Oklahoma is in unfamiliar territory in the Women’s College World Series, down three runs to Florida in the fourth inning. Patty Gasso is used to seeing her team dominate in Oklahoma City. But Florida is putting up a good fight and attempting to force one final game to earn a spot in the WCWS Championship Series.
ESPN’s Holly Rowe asked Gasso about the sense of urgency coming from the Oklahoma dugout. Gasso is using the scenario as a teaching moment, though. The Sooners “need” to learn how to play from behind and claw back into a game.
After all, worst-case scenario, there is another game to be played.
“This is good for us,” Gasso said. “We need to learn how to come back. We haven’t made very great plays. They’ve had some very nice, timely hits. So, we got to bow up.”
Oklahoma has won 20 consecutive NCAA Tournament games, going back a few years. Winning national championship — at times with relative ease — has become normal under Gasso. Going back-to-back-to-back these past three seasons has set an incredibly high standard.
Win or lose, there is a lesson Gasso can teach her team after the game. While she wants to come from behind and get the victory, playing through some adversity could wind up benefitting the Sooner long-term.
Patty Gasso explains pitching change in fourth inning vs. Florida
Gasso decided to give Nicole May the start on Monday afternoon. But May lasted just two innings, giving up four runs on six hits, a walk, and just two strikeouts. Not the best performance for her, forcing a pitching change from the head coach.
Kierston Deal is now in the circle for Oklahoma, hoping to keep them in the game. Gasso explained the decision to move on from May and her hopes for Deal.
“They were just tagging Nicole a little bit,” Gasso said. “Just hard hit balls. If we can keep ourselves within three runs, we have a chance. We can’t let it get too far away.”
It’s not too hard to imagine a world where the Oklahoma bats come to life over the final three innings. Oklahoma is averaging over six runs per game in the NCAA Tournament, dating back to the Norman Regional.
Keeping Florida at bay with four runs could play a huge factor in the next game being the ‘If necessary’ one or the WCWS title series.
6 Oklahoma Sooners aren’t done just yet, avoiding elimination on Sunday with a 4-3 win over Duke that sets them up with a rematch against UConn later in the day with Super Regional stakes on the line.
After a dominant win over Oral Roberts to start the Norman Regional and a loss to the Huskies on Saturday, the Sooners will look to force a winner-take-all Regional Final game on Monday with a victory in their double-header against UConn on Sunday night. Which Oklahoma left fielder Kendall Pettis discussed following the Sooners’ win over the Blue Devils.
“It was a big win for us, we’ve got one more,” Pettis said. “So the excitement is up right now, but we gotta calm back down and we’ve got one more game to play out here against UConn. So we’re looking forward to that and just gotta keep it rolling now.”
Pettis didn’t record any hits for Oklahoma against Duke, but made a pair of big-time, highlight play catches on defense that played a major role in the Sooners’ victory. Making an impressive diving catch in the second inning followed by another snag in the third inning where he crashed against the wall in the outfield. Detailing the latter following the game.
“The outfield crew, we work on that all the time where we go one and then we gotta turn around and turn our head around the other way, and so we worked on that all the time in practice. Off the bat it was going to my left, and then you know it’s a lefty, and it start curving and the wind is going that way too. So I’m like, ‘Okay, well now I gotta go the other way.’ I really just let instincts take over,” Pettis explained. “It was a high, high emotion game and I know that guy just robbed our centerfielder John Spikerman literally the inning before I was like I gotta get him back.”
The first few innings of the game were filled with dazzling defensive plays from both team’s, which included freshman AJ Garcia‘s home run robbery that prevented Oklahoma’s three-run third inning from being a five-run outing. A Rocco Garza-Gongora RBI single and a two-RBI triple from Jason Walk powered Oklahoma’s third-inning scoring outburst. Which was followed later in the game by a Michael Snyder RBI single in the seventh inning to give the Sooners the runs they needed to secure the win.
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