It certainly wasn't easy, but Oklahoma left California in good shape.

The third-ranked Sooners finished opening weekend with a perfect 6-0 record. The Sooners opened the weekend on Thursday with wins over Cal State Northridge (7-2) and San Diego State (11-6, nine innings), before snagging wins over California Baptist (8-0, five innings) and Cal State Fullerton (13-3) on Friday.

Patty Gasso's squad closed out the weekend with a win over Loyola Marymount (9-0) on Saturday before seeing their biggest test on Sunday, when they beat Long Beach State 2-0 in 11 innings. The Sooners outscored their opponents 52-11 over the weekend, with two games going to extra innings,

Here's a few takeaways from the opening weekend of the 2025 season:

The weekend wasn't without a couple of true tests for Oklahoma.

In both games, newcomer Isabela Emerling was the catalyst for the late rallies.

In Friday's late game against San Diego State, the game was tied 6-6 heading into the ninth inning. With the bases loaded, Emerling blasted a grand slam — her first home run as a Sooner — to push the lead to 10-6. Ailana Agbayani added an insurance run to seal the win.

In Sunday's game against Long Beach State, both offenses were anemic as neither team scored through the first 10 innings. But Emerling worked a walk in the 11th inning and made her way to second base before Abigale Dayton brought her home with an RBI double. Parker added an insurance run in the bottom of the frame.

That sequence proved critical in a game the Sooners logged just seven hits through 11 innings.

None of it was easy, but the new-look Sooners found ways and made critical plays to stay unscathed.

The sophomore duo has already established that they can be the centerpieces for the offense.

Parker led the way offensively with 10 runs, 11 hits and and six RBIs, logging at least one hit in all six games. She also added her first home run of the season in the win over Loyola Marymount.

Pickering was particularly productive on opening night, finishing with three runs, three hits and five RBIs across the first two games. She finished the weekend with four runs (two home runs), six hits and nine RBIs.

The Sooners also got some excellent offensive moments across the lineup. True freshman Sydney Barker logged two runs, four RBIs and a home run against Cal State Fullerton; Nelly McEnroe-Marinas added two runs, three hits, three RBIs and a home run against California Baptist; and Cydney Sanders added two runs, three hits and a home run against Loyola Marymount.

Gasso indicated that the Sooners would experiment a lot with lineups early in the year, and that's what played out in Calfornia.

The Sooners started six different lineups across the six games, with only a few players retaining their spot from game to game. Outside of Emerling at catcher, Dayton and Pickering in the outfield and McEnroe-Marinas at third base, Gasso took a ton of liberties with her lineups. The biggest fluctuations came in the infield, particularly at second base and short stop. Gabbie Garcia, Barker and Agbayani all saw playing time at those two spots. Cydney Sanders, who's been the stalwart at first base, even started one game as the designated player with Garcia playing first base.

The lineup tinkering was particularly the case in the circle. Four different pitchers logged at least 5.2 innings in the circle, with Sam Landry seeing the most time. Landry pitched 15 innings, logging a 2.33 ERA to go with 23 strikeouts, 14 hits and five runs.

The most notable standout in the circle was Isabela Smith, who was essential in the opening win against Cal State Northridge when she retired all 10 batters she saw in relief. In her first career start as a Sooner against California Baptist, she struck out six batters and didn't allow a single hit while pitching all five innings.

It's clear the Sooners will continue to tinker with lineups as they figure out the roster.

The Sooners open the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas against Hofstra at 12 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+).