OU puts on pitching clinic vs. Tech
Oklahoma softball head coach Patty Gasso has referenced it a couple of times during the season. She is never ever going to rely on one pitcher to carry the load again.
She has constructed a staff in 2023 that absolutely doesn’t have to do it and won’t have to do it. But, also, that on any given game she knows she can trust them to be lights out and get the job done.
That dynamic staff was out in full force as it was Nicole May doing the job Saturday in OU’s 7-0 victory against Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon at Marita Hynes Field.
The foursome of Alex Storako, Jordy Bahl, Kierston Deal and May did not allow a run in the three-game sweep of the Red Raiders (3-0, 6-0, 7-0).
“I am more confident in Nicole May than I ever have been thus far,” Gasso said. “Putting her on the mound, I feel very, very comfortable — with all of them — but May has really kind of stepped into her own space and is really getting better with each outing. That’s what’s crazy about it. The expectations of this team and this pitching staff and the way we play.”
May went 5.1 innings pitched Saturday, allowing just two hits with one walk and striking out eight to move to 11-0 this season. Her performance comes less than 24 hours after Bahl threw a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts Friday night. Storako threw a three-hit gem Thursday.
With pitching like that, you don’t need a lot of offense. And Gasso admitted Tech’s strategy of constantly changing pitchers all series frustrated her group.
Not Haley Lee. She hit a home run Thursday night and bested that with two more Saturday and three RBIs.
“She is probably one of the most comfortable players I’ve ever coached,” Gasso said. “Nothing affects her. She’ll talk it out to herself. She really speaks it out loud and affirms it out loud as if she like speaks it into existence.
“Powerful, covers the plate well. No count is something she’s uncomfortable with. She’s good with two strikes. It’s why she’s one of the best hitters in the country, to me.”
Grace Lyons also had a two-run home run to help the No. 1-ranked Sooners to 36-1 overall and 9-0 in the Big 12.
*Gasso was happy with the sweep, for sure, but she was already looking ahead to a massive one coming up at No. 12 LSU on Tuesday evening.
These are the types of games OU needs, she said, and environments that can bring about growth. She’s hoping for a nice, passionate crowd to cheer against her team.
“I want a hostile environment. I want us to feel like we're the underdogs and everything we don't do right is cheered and everything they do right is cheered,” Gasso said. “I just want them to feel a chaotic environment, a suffocating environment.
“Whatever we can take from it to learn from it is important because we're walking into stadiums that are not our home stadiums and it's a home crowd. It just kind of backfires on some growth at times. I really want to see them up against big time players in a big-time environment. It's been a long time since we've been able to simulate something like that.”