OU softball wraps up road trip at Wichita State, looking to respond
OU softball was expected to take the trip to Wichita a couple of weeks ago. The game at Wichita State was postponed, set to be played Tuesday.
At the time, it felt like a good thing. A chance to rest a bit. But if you looked at the schedule, you knew it was moved to two days removed from the emotional Texas series.
Now that we know how that series in Austin went, it’s time to see how OU responds. The word that comes to mind is just rare. Rare.
It’s just rare that a team led by Patty Gasso doesn’t perform at an elite level in April or May. Especially when challenged by Gasso after the first 2-1 loss Saturday night.
Her words to OU play-by-play voice were ‘bow up.’ It was time to flex some muscles and show the country who you are.
Instead, it was Texas that responded again for another 2-1 victory Sunday. It marked OU’s first conference series loss since 2011.
OK, that’s ridiculous, obviously, but also the first real questions of the season to be answered for the Sooners.
OU outscored Texas 7-6 in the three-game set, which tells you a couple of things. One, the pitching was more than fine. Kelly Maxwell, Nicole May and Kierston Deal did their jobs. Maybe not elite, but enough to usually get the job done.
But OU scoring one run in back-to-back games? That seems unheard of.
Breaking it down even more. The seven runs are the lowest run production in a Big 12 three-game series. The Sooners hit just .247 at Texas, going 19 for 77.
OU also had more strikeouts (8) than walks (6) for the first time in a series. Patience had marked the OU attack the last month, not so much at Texas.
Just five extra-base hits and two home runs. Rare. Just an odd three-game set. So is it a precursor of struggles to come? Or a necessary setback to get everybody in line for the stretch run to come?
OU ends its road trip after stops in Lawrence and Austin with the single game against the Shockers. And then back to Love’s Field. OU welcomes BYU for a three-game set from Thursday-Saturday.
