What Patty Gasso said about the Sooners' 11-1 run-rule victory over Texas in series opener
By JOEY HELMER
NORMAN, Okla. — The top-ranked Sooners pounded the seventh-ranked Texas Longhorns 11-1 in five innings Friday evening in the series opener between the two. It's their 23rd run-rule decision of the season, as they improved to 31-0 overall and have now won 38 straight.
Afterwards, head coach Patty Gasso addressed the media to discuss the victory. OUInsider.com now presents all of that discussion.
Opening statement: “Really proud of this team. Conditions were a little tough tonight, and we were going to run into cold [and] we were going to run into some wind. Really proud of the way they stepped forward. I thought that was one of the most exciting first innings I’ve seen in a long time, just with the team and the way they [started], Tiare’s [Jennings] battling Jocy [Jocelyn Alo]. I mean, scoring five runs on Texas in one game is a feat, but in one inning is a whole another level. So, this team came ready to play. I thought Giselle ‘G’ Juarez threw exceptionally well tonight. I thought our defense was outstanding. One particular play in [the second inning] was Nicole Mendes making that play in the corner, throwing the runner out at second. That killed some momentum. I thought we made some really good plays to stop momentum. And as routine as it might have looked, there was a fly ball that got caught up in the wind, and Jayda Coleman and Jocy were kind of struggling as to who was going to take it; Jocy ended up making the play. But that would have been a big momentum changer there. I thought Jocy handled herself really good in left field. Just some balls were tough. It’s tough when it gets up in the wind like that. I wasn’t excited that six of our players, we had six hit batters, but they turned into runs. So, whatever you’ve got to do to find a way to score, we do it. I just thought it was one of the most clean, throughout the lineup hard-hitting [games]. She won’t want to hear this, but the only player in our lineup that didn’t get a hit was Kinzie Hansen. But she did get hit by a pitch, so she found a way on. And just bringing in Lou [Mackenzie Donihoo], our attitude with Loo—we thought [Nicole] Mendes might be just a good matchup in right field and as a lefty facing their pitchers, and we thought, ‘Let’s get Loo in there and just give her one at-bat, let her feel what it’s like.’ And she just kind of—I don’t know. It’s just so quiet and unassuming, like [she] just comes up and just smashes. And she’s probably one of the smallest players on our team, which doesn’t really mean anything in our sport. But just a really, really fun and enjoyable game to be a part of, and I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
On Jennings’ leadoff homer in her first-ever Red River game: “Yeah, and I think she took it to a 3-2 count. It didn’t look favorable for her. I thought the speed, [Shealyn] O’Leary was throwing hard, and it was something a little new to Tiare. But she battled—she always battles—which led right into Jocy. So yeah, again, these super freshman, I mean, Coleman hit a triple, and I thought Coleman played really well tonight, too. So I didn’t feel any kind of nerves. It was just more of locked in and let’s go.”
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How she felt Juarez was dealing tonight: “Yeah, I thought she had a different look about her, just on her face, her body language. It was really, really something I remember from 2019, like just very much in control, very confident, very in rhythm. We really needed to see that, and really happy. I feel like she’s continuing to take some ginormous steps for us as we are going towards the finish line here.”
If she thinks this team still has another level it can reach: “That’s a tough question. I just think the pitching staff is still fighting to become elite. They’re very good, but they’re fighting to become elite. The lineup is pretty lethal. I think any team could tell you that. But what’s really great about this team is they still don’t think they’re good enough. They’re always working. I’m not having to tell them to go in and get extra work in. They are having a blast because, to be quite honest, we remember what 2020 did look like; and we played six weeks and although our record may not make you think this, we knew we weren’t a good team, not to our standards. So, to see what has developed from this team in a year is just really mind-boggling. The new freshmen that have come in, a couple transfers that have come in has just made a huge difference, plus the experience that we bring back. So, I just think our pitching staff continues to work to get to another level, and the team, they just have so much fun that it’s easy. The game becomes very easy, and that is enjoyable to watch. I think I was really having fun listening to our fans behind me. Those are a lot of our parents who were fired up for this Red River Rivalry as well. So, they kind of gave some amp to their kids, and you could feel that. But we’re just going to keep working to be great.”
How pleased she was with her team’s mindset in the first inning and setting the tempo for the rest of the series: “Yeah, you know, Shea O’Leary has got wonderful numbers, and she’s very, very good. It’s been a while since they’ve been here. And so it’s not easy. Red River is not easy to play in Norman or in Texas, if you’re the visiting team. It’s just not easy. So, I think also something that has ignited this team a little bit is people just don’t believe that we’re playing a tough enough schedule. And so there were some words, I guess, about they’re too rested and untested, and that did not bode well with this team at all. So they had a little bit of proving to do, I think, in their own minds. But we saw two of their pitchers. We’re going to most likely see their lefty tomorrow, who’s very good as well. So it’s just always nice—and any coach would tell you—to try to get that first game in your back pocket. And in the style that we did it makes this team feel really good about the work. We were out on the field yesterday in the rain practicing, expecting that we were going to run into this. And so the preparation time, the coaches have done a really good job, Coach [Jennifer] Rocha and J.T. Gasso with preparation, and this team is really ready when the game starts.”
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What extra level it gives them to be more aggressive when they know the lineup is so good and teams make errors: “Yeah, our team hits the ball hard. And if you are a defender and you know they hit the ball hard, even when they don’t hit it hard you’re just kind of like, ‘Wait a minute. They didn’t hit it as hard.’ You know, it’s tough. It’s tough when you’re playing a hard-hitting team. And Texas swings it, and you make look into, well, they got three hits—they swing it. If the wind was changing, things might look a little bit different. And we know that. I think they know that. Their catcher is an absolute stud. I mean, she just has a hose, and it’s hard to run on her. And she really keeps runners at bay. That’s why it’s more of instead of any kind of straight steals, we’re going to have to put the ball in play with our runners in motion. She’s tough. But I just feel like when you look through the lineup, we just [have] really, really strong swings and aggressive base running. And I don’t know. It’s just tough. It’s tough to play us. But it’s also tough to play them. I don’t think the score [tells the story]. Without question, it’s not indicative of what Texas is made of. And I know that. We all know that. So we’re not celebrating this. We got one, and we’re going to keep fighting. But we’re not thinking that this is going to be easy the rest of the way, by any means.”
