NORMAN — The run rule seemed all but inevitable.

Gabbie Garcia got things started in the bottom of the fourth inning with a leadoff double, then found home on a wild pitch to give the Sooners a 5-0 lead over Tulsa. Ella Parker then hit a double, and Cydney Sanders followed that with a walk.

Kasidi Pickering stepped the plate with two base runners. On the fifth pitch, the sophomore blasted a home run to dead centerfield to push the Sooners' lead to eight runs.

"“Today was definitely a pick-me-up for the beginning of the season and how I've been doing," Pickering said. "But the last at-bat, I was really thinking about the pitch before that I missed and I was like, ‘Get another pitch hit hard.’"

The only thing left remaining were the finishing touches.

Isabella Smith, in relief of Kierston Deal, entered the circle in the top of the fifth inning and was methodical, delivering two strikeouts and a ground out to secure the Sooners' 8-0 win over the Golden Hurricane.

With the win, the No. 2-ranked Sooners improve to 11-0 on the season. Here's a few notes from the game:

— That fourth inning double from Parker extended her hitting streak to 15 consecutive games. That dates back to the final four games of last season.

— Deal got the start in the circle, throwing four strikeouts and allowing just two hits and one walk in four innings. It's been a great early season for Deal, who has allowed just 11 hits and two earned runs in 20 innings while striking out nine batters.

"It's been really good to not face our offense, so that's a really great thing just to be able to see how much this staff is capable of and how much we're growing," Deal said. "It's a really fun process to be a part of so can't thank our coaches and everything enough for that."

— The Sooners' offense didn't log a single strikeout and were also walked six times.

— Gasso has found a starting lineup she likes with Abby Dayton, Parker, Cydney Sanders and Pickering batting in the first four spots.

In addition, Gabbie Garcia got the start at short stop while Sydney Barker was the designated player.

— The Sooners got things started in the third inning, when Parker hit a ball down the right field line with bases loaded. It was officially ruled an error, but it led to three runs on the board to give the Sooners a big early lead.

Ailana Agbayani added an RBI single that scored Pickering in the third inning, before Pickering's home run.

— This was the home debut for the Sooners after spending their first two weekends on the road. That was something to monitor for Gasso, particularly with a roster filled with young players and new transfers.

"We're very excited to be home but it's not easy to throw somebody out there in front of 4,200 people when we were playing our Battle Series in front of 1,000 and that was big for some of these guys," Gasso said. "Some of our freshmen have not probably been in front of crowds bigger than 2-300, so you could feel it. We had the same kind of start last year but it was different. It was more petrified. We were just kind of on a slow start but we really wanted to just get some people some opportunities."

— Final word from Gasso: "I think, to be honest, the last couple of weeks, we've seen these guys hit the ball much harder early in the game as well, like, setting the tone. So we didn't do anything wrong. We did everything right. Defense was great, pitching outstanding. I think what we are used to seeing is like one after another, after another, after another. And it was kind of like a walk, maybe a ground out, then another walk. And it was kind of more pieced together than just gap, gap, gap gap, gap."

— Up next: The Sooners host Wichita State at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.

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