First look at our 2022 Fall Softball schedule !

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TropicalSooner
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First look at our 2022 Fall Softball schedule !

Post by TropicalSooner »

Welcome to OU Softball -- Fall Edition.
We are close to starting our fall season of exhibition softball games. These are always a lot of fun for us fans (of course!) but I think they are a lot of fun for the players and coaches as well.

First game up is with Seminole State JC Monday night.
Seminole State is coached by Amber Flores, Sooner graduate and All-American. In the past, SSJC has been a good team to play in the fall as Flores always brings out the best in her team and can challenge the Sooners. Their record for the 21 season was 47-6 and the spring '22 season was 46-4. But last October was not a happy place for the Seminole State Trojans. Two of their 4 pitchers, I'm guessing their two starters, were both injured and could not play. The Sooners then proceeded to ravage their other two pitchers for 24 runs across the first 3 innings. Nicole May pitched the first 3 innings for the Sooners, but in the 4 inning, Coach Gasso loaned some pitchers out to Coach Flores. May pitched for the Trojans in the 4th and 5th innings with Nugent catching, Macy McAdoo then pitched for the Trojans in the 6th inning, and Jordy Bahl then pitched for them in the 7th and 8th innings. Against the Sooner pitchers, the Sooner hitters scored only 2 more runs. More on this later.

Many have questioned what value is there in playing against obvious inferior teams during the fall. Why don't we schedule more competitive teams for our fall games. The simple answer is P5 teams don't really want to expense the travel to play the #1 team in the country in the fall. There are probably other reasons as well, but that one is difficult to overcome. We get in-state small schools and nearby Texas teams for fall games. It also gives those teams an opportunity to see how their own fall training is paying off against really good competition, so it really is beneficial for them as well, even though the outcome may turn out to be lopsided. North Central Texas College is another program of a smaller school but they have agreed to play us for the last few years. North Texas is a member of C-USA conference so they will provide more upbeat competition. More on these last two fall opponents as we get closer to their games.

The new wrinkle in Fall Ball this year is the Oklahoma Battle Series--a series of points based intrasquad scrimmages. I don't have any kind of read on how these games will unfold, but it would seem that if we have our own hitters going up against our own pitchers that it should make for some exciting match-ups. A couple of paragraphs ago I commented on the Seminole State game where Coach Gasso "loaned" some of our pitching staff to SS since their pitchers were battling injuries and you can see the stark difference it made in scoring for the game. After 3 innings scoring 24 runs against their pitchers we only scored two more runs against our own. This tells me that while the games against our usual opponents may generate lots of runs and offense, the games against our own pitchers in the intrasquad games may boil down to a 3-2 game of pitcher duels.

In any case Fall Ball starts next Monday evening so everyone be sure to come out and fill the stands!

Boomer!
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Post by OU_Tom »

The fall games aren't really important but fall practices are really important for the transfers and young freshmen. It is their opportunity to how OU does stuff.


That said it is fun to watch the fall games and watch OU win 20-0. It is especially fun to watch a transfer or freshman get 3 or 4 hits in a game and you figure out that that player is the real deal
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

Here are some additional thoughts about the Sooners Fall Softball Schedule.

The three 'real games' that the Sooners will play is about as good as you can schedule I think. The games against Seminole State, North Central Texas College and North Texas will be games that are traditionally 10 inning games with liberal substitutions and and a scorebook with lots of notes. Seminole State and NCTC are both junior colleges with North Texas being a familiar D1 opponent for the Sooners. Seminole is one of the better JUCO softball schools in the country with NCTC improving with a winning season in 2022.

The Sooners game against Seminole State on Monday, October 3rd, will be the first look at the 2022-2023 version of the Sooner Softball Team. As fans, I think we will expect a lot at this first look. The hype is already there for the 3-peat expectations. But the Sooners are replacing 5 important parts of the lineup from the 2022 National Championship Team. The 're-load' of the Sooners may be a challenge but with the 4 top-notch transfers and the 4 top-notch freshman recruits, the Sooners are well equipped to step into the 2023 Spring season as the legitimate #1 Team in the country. We will see the team again against NCTC three weeks later on the 24th of October. This will be a mid-fall look a the Sooners to see if there are any tweaks or changes in the lineup or playing order of the Sooners. Two and half weeks late, in Denton, TX we will see the Sooners for that last time in the fall as they play North Texas on November 10th. This game will give the Sooner faithful there last chance to see the team before February in 2023. Again, this is a chance to see changes in the team during the fall of 2022.

Changes are expected to be a constant in the competitive environment of the Sooner Softball Program. As Coach Gasso says out loud, "Every day in practice is important as is every at bat and every drill each day is important". Every player for the Sooners started building a resume on Day 1 of the fall practices. We will get three chances to see how those resumes look during the fall.

The four Wednesday night Battle Series contests will be a window into those competitive practices that should be something special. The talent on the Sooners for the 2022-2023 season is certainly one of the best roster in the game. It may very well be the best roster. To see them compete against each other in a competitive situation is probably the best preparation that the Sooners can find to play this Spring. These contests are as chance to see what might be the best pitching staff in the country facing what might be the best hitting team in the country. Every pitch will count, every at bat will count, every defensive play will count. I think the use of the intrasquad scrimmages by the Sooners in the Fall of 2020 due to COVID was the impetus for the Battle Series in 2022. I believe the fall 2020 intrasquad competition put the pieces in place for the Sooners 20221 Championship Season. Hopefully, that competition repeats itself once again.

I do not know what to expect as a format for the four Battle Series contests. It could be two groups of 8 position players (the roster includes 15 full-time position players) facing two sets of pitchers for a specified number of innings. Essentially like two teams facing each other. This would require 1 pitcher (at least) to hit and play defense which the Sooners do have available. Again a good scorebook will be required to follow the game and the results.

The contests could also be something like a defensive team including a pitcher facing the remaining hitters in some order until the hitters bat once through their order. With five pitchers that could be five sets of 7 hitters with a possible two complete rounds of that plan. It would be 10 innings with 7 possible outs each inning.

The information about the battle Series talks of a point system to be used to 'measure' the pitchers and players. I am expecting somethin similar to the Athletes Unlimited scoring system.

I will be watching these things during the Fall Ball season.

Pitchers:
= Does Jordy Bahl look completely healed and can she throw all her pitches? (I expect this to be true.) Does Bahl play in the field and where?
= What does Alex Storako look like as a pitcher? What does she throw and what is her 'out' pitch? Can she field her position?
= Has Nicole May added a pitch? May is an underrated pitcher, I think, especially in most big moments. But she could use one more pitch that helps her make batters miss.
= Is Kiersten Deal a pitcher than can dominate a D1 lineup and make batters swing and miss? Does the pitches she throws keep the ball 'in the park' and induce ground balls?
= How good is SJ Geurin? I think he has a strong set of pitches that she can throw effectively. I am anxious to see how good she can be with those pitches.

Players:
= How good is Cydney Sanders and Alynah Torres? Especially on defense. While I expect to see them at 1B and 3B respectively, will they play somewhere else?
= How is Haley Lee going to be used by the Sooners defensively? Is she a player that fills the 9th spot as a C, 1B and DP depending on the lineup or is she a full-time starter with 'A' position?
= Has Kinzie Hansen fully recovered from her 2022 injuries? Does her bat look like the 2021 swing that produced a .400+ BA? Is Hansen the emotional leader of the Sooners with Alo moving on?
= Where is Quincee Lilio playing? We have not seen the very talented Lilio play for the Sooners. Is she an infielder or an outfielder? I am confident she can hit, can she find a place to play?
= Can Jocelyn Erickson continue her superb 2022 play at the D1 level? Her offense and defense in 2022 (HS & Summer) has been more than impressive. She can play C and 1B, is there another place she can play?
= Do Grace Lyons, Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman take over the leadership and faces of the Sooners role for the Sooners? They are the most secure Sooners to stay in the lineup. Take every opportunity to watch the defense played by these three players. Any ball that is hit to the center of the field is going to likely be an out.

= Is Brito a full time outfielder or is she also working as an infielder also? Does she look like she has taken another step forward with her bat?
= Where does Rylie Boone fit with the 2022-2023 Sooners? Does she need to add a little pop to her bat to continue to start or does her total game keep her in the lineup regardless?
= Does Grace Green seeing playing time in the field on defense or is she destined to spend 2022-23 as a great pinch-hitter/DP once again in her final year?
= Where does Sophia Nugent fit within the 2022-2023 Sooners. Did her summer of playing Men's Fastpitch provide a benefit to her? Can she force her way into the lineup by playing 1B and 3B?
= How much has Hannah Coor improved her bat by participating in the FGCL? She is a defensive asset with speed. Can her bat get her on the field in 2022-2023?
= What does Avery Hodge look like as a Sooner? Her defense and speed should be strong to give her a shot to play. Can her LH-Slap style of offense make an impact on offense?

= Who are the volunteer coaches and other student/support coaches for the Sooners? Who coaches 1st Base for the Sooners?

I am looking forward to Monday and Wednesday night. The weather looks perfect for softball in the evening. Bring a light jacket and be ready to watch great softball being played by the Sooners.

Boomer Sooner!
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Post by AustinTXSooner »

First, I noticed that ESPN+ has the Seminole State game slated to be televised.

Intra-squad scrimmages...I seem to remember watching one previously where the student/graduate assistants played to fill in spots. I distinctly remember Sydney Romero playing in one.

Boone. I don't think she needs more power to stay in the lineup. She needs to maintain a high OBP. That alone should keep her in the lineup. You don't want 9 similar hitters in the lineup. She represents such a change of pace from our other hitters that she should stay in the lineup as long as she's getting on base.

I don't remember how we've handled fall games in the past as far as lineups. Does Patty generally use the lineup she currently thinks will be the starting lineup? Or does she liberally sprinkle in the players that she wants to see more of? I hope it's the latter.
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

I think that all of the games this fall except for the last game, North Texas is going to be on ESPN+.

About the ex-players or student or grad coaches playing in the scrimmages, yes that is possible. I think they would play in the field but not sure about them hitting.

I appreciate your comments about Boone. She is a very good player and she provides a different style of batter for the Sooners to send to the plate.

I think that for Coach Gasso, a position in the starting lineup is something that rewards players effort in practice or recent activities. Very few things are given unless you earn it. I think that also applies to Fall Ball. But there is liberal substitution during the games. Normal substitution rules do not apply. So there should be ample time to get the 6 non-starters in the game during the ten innings of play.
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Post by TropicalSooner »

Well said '56. Looking forward to your post game comments and observations.
Thanks for posting!

Edit: Additional thoughts
Austin--I'm a big fan of Boone as well. Like Coleman, she just seems to always to find a way to get on base. Loved having her roll the lineup over and being on base. She can energize anyone.

Scrimmages--might we have some pitchers show up in some other capacity to even out the teams? We know Bahl has experience at 2B. May--? I don't know what fielding background she has, could show up in the outfield perhaps? We know they both can swing a bat. HS stats showed Geurin and Deal had decent batting ave's but no info about fielding other positions.

Coaches--the only thing I've seen on asst's or GA's is the post below regarding Lauren Foster indicating a possible GA position. But I haven't actually seen anything official from the University and she's not listed on the roster.
Here's what I posted earlier:

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Post by AllSooner »

TropicalSooner wrote: Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:42 pm Well said '56. Looking forward to your post game comments and observations.
Thanks for posting!
And THANK YOU, TS! You and 56 are two of the best posters on this Softball board that keep us "old" fans informed and entertained. You both do an outstanding job!
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