Softball

SoonerTraveler said:
Time to bounce back. All credit to Wisconsin. They came into Norman, played tough, played smart, and won the game. It will be interesting to see if the Sooner batters can adjust. That slow change-up pitch was more than they could handle in the first game today. The OU batters also watched too many strikes on the outside corner.

Sydney Romero has it figured out. Hopefully, she can pass along her batting approach to her teammates.

Looking on the bright side, we get to watch another OU softball game today. If they cannot win 2 out of 3 games in Norman against Wisconsin, then they obviously do not deserve to advance.

:OU-logo:
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Romero’s strategy is to be ready to swing and let ‘er rip on the first pitch over the plate. As you stated so well, Wisky’s pitchers won the game by betting our hitters would not swing at anything close to the outside corner. Alo, in particular, seems to be afraid to swing the bat. With her power she should be able to take any outside pitch over the fence by making up her mind to go to the opposite field.

I’m hoping we’ll see the aggressive team we’ve seen all season, not the timid group we saw in this afternoon’s game. It would be a shame if an OU team this good is not at least in the Super Regionals!
 
Amazing stat per the announcer:

Wisky has been outhit 36-12 in the regional. Talk about timely hitting...
 
In case you lost it, the game is now on ESPNU. Ou leads 1-0 in the bottom of the 3rd.
 
If we can hold on, the loss may help relax them as they head into a super regional.....

No more worrying about the streak and hearing how great they are every day.
 
Another remarkable stat: Entering the fifth inning (I think) of this game, Wiscy had made 69 (!) substitutions in their five games in this regional.
 
Gosh, we need some insurance in the top of the 7th. Wisconsin has had some tremendous rallies already.
 
Patty Gasso after game:

"We needed that." Backs against the wall battling a gritty determined Wisconsin team.

"Wisconsin made us better." Winning against a team like that builds character that should help as the post-season continues.

Patty sounded very happy, and proud of her team, to say the least.

:OU-logo: :OU-logo: :OU-logo: :OU-logo:
 
Chris Plank: The last time OU lost a game in their regional .. OU went on to win the national championship.
 
My concern has not been as much about the hitting as the pitching. Jaurez is the closest to a dominating pitcher like Ricketts and usually that is what wins the big one. Maybe she is good enough.

Now we go into an offensive funk like we had in the championship last year.

And Northwestern who looks like our opponent in the super regional is better than Wisconsin who held us to 7 runs in 3 games.

Hopefully our pitching will hold up and the hitting will return.
 
Very relieved to move on, Wisconsin definitely had some “Badger Magic”

Here’s hoping our bats don’t stay dead like they did in the WCWS last year.

I thought taking Lopez out of the game in game 1 today was what cost us. The momentum completely changed then.
 
I'm not a diehard softball fan, so that's probably part of it, but I'm always amazed to see the criticisms of our team. How many games in a row did we win? 41?

I guess there's no such thing as a content fanbase.
 
sybarite said:
I don't care that it was the home plate umpire's call. IF you didn''t have a perfect view, or if there is that much controversy, wouldn't it be a good idea to gather the umpires together to see if anyone had seen anything that might help? ---like chalk dust? The failure to even request input was rather arrogant.
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Not 100% certain but I have been told my a couple of sources one a travel ball coach and read on the web that by rule the call is the home plate umps call and he is prohibited from asking for help by the 3rd base up. Before the bag home plate ump makes the call after the bag 3rd base up makes the call.

If it is a rule that you cannot get help it is a bad rule. I can understand the home plate ump not being able to see the chalk dust from 60' away and thinking perhaps the ball was redirected by the 3rd baseman's glove but no question the 3rd base ump knew it was a bad call but could do nothing about it.
 
SoonerinNC said:
My concern has not been as much about the hitting as the pitching. Jaurez is the closest to a dominating pitcher like Ricketts and usually that is what wins the big one. Maybe she is good enough.

Now we go into an offensive funk like we had in the championship last year.

And Northwestern who looks like our opponent in the super regional is better than Wisconsin who held us to 7 runs in 3 games.

Hopefully our pitching will hold up and the hitting will return.
Click to expand...

If our hitting with power does not return our chances of winning it all becomes slim and much more dependent on getting a break here and there.

Defending champ FSU had 17 of their 25 hits go for extra bases with 10 being dingers. In 3 games against Wisconsin 4 of our 17 hits were for extra bases with 3 being HR's.

Also future opponents now know a fast ball, change up an drop game plan will be very effective against the Sooners. We could not hit either the change or the drop. I kept thinking we would move up in the batters box to better timing to hit the change but not so.

Of the top 8 seeds we scored the fewest runs per game for the regionals against what on paper was the easiest regional.
 
sybarite said:
The best teams tend to have two things other than just being good. You have at least one hitter, maybe two, like a Lauren Chamberlain, Keilani Ricketts, Sydney Romero, Shay Knighten who tend to step up at big moments.

Shay, perhaps because of her injuries last year and this, had a unique ability to get a huge hit in the CWS, doing it in two straight series, game-winning HR type hits against good pitchers. She has had remarkably few home runs and key doubles, but they come at key times. Lauren and Keilani did that. Shay was often accompanied by big hits by Romero.

If you have great pitching like the Paiges or Kelani, you need more than just a 350 hitter or a good hitter. You need that person who steps up in the biggest stage.

Shay did it as a freshman. But, I don't know that I have ever seen a bigger stage than the 17th inning shot to win that game. Then, she turned around and hit a bases-loaded double to right center driving in three of our four runs to win the next game. Two big hits like that make you a great team.

Do we have it this year? Could it be Romero and Caleigh or Alo? Caleigh seems to be learning to play on center stage.

Then, after Keilani wins a big game with a double while Lauren gets a key HR, you get a shutout by your #2 starter in the title game? That is greatness. That team had it. The two teams with our freshmen had it. Who makes this year great?
Click to expand...

Very true. We will know rather shortly if we have that key player necessary to win it all. Also even great teams normally need a key break or two in critical situations to win it all. A little luck is always generally a factor.
 
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