First game is Feb 9

Forum to discuss the best softball team in the country
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OU_Tom
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First game is Feb 9

Post by OU_Tom »

89 days until season opener
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OUBeliever56A
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

Yes, it is less than three months until the first game in Irvine, CA at the Mark Campbell Invitational.

But, Sooner softball fans should be ready for a very tough weekend. I have not finished all of my research at this point, but I will tell you that outside of a super regional, I do not think Oklahoma has had as tough of a schedule for a non-conference weekend in a very long time. The teams that Oklahoma will play are Duke, Liberty, Stanford, Washington and San Jose State. (I think it will be a long weekend for San Jose State.)

In 2022, Duke was 44-11. Liberty was 44-18, Stanford was 39-22. Washington was 38-17. San Jose State was 22-29. Those first four games are going to be tough competition.

The schedule provides a little relief however. They Sooners play Duke and Liberty in back-to-back games on Thursday starting at 5:30 PM CST. Then they play Stanford at 9:00 PM CST on Friday followed by a game against cross-conference rival Washington at 8:15 PM CST on Saturday. The final game is against San Jose State on Sunday at 2 PM CST.

With the first four games spread across 3 days, it will allow the pitching staff a little time to recover from the Thursday doubleheader.

Two things will be true about that weekend.

One- The critics across the nation who think OU always plays a soft non-conference schedule will be waiting for OU to fail the opening weekend so they can point their fingers at Coach Gasso and say, "We told you!".

Two- If the Sooners do not come out of the gate and play as well as we believe they should, we will see the flaws that exist and where improvement is needed. It will be immediate. Remember this about the 2023 season. It is the first time since 2017 that several things are true. The Oklahoma sooners have not taken the field and played a game without the leadership/playing presence of Jocelyn Alo and Lynnsie Elam. I know in 2018 that Elam was a backup to Wodach but Elam's work ethic was noticeable every game. I know Alo missed the 2019 Kansas series. But Alo, was still going to return the next weekend. It is also the first time that I remember since those days that that a four-year Sooner was not a student or graduate coach for the Sooners. Brittany Williams, Keilani Ricketts. Paige Parker, Kelsey Arnold, Fale Aviu and Sydney Romero. 2-yr Sooner Shannon Saile is on the list also. This year in 2023, Hope Trautwein and Hannah Sparks are filling those roles. Sparks played 2 years as a Sooner and Trautwein played one. But that is not four years. The 'SOONER WAY' has been instilled into the Sooner young players by those returning players in each of those years. It may be a little different this year.

If a Sooner fan wants to watch the Sooners play what is probably the best competition they have seem in years, Irving is a place to go in 2023. I really do not know enough about that part of California. I do not know or understand the safety of that area these days or the surrounding area for hotels or restaurants. But with some work, I think it could be a worthwhile trip.

I do think that Oklahoma can play through the cycle of games that weekend and be successful. But there will be some 'big time' moments in the first weekend of the year. As Dorothy might have said in the Wizard of Irvine, "This ain't El Paso anymore!".

Boomer Sooner!
TropicalSooner
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Post by TropicalSooner »

'56....I really enjoy your style of writing. It is so full of information and presented in a way that is a delight to read.
One very minor correction.....in case any of the readers try to look it up....I believe the location is Irvine, Ca.
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Post by OUBeliever56A »

TropicalSooner wrote: Sun Nov 13, 2022 9:19 am '56....I really enjoy your style of writing. It is so full of information and presented in a way that is a delight to read.
One very minor correction.....in case any of the readers try to look it up....I believe the location is Irvine, Ca.
It is Irvine. I have corrected it. Thanks. I was looking up travel plans for that weekend and noticed it too late.
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OU_Tom
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Post by OU_Tom »

OU's out of conference schedule is top tier. We play the best teams that we can find and we are playing some very good teams. The same was true for last season (2022). It is also probably true that prior to 2021 that a lot of years our schedule wasn't that tough but that is ancient history as far as I am concerned. In 2022, despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the game, OU only lost 5 3 games. OU has the talent - both the pitchers and the hitters - to beat any team. Granted we might lose a game here or there with these tough schedules but we will be better off for it in the long run. Maybe I have become spoiled to all of OU's recent success but my guess is next year's team will continue to mow the opposition down.

correction - i was thinking that we lost 5 games last year but it turns out that even with the difficult schedule that we faced that we only lost three games last year.
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Post by The Far Journey »

D1 softball has their fall report on Duke, revealing their tremendous new asset, Syd Romero. She will be the batting and infield coach and bring the OU culture to Duke, so says Duke's head coach. This will make the ACC team a formidable opponent. Can't wait for that opening day game.
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