NORMAN — Patty Gasso said the Sooners would need heroes to emerge as they looked to secure a series win over Texas.

On Friday, it was Ailana Agbayani.

On Saturday, it was Kierston Deal.

The junior pitcher got the start and went all seven innings. She completely stifled a potent Texas offense, as the Sooners leaned on her en route to a 7-2 win at Love's Field.

The win secures the series victory for the Sooners, who beat the third-ranked Longhorns 7-6 on Friday.

It's been an up and down season for Deal, who came into the game with a 4.09 ERA in conference play. She had pitched just 2.2 total innings over the last two conference weekends as the Sooners have searched for a reliable No. 2 pitcher.

As she previewed the Texas series earlier this week, Gasso said the Sooners' pitching staff would take a by-committee approach for Saturday's Game 2.

Against the Longhorns, Deal answered the call and... dealt.

Deal retired the Texas lineup in order four times in the first five innings. In the second inning, she worked around a single with back-to-back strikeouts to end the frame. In the sixth inning, she surrendered a leadoff walk then retired three straight batters as the Longhorns were scoreless heading into the seventh.

Deal recognized she was in the rhythm before the game began.

"I would say it kind of started even before we warmed up," Deal said. "We had a really good film session and (OU pitching coach Jennifer Rocha) made me feel really prepared for this game. And (I was) trusting my pitches and trusting our defense and our hitters. I could feel it coming before the game started and just being able to stay in that rhythm, in that zone, it really helps."

Her only blemishes came in the final frame. After retiring the first two Texas batters, Deal allowed a single before Victoria Hunter blasted a two-run home run to left field. She finished the win by forcing a fly out to right field.

Deal finished with arguably her best performance as a Sooner, allowing four hits, zero runs and two walks while striking out three batters. It's just the second time she's pitched a full game this season and the first time since leading the Sooners to a win over Tennessee last month.

Experience played a key role in the decision to start Deal, and it paid off for the Sooners.

"Just waiting patiently for a big opportunity," Gasso said of Deal. "She did the same thing to Tennessee... So, we've been there. We've done that. I just really wanted to see — we all really wanted to see — her on the mount tonight. It was tremendous.

"I can't overstate what a good hitting team (Texas is). "They're all tough outs. Lefties, slappers, they've got speed. They've got power. They've got a little bit of everything. To shut them down the way she did through seven was huge for all of us."

The Sooners got the best of both worlds — stellar pitching, and timely hits on offense.

After both teams went scoreless through two innings, Ella Parker opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning with a two-out solo home run to right field.

They created separation in the fourth inning. Ailana Agbayani opened the frame with a single, then Abby Dayton brought her home with an RBI double. Dayton advanced to third on a single from Hannah Coor before Kasidi Pickering brought her home with a sacrifice fly to give the Sooners a 3-0 lead heading to the fifth inning.

Dayton came through again in the fifth inning. The Sooners loaded the bases with a single and two walks, and Dayton brought two runners home with her second RBI of the day that pushed the Sooners' lead to five runs.

"You've gotta keep scoring against Texas because they can show you they can catch you very quickly," Gasso said. "So it was Abby. Nelly's on fire right now. I think that was one of the furthest bombs from Ella Parker that I've ever seen. That kind of started to ignite. But we have been doing a really good job of attacking the zone early. Like really trying to get our swings off early in the counts.

"Seems like we're finding better pitches that way than playing on the defense with two strikes. I like the approach today."

Nelly McEnroe-Marinas punctuated the win with a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth inning.

While Deal was the catalyst defensively, Dayton played the hero role offensively. She finished 2-for-3 at the plate to go with three RBIs and a run. Parker and McEnroe-Marinas both finished with two hits and a home run apiece. Five of the Sooners' runs came with two outs on the board.

The Sooners finished with 10 hits as a team and have logged 20 through two games against Texas.

With the win, the Sooners improve to 41-5 and 15-5 in SEC play. More importantly, they sit alone atop the SEC standings.

They'll look to complete the sweep at 1 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2).

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