NORMAN — OU veteran pitcher Sam Landry was an unexpected scratch last weekend. That left the Sooners without their presumed ace pitcher against South Carolina for their SEC opener.

The Sooners survived, sweeping the Gamecocks in the three-game series. However, the Sooners surrendered nine runs in each of the first two games as Landry's absence was clearly felt.

Fortunately for the Sooners, Landry is expected to play tonight against Tulsa and eventually be ready for the road trip to Arkansas this weekend.

"She threw today and was frustrated because she wanted more and we shut her down," OU coach Patty Gasso told OUInsider Tuesday. "You’ll see her on the mound tomorrow. I think that should be enough to have her ready for the weekend."

That's encouraging for Landry, who's been stellar for the Sooners this season. She's logged a 1.47 ERA in 33.1 innings, allowing just 24 hits and seven runs while striking out 54 batters. The Sooners struggled without Landry last weekend, although Audrey Lowry was fantastic in Game 3 as she allowed just three hits and one run through seven innings.

But last weekend was an important growing experience for the pitching staff as a whole, as the Sooners prepare to face an Arkansas team that ranks second nationally in scoring (9.09 runs per game).

"I felt a little bit of nerves at times from a few of them but they never quit and they kept fighting and we needed them to do that," Gasso said. "We needed to minimize walks and walks were a little uncharacteristic of these pitchers so I knew there were some nerves involved, but there were some bright shining moments for them. Audrey Lowry just came in at the right time when both teams were on their last breath and she was on her first.

"We had to go through that experience to know what that could feel like. Just trust that our hitters will score runs for you, the defense will make plays and they did that."

The Sooners face off at Tulsa tonight at 5 p.m. (SECN+).

The redshirt freshman — who is also a team captain — has been playing beyond her years, both at third base and at the plate.

After last weekend, McEnroe-Marinas is second on the team in batting average (.394), second in hits (26) and third in runs (22). She was fantastic against South Carolina, hitting two crucial three-run home runs in Game 2 that helped the Sooners secure a 10-9 win.

McEnroe-Marinas is one of six OU players who have started every game this season.

"Nelly has really matured quite a bit and has a good understanding of how this program works and has a good understanding of being a good leader through example," Gasso said. "I’ve been really happy with her production at the plate. She’s out there right now and she’s late coming in because she wants more ground balls. That’s really a true example of the professionalism that she takes in what she does."

Gasso has a few checkpoints she's looking for against both Tulsa and Arkansas. Mainly, she's looking for the defense to clean things up. The Sooners committed at least one error in all three games last weekend, a rarity for Gasso-led defenses.

"I think one thing we really want to do is clean up the defense," Gasso said, "and I'll tell you that I do want to try to get some players an opportunity like Tia Milloy, (Sydney Barker), Mya Bland. Chaney Helton has been working well, Corri Hicks. I want to try to get these guys innings tomorrow but again, I'm not trying to step over a team. We've got to really play hard. So those are things that we hope can happen for us.

"You might see Sydney Barker working a little bit at first base as well because I think she's really good and needs to find a place to help us out and I think that might get Cyd Sanders off her feet at times, which I think could help her. So those are things we're looking for and Sam Landry to go out and have good control and feel like she's ready to go for the weekend, so those are some of the checkpoints we're looking for."

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