Why it happened

[j2d2]

1. Patty Gasso: spotted the talent, recruited it and got it to OU; was wise enough to believe that they were talented enough to not require in-your-ear coaching and she recruited Kady and Erin to herd them
2. Melissa Lombardy: shepherded our only pitcher through the whole thing to get us through
3. Erin Miller & Kady Self who embraced the freshmen and made them comfortable so that their talent could shine. They were the basis of this astounding team bonding that carried this bunch to a championship.

I'm a bit stunned at these kids barely out of nappies. You can see that Patty is, too. Look out world!!!

 

[cowboysooner]

First, the tournament was good TV. Fun to watch and both teams played very well. Few mistakes, but overall, the performances were excellent.

Second, I liked the move of sitting Parker in game two. If you pitch her in game two and she pitches tired and loses, then what do you think she is going to pitch like the next day. You might win in game two with the other girls anyway, and if you don't, Parker should be rested and give you what you need to win in game 3.

Liked the look of Chestnutt, and can see her being really good down the road.

Only negative I saw, I'm not sure I saw a chamberlain among the freshman, but maybe knighton will grow into some more power. It would be nice to have a little more power in the 3 and 4 spots in the batting order.

Future looks bright for sure. BTW, does anyone know where you can read the bios of the kids we signed for next year?

 

[tycat947]

First, the tournament was good TV. Fun to watch and both teams played very well. Few mistakes, but overall, the performances were excellent.

Second, I liked the move of sitting Parker in game two. If you pitch her in game two and she pitches tired and loses, then what do you think she is going to pitch like the next day. You might win in game two with the other girls anyway, and if you don't, Parker should be rested and give you what you need to win in game 3.

Liked the look of Chestnutt, and can see her being really good down the road.

Only negative I saw, I'm not sure I saw a chamberlain among the freshman, but maybe knighton will grow into some more power. It would be nice to have a little more power in the 3 and 4 spots in the batting order.

Future looks bright for sure. BTW, does anyone know where you can read the bios of the kids we signed for next year?

I agree. Patty had to rest Paige. She still wasn't 100% last night although adrenaline helped her through.

I'm not sure we have to have a Chamberlain/Pendley (and not many could fit that bill!) but I think we'll be fine. Lundberg and Finney were both strong hitters in high school, and both Top 50 recruits so hopefully, they will get stronger during offseason.

I also was impressed by Jayden, especially with how little work she's received during postseason. As a freshman, she came into a high pressure situation and did a good job. I think she'll benefit greatly from that experience. I'm not sure she'll be #2, but if she improves, she will be a great backup for this team. We need Brittany to develop as well (highly recruited) so we don't need to solely rely on freshmen to backup Paige next year.

Here are recruits coming in next year:

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArt...51&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=210488003

 

[j2d2]

Jayden was better earlier in the year than in the later part. I suspect it was because the teams we faced got better later in the year. I dont think she is very far away from being good. I really hope Patty uses Finney more earlier in the year, at least, so we can get a good look at her.
I dont know about the need for more power(always good) but we need some more batting smarts. We watch the first pitch 80% of the time knowing that the opposing pitcher wants to throw a first pitch strike. I'd like to see more aggressive hitting. We seemed to get less aggressive toward the later part of the year.

 

[cowboysooner]

BTW, am I the only person that wanted to go out and hug the Shea kid as she made her way back to the dugout crying and apologizing for losing the game.

Kid is sitting on the bench wondering what they were going to do for dinner, and the coach tells her that she is pinch hitting with 2 outs in the 7th and runners on base, oh and by the way, our School and teams entire history and a national championship are on the line and entirely in your hands. She goes to the plate, works the count to 3-2 against the best pitcher in the womens game, and then fights off 7 consecutive pitches before hitting a hard grounder that happens to be close enough to our second baseman to get thrown out.

Heroic in my mind and absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I am a sooner, but couldn't have been prouder of a kid. Hopefully, she has had to reflect on just what a tough situation she was put in and how extraordinary her effort was.

The fact that Parker threw 8 straight strikes under the circumstances is nothing short of unbelievable. Shea gets on base, and we are looking at having to go through Howard and the 2-4 hitters with a tired Parker that has thrown over 100 pitches. could have been bad.

 

[scrybe]

First, the tournament was good TV. Fun to watch and both teams played very well. Few mistakes, but overall, the performances were excellent.

Second, I liked the move of sitting Parker in game two. If you pitch her in game two and she pitches tired and loses, then what do you think she is going to pitch like the next day. You might win in game two with the other girls anyway, and if you don't, Parker should be rested and give you what you need to win in game 3.

Liked the look of Chestnutt, and can see her being really good down the road.

Only negative I saw, I'm not sure I saw a chamberlain among the freshman, but maybe knighton will grow into some more power. It would be nice to have a little more power in the 3 and 4 spots in the batting order.

Future looks bright for sure. BTW, does anyone know where you can read the bios of the kids we signed for next year?

Sydney Romero's power stroke improved dramatically in the post season. The kid is uber talented (much like her big sis) and I'd be willing to bet her HR numbers will rise dramatically next season. In fact, of those four homers Sydney smacked in the postseason, most were tape-measure shots.

On top of that, she may be the most physically gifted and technically sound third baseman I've ever seen – as a freshman. And that's saying a lot after having watched Kelsey Arnold play that position last year.

Please don't think I'm trying to minimize what Shay Knighten has done. That kid is also a star in the making, and, who knows, she may actually wind up challenging Chamberlain's homerun record.

 

[NorthCarolinaSooner]

First, the tournament was good TV. Fun to watch and both teams played very well. Few mistakes, but overall, the performances were excellent.

Second, I liked the move of sitting Parker in game two. If you pitch her in game two and she pitches tired and loses, then what do you think she is going to pitch like the next day. You might win in game two with the other girls anyway, and if you don't, Parker should be rested and give you what you need to win in game 3.

Liked the look of Chestnutt, and can see her being really good down the road.

Only negative I saw, I'm not sure I saw a chamberlain among the freshman, but maybe knighton will grow into some more power. It would be nice to have a little more power in the 3 and 4 spots in the batting order.

Future looks bright for sure. BTW, does anyone know where you can read the bios of the kids we signed for next year?

ask and you shall receive:

http://www.soonersports.com/ViewArt..._LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=31000&ATCLID=210488003&KEY=

 

[Larry72]

Great info Thanks!!!