NORMAN — It was notable on Sunday when OU coach Patty Gasso indicated her team was still "missing a piece" following the win over Wichita State.

It was almost as if she predicted the struggles her team faced on Monday.

The Sooners narrowly avoided their first loss of the season in the first game of the double header, beating Bowling Green 8-5 in extra innings. It took a heroic three-run walk-off home run from Kasidi Pickering, with two outs on the board, for the Sooners to beat a Bowling Green team that is 2-7 on the season.

The Sooners struggled early against Abilene Christian, trailing 1-0 through the first 2.5 innings. But the offense eventually found a rhythm and onslaught began, as the Sooners scored nine unanswered runs en route to a 9-1 win in five innings.

It's all part of the growing process for a young and new OU team.

"We might have been a little bit tight," Gasso said. "This is new for us. We were playing in front of a thousand fans for the Battle Series, but now we’re at 4,500. It sounds different and feels different. I do think there were a few nerves.

"I’m not going to say we were nervous. I just don’t think we were as free flowing as we’ve been. We’ve talked about that and understand that. There are a few things we’re going to make changes with that I think will help them feel more fresh and things like that. We know that this is the last official tournament weekend and kind of the last chance to get things right before conference play."

Despite some struggles, the Sooners improved to 14-0 on the season.

Prior to the game, Bowling Green lost to Tulsa 7-0.

They certainly didn't play like it.

The Sooners opted to go with Audrey Lowry in the circle, and the true freshman struggled early. She surrendered back-to-back walks before allowing back-to-back RBIs, which put the Sooners in an early hole. She allowed another RBI single before the end of the frame, giving Bowling Green an early 3-0 lead.

The Sooners generated some momentum in the bottom of the second with Abby Dayton's double, followed by back-to-back walks from Ailana Agbayani and Ella Parker. Cydney Sanders followed that with a grand slam to give the Sooners a 4-3 lead.

But Bowling Green didn't roll over. They added an RBI single off of Lowry in the fourth inning, then an RBI double off of relief pitcher Kierston Deal to wrestle back a 5-4 lead.

The Sooners attempted to rally in the sixth inning, getting back-to-back singles in the sixth inning from Dayton and Agbayani before a sacrifice fly from Ella Parker that tied the game. But neither team scored in the seventh inning, forcing an extra eighth inning.

Sam Landry — who entered the game in the seventh inning — was phenomenal in relief, retiring all six batters she faced while striking out five. That opened the door for Pickering's heroics, as she blasted a three-run, two-out shot to walk it off after Parker and Sanders found their way on base.

Deal and Lowry both struggled in the circle, combining to allow eight hits and five runs while striking out seven batters in six innings. Landry earned the win in relief.

The Sooners matched Bowling Green with eight hits of their own, with Pickering and Dayton both logging two.

"First game, (Bowling Green coach Michelle Gardner) is a good friend of mine and she just took over that program and they've been in not-so-pleasant places," Gasso said. "And to see them show up in front of a crowd and play the way they did made me really happy for her because they made some big-time plays. They really did.

"Wasn't really pleased with what we were doing throughout the game. I thought we were just a little listless. We just weren't getting anything — if we'd connect, they'd make a play. It was more frustrating than anything because they kept making plays. And credit them for that."

It was another slow start for the Sooners.

Paytn Monticelli got the start in the circle, who committed an error and allowed an RBI single that gave Abilene Christian an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Monticelli recovered nicely over the next two innings, striking out three batters while retiring six of seven.

That helped stabilize the Sooners, who again struggled to generate things early on offense. The Sooners logged zero hits over the first two innings.

However, they found a rhythm in the third inning. Sanders blasted a two-run home run that gave the Sooners the lead, then Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and Dayton followed with an RBI double and an RBI single, respectively, that gave the Sooners a 4-1 lead heading to the fourth inning. All four runs came with two outs on the board.

From there, the Sooners coasted. Sanders again delivered an RBI single in the fourth inning to push the lead to four runs. The avalanche came in the fifth inning, as Maya Bland hit an RBI single and Ailana Agbayani hit a sacrifice fly to push the lead to six runs.

Parker ended things with an RBI double that hit the outfield wall, which brought in two runs and secured the run-rule victory.

"This second game, their pitcher threw some really nasty — it was a really devastating 20-miles-per-hour difference," Gasso said. "So we just started putting our runners in motion and putting hit and runs on and things like that just to try to make it easy for our runners to just swing. We were trying to do it early in the count. We had some success with that. I think we started to crack the code on that pitcher, then everything really started to open up."

— The Sooners continue to shift between the true freshman duo of Sydney Barker and Gabbie Garcia at short stop. Barker got the start against Bowling Green, while Garcia got the nod against Abilene Christian.

— There's also been continually tinkering with the designated player spot. Tia Milloy got the nod against Bowling Green, with Parker in the outfield. Against Abilene Christian, Parker was back in her familiar spot as the DP, while Bland replaced her in right field.

— The Sooners stole seven bases on the day. Agbayani combined for four of them and has now tied Parker for the team lead with six.

— Isabella Smith entered in relief against Abilene Christian, throwing three strikeouts while surrendering one hit in two innings.

Smith has yet to allow an earned run this season.

— The Sooners left 14 base runners stranded across the two games.

— Sanders' final line for the day: two hits, seven RBIs, a walk, two home runs.

"Everybody talks about her hitting, but her defense is another level, and she really worked hard when she got here," Gasso said about Sanders. "She knew she had to be a really good fielder to get on the field. She put a lot of work into that. I think Cyd looks at this says -- I don't know if I'm speaking for her -- but it's her senior year, let's go for it. Let's go for it. And her body looks great. I mean, she's been really working hard to be her best this year, and right now, she's really showing it."

— Up next: The Sooners remain home for a doubleheader against Marshall (1:45 p.m.) and Kansas (4:15 p.m.) on Friday. Both games will be streamed on SEC Network+.

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