mitigate much damage in her outing. Oklahoma needed Deal and company to step up in the postseason, and they've done just that. Honorable Mention - Ella Parker Ella Parker was an extra-base machine in Saturday's game two win. All three of her hits went for extra bases (two doubles and a home run), and she had three RBIs. Oklahoma's lineup has been really good in the postseason and Parker has been one of the key catalysts for the Sooners offense. 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.
USA Today
24-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Sam Landry, Kasidi Pickering lead Oklahoma to game 1 win over Alabama
Sam Landry, Kasidi Pickering lead Oklahoma to game 1 win over Alabama The Oklahoma Sooners (49-7) took game one from the Alabama Crimson Tide 3-0 and are one win away from advancing to the Women's College World Series. Sam Landry threw a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits and striking out five to move to 23-4 on the season. Oklahoma's bats provided just enough offense in this one as Kasidi Pickering joined Gabbie Garcia atop the Sooners' home run leaderboard with her 18th home run of the season. It was Pickering's 10th home run in her NCAA Tournament career, spanning just 45 at-bats. The home run came in the bottom of the third after Abigale Dayton's lead-off walk. Pickering swung at the first pitch from Alabama starter Jocelyn Briski to give Oklahoma the lead. With Landry dealing, that's all the offense the Sooners would need but they got an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth from freshman Sydney Barker drove in Dayton, who doubled to start off the inning. Landry only allowed one Alabama hitter to reach third base throughout the game. That came in the top of the fifth inning when Lauren Johnson advanced to third on a fly ball. Oklahoma's ace proceeded to strike out Alabama slugger Kali Heivilin, who was batting .373 with 14 home runs on the season. It was the sixth consecutive win for the Oklahoma Sooners, dating back to the final day of the regular season. They beat LSU and Arkansas in the SEC tournament and then swept through the Norman Regional. With a win over Alabama on Saturday, the Sooners can clinch their ninth-straight Women's College World Series berth. A loss to the Crimson Tide will force a game three on Sunday. Saturday's game begins at 2 p.m. CT at Love's Field in Norman. 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.
