Oklahoma opened Love’s Field in style on Friday with a dramatic walk off win against Miami (OH), but the top-ranked Sooners closed the weekend with a shocking loss.
Louisiana stunned OU with a 7-5 win in eight innings, halting the program’s 71-game winning streak.
By Patty Gasso’s lofty standards, Oklahoma has worked through an up-and-down opening month of the season.
OU’s bats fought inconsistency in Puerto Vallarta, and Gasso said her team was outworked at least once by McNeese State in the team’s trip to Louisiana.
Against Louisiana, Oklahoma posted a season-high three errors, pair with two mental mistakes on the bases and uneasy pitching performances.
The Sooners are by no means at a crossroads, sitting at 18-1 with conference play opening up next weekend, but OU will have to dig deep and find a response after the first loss of the season.
Miscues Undo Oklahoma
Nobody was absolved from the mountain of mental errors on Sunday.
Seniors Jayda Coleman and Kinzie Hansen both recorded outs at second base in separate innings, costing OU a pair of potential runs that would have been crucial in the extra inning affair.
In the field, the three errors was the most a Gasso team has committed since the 2021 Women’s College World Series, and Karlie Keeney walked in a pair of runs to help the Ragin’ Cajuns build their lead.
“We didn't do anything to deserve this game,” Hansen said after the loss on Sunday. “… They came ready to play. We didn't deserve to win. But this game doesn't define us. Softball doesn't define us. And I'm excited to come back next weekend to see what it looks like.”
A year ago, Oklahoma responded as well as any softball team ever has.
When OU dropped its first game of the season to Baylor, that became the only contest the Sooners would lose.
Hansen and Tiare Jennings both played major roles in getting OU back on track last year, and the co-captains aren’t worried about how this year’s team will respond.
“Just reset. Just keep grinding,” Jennings said. “This week, we’re going to grind like no other. Look in the mirror. Where do we want to get to? How can we personally get better? And go from there.”
Making the New House a Home
The emotions of opening up Love’s Field on Friday drained Oklahoma.
By their own admission, the Sooners were overwhelmed by moving into their stunning new palace on Friday.
Gasso and the players said it almost felt like the team was playing in an away stadium with how unfamiliar the surroundings were.
But the Sooners settled in on Saturday.
OU hammered Louisiana and Liberty in back-to-back games, both run rules, and looked much more themselves.
“I think we got comfortable in our new house a little more,” Gasso said after the games on Saturday. “Definitely felt a difference. They were confident. Just still feeling out a little bit. Like the wind flow is different. I mean there’s some things we’re trying to learn about the stadium.
“But definitely the jitters were out and they played the way they’re capable of.”
Gasso compared the atmosphere at Love’s Field to the WCWS multiple times across the weekend, as more than 4,200 Oklahoma fans hug the field and are right on top of the action.
“I was kind of mesmerized by just how many people were watching,” Jayda Coleman said, “and just being in the best stadium in the country is hard to wrap my brain around while I was playing.”
Coleman didn’t seem to have much trouble adjusting as she finished the five games this weekend hitting 6-for-11 with four walks.
Though the Sooners played a messy game on Sunday, nobody put the performance down to dealing with the emotion in the stadium.
“The tough day was the first day when we opened it,” Hansen said. “After that I thought we settled in pretty good. Obviously today was very uncharacteristic and really that's that.”
The next week will provide Oklahoma plenty of opportunity to get accustomed to the new surroundings.
Wednesday, the Sooners will take on Texas A&M Commerce before hosting Iowa State for the opening series of Big 12 play next weekend.
Pitching Problems Plague the Weekend
Entering Friday, Oklahoma’s pitching staff combined to allow just two home runs through the first 14 games of the year.
Miami blasted five alone in the first contest ever played at Love’s Field, and the Sooners’ staff surrendered eight deep shots across the five games.
Nicole May showed nerves in the first game against Miami, and Kelly Maxwell allowed a pair of back-to-back blasts on Saturday against Liberty and a solo shot in the second inning Sunday against Louisiana.
While Oklahoma’s top two starters struggled, Keeney walked in a pair of runs to add to the Ragin’ Cajuns’ lead on Sunday, while allowing the visitors to load the bases and parade three more runs across in the eighth inning.
“I don’t think they had the best weekend,” Gasso said. “And they’ll readily admit that to you. I don’t know, I do feel like there was a little bit of pressure on everybody, really.
“The pitchers felt it. it’s uncharacteristic for them to give up all those home runs and give up runs period, at times.”
Oklahoma’s pitching had been a strength through the first month of the year. The Sooners’ first earned run allowed came in the fourth contest of the year against Long Beach State, and nine of the first 14 wins were all shutouts.
But the pitching staff, like the rest of the team, will spend the week recharging the batteries after an emotional weekend.
“We all need to take a break,” Gasso said. “And it’s no excuse. Listen, we flat-out got beat (on Sunday). We admit that 100 percent.
“A lot of dramatics this weekend, and started well before the first game. Just the emotions and the wow factor we’re all feeling… I don’t’ know that we knew what to expect. We know now and ready to regroup. We need mental and physical rest.”
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