Record Oklahoma softball crowd watches OU’s sharp response to Texas head coach
By Chip Rouse
I’m not sure Texas head coach Mike White was thinking, but he certainly added fuel to the Oklahoma softball team with his ill-advised words ahead of the series opener Friday between the Sooners and the Longhorns.
The timing of the Texas head coach’s comments couldn’t have been worse time with a big series in a heated rivalry taking place this weekend on enemy turf and with first place in the Big 12 and a top-10 national ranking at stake. If you’re willing to poke the bear, you best be wise as to the possible consequences.
Perhaps he was just softening up the Texas fan base and managing expectations for what he felt was an inevitable outcome having to go up against the most dominant team in college softball and two-time defending national champions on their home turf.
Before an historic crowd of close to 9,000 fans at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, home of the Women’s College World Series, Oklahoma scored five times in the first two innings and received another outstanding pitching performance from sophomore Jordy Bahl on the way to an 8-1 victory in the first game of the three-game series.
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It was the largest crowd ever to attend a game at Hall of Fame Stadium and a record-breaking number at any regular-season softball game in the country. The previous largest attendance at an NCAA regular-season game was 5,724 at a 2000 doubleheader in Fresno, California, between Fresno State and Arizona.
"“I remember sitting in (this) stadium in my late 20s watching the World Series with 2,000 people, thinking that’s the greatest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Sooner head coach Patty Gasso said in her postgame comments."
“And now you’ve got 9,000 people watching a conference game here, and it was unreal. Those are big moments for our sport and big moments for our team.
The Sooners might have come out on top anyway in Friday’s series opener with their hated rivals, but what Texas coach Mike White said earlier in the week is sure to have gotten under the skin of the OU players and especially their head coach.
In case you missed it, White said in a video posted to Twitter by an Austin television station:
"“They (referring to Oklahoma) find ways to keep reloading, and I’m not quite sure all of it is, uh, whatever…”"
Of course, the implication was that the Sooners must be cheating to come up with nation’s best players and such outstanding teams seemingly every season.
After Friday’s game, White was asked about his comments, and he recanted, saying that his comments were taken out of context and misconstrued.
Gasso didn’t have much to say about the situation, but she did say this:
"“I’m not surprised but I take the high road. I don’t have to answer to anybody. I’ve just got to look in the mirror, and I’m very comfortable when I do that.”"
Sooner starter Jordy Bahl allowed just two hits to the Longhorns in pitching a complete game, her seventh of the season. and improved her record to 9-1. One of the two hits she gave up was a home run to Texas leadoff hitter Leighann Goode.
Back-to-back home runs by Tiare Jennings and Haley Lee fueled the Sooners four-run fourth, and Kenzie Hansen had a two-run. fence-clearing jack as part of a three-run Oklahoma sixth. Jennings also had a double and single in four trips to the plate and accounted for four of the Sooners’ runs.
The win gives Oklahoma 27 wins in its last 28 games against Texas and also the Sooners eighth straight over the Longhorns in Oklahoma City.
The two longtime rivals play again on Saturday and Sunday, with both games being played in Norman.