And Coleman provided a bit of pop from the top of the lineup as well. "If you think you are carrying the weight on your shoulders, you are not.". Isn't this umpire aware of who the career home run leader is? "It's how the whole season has gone," Gasso says of her defending national champions. 2 pitcher -- even if she was the best No. I just completely trust that she's not going to let me run into the wall head first.. She's shook!" This is what the piling up of wins and supersizing of expectations in Norman have fostered. We have learned all year about going to battle for the Lord and with the Lord on and off the field, and at the end of the day God gets the glory, team chaplain Sarah Roberts tweeted. The new ballparks construction is something of a crowning achievment for Gassos career. The church and service are in keeping with the team's brand of faith. Offense has been I mean, we faced a few in this tournament, without question, that really challenged us. In a battle between the top two teams in the nation, Oklahoma's offense absolutely erupted for a. Being comfortable and knowing my team has my back, it's getting easier as the innings go on.". They know how hard we work. Others receiving votes:Texas A&M (54), Louisiana (33),Arizona State (19), BYU (17), San Diego State (7), Mississippi State (6), Cal State Fullerton (4), Louisville (3),North Texas (2), UNC Charlotte (2), California (1). UCLA head coach KellyInouye-Perez said Faraimo is on a mission this season. It's Gasso's church too, though she booked a 6 a.m. flight out of Oklahoma for the day after the series to visit her mother in California, so she's absent this weekend. Oklahomans don't surrender their season tickets, you see; they pass them down like heirlooms, to children and grandchildren, to friends and neighbors.). And a lot of times if you have two of the three parts of your game working well, youre going to find ways to win.. It takes the entire outfield to help Coleman come up with a massive catch, and that was on full display again in Oklahoma City. Gasso knows the potholes and pratfalls of a road pockmarked with expectations. Kinzie Hansen walked through the mayhem, and her eyes widen, the whites bulging, even now, all these months later, at the memory of it. Lyons identifies and reads aloud a verse before every game. She's got no shot. That is what they have built. Here are the 15 craziest stats from the 2022 Oklahoma softball season, so far: 1. @kinziehansen in a way Will they be 40 run-rule wins good in 2023? Gasso credits him for nurturing what was not in her nature: the notion that she could be a coach without being consumed by coaching. Gasso will tune in sometimes to the local radio show, which is meant to be about Oklahoma sports in general but winds up hyper-focused on softball. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Bahl was the All-American and co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, not Trautwein. Additionally, the game will be aired on tape delay on MLB Network at 10 p.m. To say the Oklahoma softball team is rolling into the Big 12 season is a major understatement. Despite the loss of Jocelyn Alo, Oklahoma Softball will remain offensive John Williams follow June 15, 2022 7:00 am CT You can't lose a player like Jocelyn Alo and not feel it in your lineup.. Joshua R . Gasso was uneasy about what that meant. OU Softball: Oklahoma Rounds Out Perfect Hall of Fame Classic With Win The weight of it all, they insist, is not a 10th teammate taking the field with them. Get ready for a good one. Don't they hate losing? Bang. Copyright 2023 University of Oklahoma Athletics. Lyons has chosen Philippians 4:6 as the daily verse, which she speedreads aloud to the team gathered around her. She has done what needed doing, she figures, and she'll spend her time elsewhere. The news was first reported by Extra Inning Softball. This is her playground. Locked On Sooners - Daily Podcast On Oklahoma Sooners Football Latest 11:35 am, February 26, 2023 FINAL: No. At home. Rocha Named NFCA Assistant Coach of the Year, Hansen Wins Johnny Bench Award for Nations Top Catcher, Softball Coaches Named NFCA Staff of the Year, Sooners Complete Three Peat, Win Seventh National Title, Softball 2023 National Championship Celebration. The Sooners had lost a close 4-3 battle to Baylor last week, and it looks like that was all they needed to wake up the beast. So, what we did instead was get three or four to replace Jocelyn Alo. But like I say every single time, the best thing out of those plays is watching your teammates react and watching them just be so happy for you. "feat. Gasso says. They were talking about how Trautwein allowed only two earned runs through the middle of May, after all. @kinziehansen That is the team's most recent addition to their hardware stockpile: the 2022 Big 12 regular-season trophy. They even faced No. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso knew it sounded strange as she said it out loud. 1 Oklahoma to 27-1 on the year and dropped No. After Philippians 4:6 for Game 2, it was Timothy 6:11 for Game 3: "But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness" -- though she ad-libs "woman" for this particular delivery. @FloSoftball pic.twitter.com/gM7sb1XanT, . 2023 NCAA | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. And we do still have it, but flipped. 0:04. https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/2022/06/15/oklahoma-sooners-softball-jayda-coleman-tiare-jennings-jocleyn-alo-grace-lyons-rylie-boone-alyssa-brito/, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. UF softball team adds more power with Oklahoma transfer Jocelyn Erickson OU Softball: Oklahoma Headlines D1 Softball's Top 100 Players of 2023 Now the MLB draft is calling, Ohio law targets bettors who threaten athletes, Arizona St. men's hockey joining vaunted NCHC, Universities, NCAA see pros and cons of new state NIL laws, Source: SDSU plans to remain in Mountain West, AD: Harvard women's hockey not pushing hazing, IRS: Some nonprofit NIL groups may not qualify, Home run balls, vigilant ushers and the souvenir of a lifetime at the WCWS, The surprising secrets behind the most dominant team in sports, Inside Oklahoma softball's Jordy Bahl's 'whole other level of greatness', Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "Expectation was something that was weighing on us and everybody was trying to outdo their performance from the year prior," she said in the aftermath. There's a collective amen, and then, almost like it's an afterthought -- some girls have already started to break free from the huddle and have to scoot back to rejoin the chorus -- they shout: "One, two, three, WIN! She lifts the bat over her right shoulder. If you watched softball last season, you know that the Sooners were known for being an absolute offensive powerhouse. Life outside a softball field? OUTSIDE THE FRONT GATES of Marita Hynes Field, at the head of a line that wends its way from the stadium and down (and down and down) Wadsack Drive, are a handful of fans who met doing exactly this: getting to softball games early. Thumps it against her back in three short, violent bursts. "Our alums will call me and say, 'Why are you changing? She spent the first five years of her collegiate career at Long Beach City College, burnishing impressive credentials: 161-59-1; four South Coast Conference titles; California Community College Coach of the Year honors. pic.twitter.com/aPOJxgYh3p, Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 4, 2023. Oklahoma softball opens Big 12 play this weekend as the nation's most offensive team. Alo watches as Kelly Maxwell, Oklahoma State's ace, hosts a conference in the circle, conferring with the catcher and coach. We focus on the journey. #ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/dZjk1QwwaD, Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) June 8, 2021. The bus ride from Austin to Norman is six hours long, a straight shot north, and the team spent the first hour in silence, sitting with this unsettling, foreign sensation: defeat. Her signature OU visor and ponytail combo? Jordy Bahl is just an absolute complete athlete, Gasso said after Thursdays 3-1 title clincher over the 3-seeded Florida State Seminoles. Maybe even a little offended. 30:08. University of Oklahoma Athletics 'Celebrate the little things', Why OU softball cherishes every home run hit at the WCWS: 'Thats what motivates us', What you need to know about NCAA softball tournament, WCWS in OKC, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. If someone beats us, we've made their career.". "To see our team bow up and step up and say, 'We're not going home,'" Gasso said, "that was important.". The Longhorns clawed to a 4-2 win that day -- Oklahoma's lone defeat this year until the universe briefly forgot gravity existed and the Sooners fell to Oklahoma State in extra innings in the Big 12 tournament title game -- then rejoiced like they were the Red Sox slaying Babe Ruth's curse at last. However, Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman will be the sparks that make that lineup special as well. Erickson batted .337 in her . A go-ahead grand slam. 3 Florida on Thursday at the Mary Nutter, and they run-ruled them with a 10-0 win in five innings. OKLAHOMA CITY Long before the pomp and circumstance of the Womens College World Series, Oklahoma was gritting out games. Your monthly ticket to the biggest stories on the most captivating athletes, told with inside access, bold reporting and unforgettable visuals. INCREASE STORY: Who I Am in Christ Shay Knighten For the briefest of moments, it seems possible softball might actually enter the conversation -- a fiery pregame speech, perhaps?! They're in no particular order, practically thrown on top of another in a heap because they have nowhere glamorous to live just yet. This is her heaven right here, at the World Series where it's real and it's someone else that we're competing against.. Shaw finally got out of the inning, but the damage was already done. Faith is this team's drumbeat. So what we do is to bring passion to our circle, and its never against anyone else. The Sooners tried to battle back from a 4-1 deficit, but ultimately fell 4-3. And this hasn't been against weak competition the Bruins have taken down Alabama, Virginia Tech, Louisiana and Florida. So when things like those plays come into play on this big stage, I mean, it's so joyful to watch.. Cover Story: How Jocelyn Alo became the NCAA's home run queen, The surprising secrets behind the most dominant team in sports, Recapping an eventful 2023 MCWS and a way-too-early look ahead to next year, Geauxmaha: LSU a fitting champion following the greatest MCWS ever, 2023 MCWS rewind: LSU wins first title since 2009, N'western fires baseball coach amid allegations, ACC, CW ink deal to air 50 football, hoops games, Gymnastics champ to juggle LSU, Olympics prep, SEC extends 'visionary' Sankey through 2028, NCAA finds 175 sports-betting violations since '18, Report: Nassar stabbed after lewd tennis remark, Clark, Brown named prep players of the year, How a Jell-O shot challenge became the second-biggest event in Omaha, Omaha's Mardi Gras: LSU fans have made the MCWS their second home. You can also follow John on Twitter @john9williams. Moving forward, we're getting stuff.". They know this stage is not a pedestal for them but a platform for God., If you want to know what the 4 and BATL means #nationalchampionship #WCWS pic.twitter.com/TEFsQDVxLP, Sarah L Roberts (@fcatrophywife) June 8, 2021, B4TL read as Battle was the brainchild of junior infielder Grace Lyons, who came up with the acronym BATL, which stands for Boast About The Lord. As Roberts put it, they are playing for God and for others. My identity is not in sport. OU has made a habit of reveling in successes, no matter how small. Including me.". We dont talk about the word three-peat. Its just staying day to day and focusing on the moment Its a really good group that understands that, but they also want to make history.. She was candid when asked how her squad ended up at a hockey game that night. Gasso repeats her affirmation three more times, until it transforms into a mantra. All postseason long, she's followed a simple rule of thumb: "Stick to my routine. Maybe an hour and a half, they'll grant. It was win No. And while shell be missed for the bombs she launched and the joy in which she played, the Sooners offense will still be really, really good. The reason sounded as strange as Gasso talking about the positive effect of the loss to UCLA: Oklahoma was a victim of its own dominance with 76% of its games ending early by virtue of lopsided scores. When it rains it pours, and these Oklahoma bats are absolutely contagious right now. People may take it that way, but its all for our own joy and passion, never to tear down anyone else.. @FloSoftball pic.twitter.com/eelqGzK7mm, . Hair and makeup by Sharon Tabb. We have been playing this year 4 Him. Alex Storako starred on that day, blanking the Red Raiders to help the Sooners win 3-0. Postgame, they congregate by the circle and invite their opponents to pray with them. Jocelyn Alo hit 30 home runs in her 2018 freshman year, then figured she'd better hit something like 40 in her encore as a sophomore. That is to say, many of these players live their religion extremely out loud, which is why they'll tell you they do not live -- nor die -- for their record, or for titles, or for softball at all. But then Trautwein got the start and never gave Gasso a reason to make a change, allowing two runs in the complete-game effort. But we are talking about the D1softball No. The reveal is fleeting, but illuminating: Piety has not paved a smooth road to puritanism. What's valuable is the response, the rebound and the extra work that is going to be put in to make us better. North Georgia won another national championship to cap the 2023 DII softball season. For now, here in this cramped room, who they are and what they've done and what they can still do is distilled into its purest form. "The idea of someone being better than them?" The top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (54-2) begin the final leg of their title. We have been prepared and battle-tested all for moments like this., RELATED STORIES: They're not bombastic about the knowing, but it's a healthy spoonful of bravado, of self-celebration, all the same -- born from understanding who they are and how they play this game. 1 starter, would Trautwein be the same pitcher? After the Sooners beat the top-10 Cowgirls in the second game of the series (6-0; a rare non-run-rule outing), they secured their 10th straight Big 12 regular-season title. The University of Oklahoma softball team could win a pair of ESPY awards this week. Softball doesnt define me. D1Softball's top 100 college softball players from 2023 Tiare Jennings finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and a homer and Kinzie Hansen had two homers for five RBI in the win. The ball takes its sweet time, on a leisurely midair stroll. What held true in April won the day in June. In fact, the . The truth is she wasn't an iconoclast back then at all. A year later, Saile and her teammates are the No. ", THEY DO WIN, naturally. Trautwein, for her part, is matter-of-fact about her development on the game's biggest stage. 0:03. Twenty-eight years ago, when she started out, or 18 years ago, or even eight years ago, would she have been at the facility, eyes on their way to a rheumy glaze, instead of a French bakery? Lauren Shaw will now enter the circle for the UCLA Bruins with two outs in the top of the second. Lexi Kilfoyl. T5 | OU 14, UCLA 0 pic.twitter.com/jwYmW4wQOG. Why can we not wear our emotions on our sleeves?, It really disappoints me on the double standard and just seeing how male athletes slide with things and how female athletes dont. So when Alo strides to the plate two innings later, it's only natural that practically everyone -- her father, Levi; her coach; Grace Lyons; Alo herself; the usher named Carla who's stationed by the dugout and refers to the squad as "my girls" -- knows in a way that's guttural that she will not swoon a third time. On Lynnsie Elam's locker (Joshua 6:4-5); on Jordy Bahl's locker (Ephesians 1:11); on Alyssa Brito's visor that resides in her locker ("Glorify Him"). What does Oklahoma State softball's pitching staff look like after In a statement announcing her addition a year ago this month, Gasso alluded to Trautwein's experience, which she said would be "really important for this young staff that we have coming in and returning." The Sooners are looking to make a big-time statement here today after losing a close game to Baylor last week. It's just that simple. Or you dont. "How can you be mad about Jesus, and the resurrection, and living in heaven for eternity?". Being the team's No. GASSO'S FAITHFULNESS TO this doctrine -- that no one player is irreplaceable, nor any different from the player beside her, no matter how decorated -- is practically religious. Please Stop Talking About Softball It's Obnoxious This is supposed to be a football podcast. Here is what one week of living and breathing Sooners softball in Norman -- from the locker room to the pews of Sunday church; from film sessions in the bowels of a field house to lunches far off campus -- makes plain: The University of Oklahoma softball team is not just breaking the mold on dominance. Grace Lyons got it started with an RBI-single to score Cydney Sanders for an 11-0 lead, then Hansen launched a three-run homer to left-field. The Sooners piled on some more runs, highlighted by Kinzie Hansen's second homer of the day for a 14-0 lead. "Now we're getting stuff. At the top of the order, Jayda Coleman became the table-setter for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Oklahoma softball team won the 2021 Women's College World Series after what was a dominating season. 6 overall pick, former Grand Canyon star Jacob Wilson puts 'God first'. Everyone just might be starting to get flashbacks to Oklahoma last season home run galore. Over Alo's shoulder, a man yells out -- "She's shook!