Oklahoma is not a team that loses a lot under head coach Patty Gasso. The legendary head coach has built a dynasty in Norman that will take a long time for any other coach to ever reach. The Sooners are a team that is feared, but this season, things seem to have shifted.
Losses in the regular season, an early loss in the SEC Tournament, and now their first loss in the Super Regional round since 2015 have led the Sooners to have their backs against the wall. It is an unfamiliar position for Oklahoma, but Gasso won't let her team back down.
"It's just one of those things that happened, but in life, things don't go well. What are you going to do about it? You either surrender or you step up and you say, 'I'm gonna make this right.'" Gasso said postgame. "So we're going to woman up and give the Sooners fans and our program everything we have."
It's time for Oklahoma to 'woman up' or go home earlier than they have since 2015
If you ask Gasso, she will admit her team didn't have the best day, but she also is going to give Mississippi State the recognition they deserve in this game, and that is exactly what she did. Oklahoma had a fantastic day at the plate, which was never the problem, but in the field, Gasso knows her team was not at the level they should have been.
"I truly just think it was a bad day, but an executed day, you got to give credit, absolutely, to Mississippi State," Gasso said. "They just kept pushing and pushing us and pushing us. I thought we did a very good job against their pitching staff, so we got to see all the arms, so there is that, that we're ready for but it's not anything unusual."
Oklahoma allowed a season-high 11 runs to Mississippi State, but even worse, it had a season-high four errors in the field. That is not how a Gasso-coach team plays defense, and the pitching has also not been up to par. This has not been a new problem for the Sooners, as it is something that has been a key factor in this abnormal season.
Not only did Oklahoma commit four errors, but they were errors that caused runs to come in, especially one key one at the top of the seventh inning. A hard hit ball straight into the ground bounced over the head of pitcher Audrey Lowry, and second baseman Aliana Agbayani fielded it. Instead of eating the ball, knowing the runner was most likely going to be safe, an errant throw allowed two runs to score.
Mississippi State was already going to take a one-run lead on that hit, but it allowed two runs to score, making it a very different game for Oklahoma in the bottom of the seventh. Then, when the pressure was on the bats for the first time in the game, suddenly, a perfect 4-for-4 day for freshman Kendall Wells will be remembered for fouling out to first base.
When things needed to go right for Oklahoma, they only went wrong and now the Sooners have their backs against the wall. Oklahoma will be back in action on Saturday in a win-or-go-home game against the Bulldogs with a trip to the Women's College World Series on the line.
This is an unfamiliar position for Oklahoma, and it will be a true test of Gasso and Co's strength as a team.
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