Oklahoma Sooners Unfazed By Early Losses
Oklahoma Sooners Unfazed By Early Losses
The Oklahoma softball team is unfazed by its early losses and is aiming to peak during Big 12 Conference play.
By John McKelvey
The Oklahoma softball team has been here before.
The Sooners (28-7), who dropped to No. 13 in the NFCA coaches poll this week, were in a similar situation last year. Before making their improbable run to a national title, winning 32 of their final 33 games, they were ranked No. 14 and had just lost to Kansas.
The pressure wasn't on OU then. This season, there's no avoiding it. People expected more out of these Sooners, and the defending champions want to show that the prognosticators weren't ill-advised.
"Of course, it's going to bother you," third baseman Sydney Romero said. "But it's something you can't dwell on, and it's something you need to help motivate you."
OU hasn't been bad -- of its seven losses, three have come by one run to top five RPI opponents. It just hasn't been as dominant as it was last spring.
For the first time in program history, as unusual as that sounds due to their legacy, the Sooners were ranked No. 1 in the preseason. However, they weren't just the top team. No, they were the clear-cut favorites. Losing just two starters off a championship roster, Erin Miller and Kady Self, the Sooners were expected to be head and shoulders above the NCAA field.
It hasn't turned out that way.
To open the season in February, Oklahoma went down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and dropped one-run games to current No. 5 Auburn and No. 8 Washington. A week later, the Sooners struggled to put away a feisty Houston team in its home tournament. A dominant 10-1 win over No. 13 UCLA on Feb. 24 was more of what was expected, but it was sandwiched between losses to No. 19 Tennessee and Notre Dame, unranked in the NFCA coaches poll but No. 35 in RPI.
It seemed a 10-game home stretch in early March was just what OU needed. It cruised past the competition, with a only few minor hiccups: one-run wins against Tulsa and Western Kentucky. The Sooners seemed to have cleared the hurdle and were ready to reach their potential. Instead an error cost them against Arizona at the Louisville Slugger Invitational on March 14, and two tough offensive outings against Cal Poly pitcher Sierra Hyland at the LMU Tournament on March 17-18 led to back-to-back losses for the first time since 2015.
"These are some of the best teams in the country and we're losing by one run and we're not close to being our best," OU coach Patty Gasso said.
OU begins Big 12 Conference play with a three-game home series, starting Friday, against Iowa State.
There are reasons for optimism. Romero has recovered from an early-season slump, brought on by a thumb injury, to hit .388. Shay Knighten is working her way through a knee injury and is beginning to hit better. Freshman Nicole Mendes is crushing the ball, leading OU with a .439 average, and pitcher Paige Parker, an All-American last season, is returning to her dominant form, with a 10-5 record and a 1.77 ERA.
The Sooners have as much talent as everybody. They are eager to show college softball they haven't gone away.
Follow John on Twitter @John_McKelvey
The Oklahoma softball team has been here before.
The Sooners (28-7), who dropped to No. 13 in the NFCA coaches poll this week, were in a similar situation last year. Before making their improbable run to a national title, winning 32 of their final 33 games, they were ranked No. 14 and had just lost to Kansas.
The pressure wasn't on OU then. This season, there's no avoiding it. People expected more out of these Sooners, and the defending champions want to show that the prognosticators weren't ill-advised.
"Of course, it's going to bother you," third baseman Sydney Romero said. "But it's something you can't dwell on, and it's something you need to help motivate you."OU hasn't been bad -- of its seven losses, three have come by one run to top five RPI opponents. It just hasn't been as dominant as it was last spring.
For the first time in program history, as unusual as that sounds due to their legacy, the Sooners were ranked No. 1 in the preseason. However, they weren't just the top team. No, they were the clear-cut favorites. Losing just two starters off a championship roster, Erin Miller and Kady Self, the Sooners were expected to be head and shoulders above the NCAA field.
It hasn't turned out that way.
To open the season in February, Oklahoma went down to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and dropped one-run games to current No. 5 Auburn and No. 8 Washington. A week later, the Sooners struggled to put away a feisty Houston team in its home tournament. A dominant 10-1 win over No. 13 UCLA on Feb. 24 was more of what was expected, but it was sandwiched between losses to No. 19 Tennessee and Notre Dame, unranked in the NFCA coaches poll but No. 35 in RPI.
It seemed a 10-game home stretch in early March was just what OU needed. It cruised past the competition, with a only few minor hiccups: one-run wins against Tulsa and Western Kentucky. The Sooners seemed to have cleared the hurdle and were ready to reach their potential. Instead an error cost them against Arizona at the Louisville Slugger Invitational on March 14, and two tough offensive outings against Cal Poly pitcher Sierra Hyland at the LMU Tournament on March 17-18 led to back-to-back losses for the first time since 2015.
"These are some of the best teams in the country and we're losing by one run and we're not close to being our best," OU coach Patty Gasso said.
If we're hitting our ceiling right now, it's too early. We know. We've been there. When we start hitting our ceiling in conference play, that's the right time.
OU begins Big 12 Conference play with a three-game home series, starting Friday, against Iowa State.
There are reasons for optimism. Romero has recovered from an early-season slump, brought on by a thumb injury, to hit .388. Shay Knighten is working her way through a knee injury and is beginning to hit better. Freshman Nicole Mendes is crushing the ball, leading OU with a .439 average, and pitcher Paige Parker, an All-American last season, is returning to her dominant form, with a 10-5 record and a 1.77 ERA.
The Sooners have as much talent as everybody. They are eager to show college softball they haven't gone away.
Follow John on Twitter @John_McKelvey