Three Takeaways From Oklahoma's Fall Exhibition With OCU

As a freshman, Tia Milloy had to make the most of her opportunities as a pinch hitter. 

She strung together mature at-bats, even in the midst of a blowout. 

Milloy’s first plate appearance came with the bases loaded and one out in the second inning. 

The sophomore resisted the urge to chase pitches outside the zone to drive in runs, and instead, she drew a walk for her first RBI of the day. 

“Tia doesn't want to walk. She just wants to swing,” Gasso said. “And sometimes I think last year, the stress and the pressure on her that she put on herself, she would swing at things out of the zone. She is definitely more grounded, more calm. You can see her taking her deep breath. Not as nervous, and she's getting that swing off, and it's got power. 

“She can hit the ball hard, and with that, you've got an elite runner as well. So there's just so many different tools and so many different looks that we can show you. It's gonna be a really fun year.”

Her patience was rewarded, as she got plenty of chances to show off her power later in the night. 

Milloy sent a sacrifice fly to the warning track in the third inning, then belted a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth. 

She drove in her fifth run of the night in the fifth when she dropped a single safely into the outfield grass, and she reached on an error in the ninth.

Milloy finished 2-for-4 on the night, a body of work that excited OU’s coaching staff. 

“I was really happy with her because she's really been fighting to get her offense going,” said Gasso, “and she really did a good job with that.”

Berkley Zache Digs Deep

True freshman Berkley Zache had to work through some traffic in the fifth. 

She started off her stint on the mound with an easy pop-up to shallow center, but OCU was able to put pressure on the hard-throwing right-hander. 

Zache surrendered a double off the wall, then she issued a walk to put a pair aboard. 

A wild pitch then advanced both runners into scoring position, but then she bounced back with a strikeout for the second out of the inning. 

Another walk loaded the bases, but Zache was able to place a changeup on the outside corner to keep OCU off the board and get out of her own jam. 

She followed the escape up with a quick 1-2-3 inning in the sixth, which is the mettle that pitching coach Jennifer Rocha requires from her pitching staff. 

Light Show

The Sooners kept fans off their seats and the marketing staff at Love’s Field busy.

OU belted 10 home runs on Wednesday night. 

Freshman Kendall Wells hammered a pair, Isabela Emerling blasted one, Ella Parker added a three-run shot, Gabbie Garcia got in on the fun with a solo effort, Kasidi Pickering led off an inning with a one-run shot to right, Chaney Helton added a solo bomb and Nelly McEnroe-Marinas hit two to add to Milloy’s haul for the night. 

McEnroe-Marinas was a double shy of the cycle herself, and she finished with six RBIs. 

When they weren’t launching long balls, the Sooners strung plenty of hits together, too. 

McEnroe-Marinas, Ailana Agbayani and Abby Dayton combined to hit back-to-back-to-back triples in the fourth inning, which became one of the highlights of the night. 

“I think we're starting to get better now,” Gasso said. “They're hitting a lot more. They're spending time with JT (Gasso), They're figuring out their swing. There's just a chase going on here. 

“Everybody is chasing each other, and so you better run fast, or someone's going to pass you, someone's going to get you.”

The Sooners will be back in action in their second Battle Series scrimmage of the fall on Friday night. 

First pitch from Love’s Field is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.