OKLAHOMA CITY — Patty Gasso just wanted to make sure.
Her ace pitcher, Kelly Maxwell, had just thrown 148 pitches over eight innings in a gutsy, come-from-behind victory over Florida on Tuesday in the Women's College World Series semifinals. But Maxwell and the Sooners didn't have much time to rest before Wednesday's Game 1 matchup with Texas in the WCWS finals.
Gasso knew the Sooners needed Maxwell back in the circle. But before the game, she checked to see if Maxwell was ready.
"She looked at me like, 'Duh,'" Gasso said. "I'm like, 'Okay, we're good.'"
Maxwell proved her right, and she was again crucial in the Sooners' 8-3 win over the Longhorns. The win puts them just one victory away from a fourth straight national championship.
But it wasn't the smoothest start for Maxwell.
The Texas offense — which came into the contest ranked first nationally in batting average and fourth in total runs — showed their explosiveness early. Mia Scott sent a solo home run off Maxwell on the Longhorns' second at-bat, cutting the OU lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the first.
But Maxwell quickly recovered. She didn't allow another hit over the next four innings, giving the Sooners plenty of time to build a sizable lead as OU's offense bombed three home runs and logged nine hits.
The sixth inning was the only tough moment for Maxwell. She gave up three hits in the inning, including two RBI singles, as the Longhorns cut OU's lead to four runs. But with two runners on base, Maxwell struck out Victoria Hunter to leave them both stranded. She made quick work of the Longhorns in the seventh inning, retiring the side in order and striking out back-to-back hitters to secure the win.
Maxwell turned in another impressive performance, going all seven innings while striking out eight batters and allowing just four hits.
It was likely a little outside of Gasso's comfort zone to throw Maxwell a second straight day. But Maxwell has given Gasso every reason to stay confident.
"She's never been this far, and when now you're in the championship series, adrenaline took over for her, as well," Gasso said. "But she's not going to walk away from this opportunity. Our training staff... our doctors have done a great job just getting her prepared for what's coming. They're going to continue to do it."
There's no doubt that Maxwell is on another level right now.
She's been absolutely stellar in her last three outings. On Saturday, she limited a red-hot UCLA team to two hits and zero runs in seven full innings. In Tuesday's win over Florida, Maxwell shook off a rough start and limited Florida to one hit and zero runs over the final five innings. In her last 12 innings, she's allowed just five hits and three runs while striking out 11 batters.
But fatigue could become a bit of a concern for Maxwell. She's now thrown 267 pitches in the last two days, including 119 against the Longhorns.
But the fifth-year senior, who's pitching in her final WCWS and closer than ever to her first national championship certainly isn't complaining.
"This is it," Maxwell said. "This is my last opportunity. I'm just going to do everything I can to keep this team in it. I know that they have my back and I got theirs.
"Physically, I'm doing good. The staff here is doing everything they can to keep me going and feeling good."
Gasso didn't confirm whether it'll be Maxwell in the circle on Thursday. But it's hard to deny that Maxwell is in a groove, and she's had plenty of success against Texas this season. In 17 innings against the Longhorns, she's given up just 12 hits and eight earned runs. Wednesday's win also did buy the Sooners some wiggle room in their best-of-three series with Texas.
But the Sooners may not be willing to pull any punches. Either way, Maxwell will be ready.
"There's some things stirring in her internally that's just hard to explain," Gasso said. "Just feels at peace about what's going on. She's not chasing. She's not feeling nervous. She's got a peace with her team about what she's doing, how she's doing it.
"It's fun to watch her live in the space right now. She's having a blast. She's pushing herself internally to places I don't think she's ever been before. It's beautiful to see really."
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