Oklahoma fans have to be feeling deja vu, thinking back to a couple of weeks ago when the Sooners dropped a game against Georgia in the SEC Tournament. Oklahoma built a five-run lead over the Bulldogs and then allowed Georgia to score 10 unanswered runs to knock them out of the tournament.
At that time, Oklahoma could just turn its sights to the NCAA Tournament, and it did just that. The Sooners have a dominant Regional performance where the pitching staff allowed just one run in three games, outscoring opponents 28-1. Facing another Bulldog team, Oklahoma was set to see Mississippi State in the Super Regional round.
Going into the weekend, the message for the pitching staff was to put the ball in play and trust the defense. Well, clearly the pitcher listened, but the defense simply wasn't ready.
Oklahoma picked a poor time to allow most runs and errors in a game all season long
Oklahoma just dropped its first Super Regional game since 2015, having won 18 in a row. The Sooners, the dominant Oklahoma team that once won four National Championships in a row, now suddenly have their backs against the wall after an 11-9 loss to Mississippi State on their own field.
Not only did Oklahoma allow a season-high 11 runs on the season, but it also had a season-high four errors in the game, something a Patty Gasso-coached team is never supposed to have. After building yet another lead against Bulldog foe, the Sooners seemed to be cruising up 6-2. Oklahoma was hitting bomb after bomb, and it felt like it was going to be yet another Super Regional loss.
Mississippi State never went away, though. Suddenly, their bats were making contact, and defensively, Oklahoma wasn't as clean as it needed to be. In a recent interview, Oklahoma associate head coach JT Gasso, the son of Patty Gasso, said the pitching staff was peaking at the perfect time.
Well, they might have peaked too much in the Regional round. The Sooners had to use three pitchers, all allowed earned runs, but it felt like maybe starting pitcher Miali Guachino. Even though it took her a while to truly find the strike zone the umpire behind the plate had, Guachino only allowed five hits and two earned runs in three innings.
Sydney Berzon and Audrey Lowry both came in relief, pitching the rest of the four innings, both allowing four earned runs each. The pitching problem is beginning to become something Oklahoma can't ignore. While the Sooners are able to blast the ball out of the ballpark, if pitching and defense can't hold the opposing team, a National Championship is out of the picture for this team.
Oklahoma will play from behind for the first time this postseason, now down 1-0 in a best-of-three game series against Mississippi State. If the Sooners don't pick up the win in Game 2, they can kiss a ticket to the Women's College World Series goodbye.
You can bet Patty Gasso is going to have some tough love for her team, knowing what she expects at Oklahoma. It will have to be a quick turnaround for Oklahoma, as the first pitch on Saturday is set for Noon CT on ESPN.
Add us as a preferred source on Google