Softball starts

[sybarite]

OU 4 Kentucky 5 in 10 innings
OU 1 Cal-Fullerton 3
Three more games in the Fullerton tournament.

 

[tycat947]

Fire Patty Gasso???

 

[sybarite]

Fire Patty Gasso???

:ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll:
Well, she hasn't won a title since 2013.

 

[Stringmusic]

OU has a target on the back that is 6 feet in diameter.

 

[Sooner Suzie]

Uh ... don't think the Sooners will be ranked No. 2 in the next poll.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Sooners beat Santa Clara 10-1 in five innings.

 

[sybarite]

Santa Clara is, apparently, horrible. They have lost 0-6, 0-8, 2-4, 1-10, and 0-8.

We have to find replacements for some very special talents. Pitching is key, and Gascoigne and Ricketts were probably two of the top four pitchers in college ball last year. We seem to be searching for a replacement. Stevens has the best shot. Casey isn't doing that badly, although she took the loss against Kentucky. Ham appears hittable. If Stevens and Casey develop, we'll be strong.

Our hitting isn't quite what it should be. Casey and Pendley are off to hot starts. Lauren and WIlliams are not really going that well. The bottom of the order doesn't have Shults and Turang this year.

It can be very important to have the RIcketts/Shults connection, and they have to develop this with Ellis.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Obviously you can't lose the pitchers we did and not suffer. But, I expect the bats to heat up quickly. Lauren will soon be the monster we know her to be at the plate.

 

[sybarite]

At this time last year, we were winning the close ones, 2-0. When we hit, we won 8-0. Even good teams found that scoring one run against us was a problem. If anything, Gascoigne was harder to hit than Ricketts, and she had more control. We shut out top ten teams.

Now, we have lost two games in which we permitted 5 and 3 runs. Having that established pitcher makes a huge difference.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Runners on 1st and 2nd. Pendley grabs a sharply hit grounder, steps on 3rd, fires to Henson at second, who fires to Chamberlain at 1st for a triple play! You don't see that every day.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Sooners beat Loyola Marymount 11-1 in 5 innings.

 

[sybarite]

Two games tomorrow: Illinois State and Arizona State. ASU is good.

 

[KCRuf/Nek]

At this time last year, we were winning the close ones, 2-0. When we hit, we won 8-0. Even good teams found that scoring one run against us was a problem. If anything, Gascoigne was harder to hit than Ricketts, and she had more control. We shut out top ten teams.

Now, we have lost two games in which we permitted 5 and 3 runs. Having that established pitcher makes a huge difference.

She may have been but when KR hit that groove she was something else. I'm concerned about the quality of pitching this year. Hopefully as the season progresses that with tighten up. Replacing those two is tough. Once things get tight it's pitching and defense. You can't win everything 9-4.

 

[SoonerNorm]

OU had a 4 game winning streak but got beat by Arizona St. 7-0. OU only got 1 hit. Stevens (OU) got the loss after giving up 7 runs. ASU must have a good pitcher in Escobeda who struck out 12 OU batters.

 

[sybarite]

When Dallas Escobeda is on, she is almost unhittable. She would be brilliant for a couple of games, and blow up in the next. Rise ball is very effective.

A leadoff home run in the second was the only baserunner in the game until Stevens issued a leadoff walk. Then, she allowed a single and a wild pitch. A single followed that resulted in a blowout.

 

[SoonerinNC]

I think we are in for a tough year. Not bottom half of the Big 12 but I can't see a conference championship much less a run for the national championship from our team.

We don't have a dominant pitcher and the bottom half of the lineup doesn't hit that well creating a lot of pressure on our good hitters.

Don't know what has happened to Patti's recruiting of late. The last two years all of our high school recruits have been in state. They are making up that weak hitting bottom of the lineup.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I think we are in for a tough year. Not bottom half of the Big 12 but I can't see a conference championship much less a run for the national championship from our team.

We don't have a dominant pitcher and the bottom half of the lineup doesn't hit that well creating a lot of pressure on our good hitters.

Don't know what has happened to Patti's recruiting of late. The last two years all of our high school recruits have been in state. They are making up that weak hitting bottom of the lineup.

I do not see how the state of Oklahoma can produce enough quality players to keep us in the top 5 nationally. We have to have some elite players from Texas, Cali, etc.

 

[sybarite]

Thia thread tells us a little about recruiting:

http://ouhoops.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29008&page=15

 

[sybarite]

OU was 4-1 this weekend in Palm Springs, losing a game to UCLA 3-2 in the last at bat. That makes OU 10-5. Stevens, the transfer from Stanford, is 7-3.

A key is that our big hitters are not yet hitting all that well.

 

[SoonerNorm]

OU has their bats going today. Pitching is really good too. Sooners won the first game of a double-header 10-0 and lead the second game 5-0.