NORMAN — Nicole May only pitched 1.2 innings during last weekend's Big 12 Tournament, but Patty Gasso noticed a "different look" about her.
May was incredibly effective in relief against the Longhorns in the championship game. So on Friday, with the Sooners opening the NCAA Regional Tournament against Cleveland State, Gasso opted not to go with Kelly Maxwell.
She went with May, who calmly delivered.
The senior pitcher went the first five innings, delivering nine strikeouts while surrendering just three hits and zero walks as the Sooners easily defeated the Vikings 9-0 at Love's Field to advance in the Norman Regional.
"I think she’s getting better every outing, I really do," Gasso said of May. "There’s a look on her face that is very determined and you can see it from the start. And it’s very rare that a pitcher throws a no-hitter in postseason. So three hits that didn’t hurt us doesn’t bother us one bit. And I think she ended up with (nine) strikeouts, but better than that are no walks. So you have a performance like that, you keep us working as an offense to help. So I thought she was absolutely outstanding."
It was the second-straight fantastic outing for May, who struggled by her standards through conference play. In 38 innings, May recorded an ERA of 3.62, well below her career mark.
But after retiring all five Texas batters she faced last weekend, May kept it rolling.
"It felt good coming in," May said. "Just was just trying to compete like she was saying and feeing balls to my defense and letting them work as well. So it just felt good and neutral."
NOTES
— Cleveland State came in with an ERA of 3.68 for the season, but managed to limit the Sooners' offense to start the game. Kasidi Pickering broke through with a solo home run in the second inning, but the Sooners only had one other hit through the first three innings.
But the Sooners finally broke through in the fourth inning. With two outs on the board, Rylie Boone hit an RBI single to score Hannah Coor. Jayda Coleman followed it with an RBI triple, and Ella Parker finished the run with an RBI single to give the Sooners a 4-0 lead heading into the fifth inning.
With a 5-0 lead in the sixth inning, Parker hit an RBI double to push the score to 7-0 before Tiare Jennings hit a two-run, walk off home run to end the game in a run rule.
"I thought it started off as a really competitive game," Gasso said. "I thought Cleveland State’s pitcher (Melissa Holzopfel) – she’s really good. Effective, handcuffing some of us, really tough on righties. But there were some battles that really got our team going.
"... But I give credit to Cleveland State, I do. I thought they made some really good plays. They were not afraid of us. No one here is afraid of us. We need to understand it’s going to be a dogfight. They came to battle. They made us better tonight."
— Parker was the standout player last weekend and again made big plays on Friday. But Pickering stole the show against Cleveland State, as she hit two home runs that proved crucial in putting the game out of reach.
Pickering has now hit nine home runs this season.
"Pickering, both her and Ella are free swingers, smart hitters," Gasso said. "They set themselves up for good pitches and swing hard. Everybody continues to ask me about the freshmen and how do they do it? They’re seasoned. They have good coaches. I’m not talking about us. I’m talking about theses (players) that train them, show them, talk to them through it and they’re just pretty easy at the plate. They’re not rattled. They just go up and do what they need to do for the team."
— Sooners will play Oregon at 2 p.m. on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the regional final. Oregon beat Boston 8-0 in five innings on Friday.
The game will reunite Gasso with Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi, who was on the Sooners' staff for 21 years. Former OU player and assistant Sydney Romero is also on Oregon;s staff.
Gasso said it'll be "weird" to face off against both Lombardi and Romero.
"I was able to take her, Syd and her staff around here. And that was really, really cool," Gasso said. "It made me feel something that is going to allow me to be on the field and not get caught up in emotion or anything. It was just like we did this together. It was good.”
