NORMAN — Heading into a pivotal series against No. 3 Texas, the Sooners really needed someone to emerge offensively.

Ailana Agbayani stepped up in a big way during Friday's opener.

The junior third baseman started her day with a single in her first at-bat, as she contributed to the Sooners taking a one-run lead in the second inning. But in the third inning, she delivered her biggest moment of the season.

After the Sooners opened the frame with four base hits — including a solo home run from Gabbie Garcia — Agbayani blasted a first-pitch swing to left field for a grand slam. The play gave the Sooners a 6-0 lead and completely blew the game open.

"If you wanna win, you're gonna have to have some heroes up and down the lineup," OU coach Patty Gasso said.

But Agbayani wasn't done there. With the Longhorns attempting a late rally, Agbayani delivered an RBI double to the left field wall that gave the Sooners a much-needed insurance run.

Agbayani finished the game 3-for-3 at the plate with five RBIs. All three hits were crucial, as the Sooners outlasted Texas 7-6 Friday to open the series at Love's Field.

It was the kind of performance the Sooners have desperately needed from Agbayani. The Hawaii native entered the game with a batting average of .240 in conference play and had yet to have her breakout moment as a Sooner. But to open a crucial series against the Lonhorns, Agbayani served as the Red River Rivalry hero.

"I think my main thing was to just stay really neutral and not get to high or too low," Agbayani said. "... But I was just trying to stay neutral and really just think, 'Just pass the bat.' And I feel like we did a great job today of just passing the bat to each other."

Without her, the Sooners would've been in trouble.

It was all Oklahoma to open the game. The Sooners had no issues with ace pitcher Teagan Kavan, who was pulled after allowing seven hits and six runs through the first three innings. Sam Landry was dominant in the circle, allowing just one hit and zero runs through three innings.

But the Longhorns, like they have all season, began to chip away. The Longhorns added a pair of runs in the fourth inning with two outs on the board, including a solo home run from Mia Scott. They did it again in the fifth inning, as they added three runs on back-to-back-to-back singles for a two-out rally that cut OU's lead to 6-5.

But McEnroe-Marinas opened the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff double, then Agbayani brought her home to push the lead.

The Longhorns attempted yet another two-out rally in the top of the seventh. They managed to load the bases after a single, a fielding error and a walk, as Joley Mitchell approached the plate with two outs. A wild pitch brought one runner home, but Landry delivered the final blow by forcing a fly out to end the game.

"Sam had really good control," Gasso said. "You can't shut out Texas. It's very difficult to do that. They're very good hitters up and down the lineup... They've got a little bit of everything. There were some really tough mistakes that hurt us. That was very uncomfortable. Things that we know better. Again, here we are. We keep learning. We've gotta keep learning. So all of us had something, somewhere. And it's OK. That's part of the game.

"But was really proud of Sam fighting through that. That's a tough lineup. To get through them three or four times unscathed is almost impossible. So I'm just really proud of her fight and being that tenacious-style pitcher on the mound."

The Sooners finished with 10 hits as a team. McEnroe-Marinas and Agbayani both went 3-for-3 at the plate.

Landry pitched all seven innings, allowing seven hits, two earned runs and three walks while striking out five batters.

The Sooners improve to 40-5 on the season and 14-5 in SEC play. They'll look to secure the series win at 6:30 p.m. Saturday (SECN+).

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