What Are Your Expectations For the Sooners 2024 Softball Season????

[TropicalSooner]

In view of the fact that Coach Gasso apparently had some difficulty putting together a top competitive schedule like she did last year, I've raised my expectations for the Sooners '24 season from where my normally conservative views might otherwise be:

1. I expect the offense to be aggressive and to attack opposing pitchers. I think it's not out of the question that we could have the entire starting lineup hitting over .300. The only outliers would possibly be Torres and Sanders. I'm going on faith with the two freshmen, Parker and Pickering. If they adapt quickly to the speed of College Softball, then the sky is the limit for them. But, they're freshmen. Of the starting lineup, I expect 4 of them to hit over .400 (Coleman, Jennings, Hansen, & Brito).

2. First home run? Won't go there other than it could very likely be Coleman on the first pitch she sees from the Utah Valley pitcher on opening day. (Or whoever the leadoff batter is on opening day).

3. Total Home Runs? I expect to have more HRs than last year's 117 due to the softer schedule this year---125 should easily be obtainable. If the freshmen settle in nicely, and Hannah Coor is able to crack the lineup, then we could see up to 140.
I think the lofty numbers of the 2021 and 2022 seasons are too high for my expectations. But we should keep those numbers in sight as goals to shoot for.

4. I expect our pitching staff to fully dominate most all teams we face. As I see it, SJ appears to be more of a relief pitcher although she does have very good stuff. Most of the other 5 pitchers have been starters / aces in their own right. I expect all to perform at a high level this coming season but if we were to have a redshirt candidate, would that be Monticelli? Or even Keeney if her injury has turned out to be much more involved than has been reported to date? Every single pitcher on our roster this year would be the starter/ace on any P5 softball team. And we have 6 of them!

5. I expect to match the 35 shut-outs we had last year.

6. I expect at least 25 run rule wins this season.

7. I expect to have in the neighborhood of 550 runs scored this year.

8. I expect to have at least 50 stolen bases this year. That's actually pretty conservative. When we have EBH's, then we're already in scoring position. But for singles and walks, whoever the following batter is will have the power to produce either another EBH to score the runner on 1st, or will hit it out of the park. The need for SB's for the Sooners is not great--but will be available and effective when it is needed.

9. I expect more defensive errors than last year. Yes, more. We are breaking in key new pieces to the infield and a freshman outfielder. There are bound to me more miscues at least early on in the season until everyone gets their timing and chemistry down. Last year we only made 19 errors all season long for .987 fld %. Our opponents on the other hand made 60 for .960 fld %. We will be very good defensively. But last year will be hard to match.



Bonus:
10. Love's field. I fully expect Love's field to be fully operational and wide open for business for our first home game in March. But did anyone think to open a book on the odds of that not happening?


How do you feel about the upcoming season?
What expectations do you have for Sooner Softball for 2024??

[MsProudSooner]

If the new field is open what will the condition of the outfield be with no time for the grass to take root?

[TropicalSooner]

What I have read is that the grass has been growing in Alabama and will be transferred to Love's field at a later date---I guess sometime in late February.
Others with more knowledge on this can edit this and clarify.

[cushcreekmont]

I hope the pitching is better than "I expect."

I believe OU will have 3 or 4 pitchers that are good enough to go xx and 1 or 2. That means 3 to 8 losses and that is a lot by recent Natty Patty standards.

IF THE BIG 12 is as awful to SB as they were to football, the league games and record might not reflect how good the team is.

Hitting and run scoring should not be a problem (although part of that is counting on Jennings returning to HR form).


But like most seasons, I doubt we know much before the end of March.

[OUBeliever56A]

Thanks to Tropical Sooner for posting his questions. Here are my thoughts.

1. I actually think that five Sooners will hit .400 for the season. I think Tropical Sooner left out Boone for his list of veterans that have hit .400 before and will probably again. I think that 13 Sooners could hit over .300 for the season. Like Tropical Sooner, I think Parker and Pickering can have big season for the Sooners, but neither may be full time players for the Sooners in 2024.

2. I think the first HR will be hit in the first game against Utah Valley. But Utah Valley does seem to play good ball most of the time and does have a little scrappiness to their team. The first HR could come in the first inning for the Sooners before the first four batters have completed their at bats. I just hope that the Sooners save a few HRs for the Duke game that follows after the Utah Valley game on Thursday and for the game against late on Friday night.

3. Total HRs - I also think the offense will be a bit better than it was in 2023. I am guessing that the team will hit 120-ish HRs through their first 52 regular season games. In the playoffs, They could hit around 20 more in the playoffs if they make it to the Finals of the WCWS.

4. I do not see the Sooner pitching as being as dominate as it was in 2022 and 2023. It will be good, but not as good as the last two years. I think Maxwell will throw 175 innings at least or so and will be the ACE for the Sooners. The 'new or revamped' pitch that she was throwing late in the fall is wicked and it got better each time. A lefty has almost no chance to hit it anywhere but to LF and a righty batter will likely hurt their wrist if they are not careful as the pitch justs eats up the handle of the bat. Maxwell could exceed 25 wins for the season. I think May will have another year similar to her 2023 season, which by any judgement, a very good season. Between Deal, Keeney, Geurin and possibly Monticelli they will get the job done but not be as good as the Trautwein, Storako and Bahl trio has been since 2022. The Team ERA will likely be closer to 1.65 than the 1.00 ERA the last two years.

5. Matching the 35 shutouts that the Sooners tallied in 2023 is probably not going to happen. Maybe 25 is more realistic IMO. Still very good, just not as good.

6. I think I can see the Sooners with at around 25 run-rule games in 2024. To me it is more important to have fewer games with less than 5 runs a game than to have more run-rule games. The Sooners had 13 such games in 2023. I am hoping for less than 8 such games in 2024.

7. I expect the Sooners to score about 8.5 runs per game through the regular season (52 games). That is 440 runs. With somewhere between 13 and 15 games in the playoffs with the same average would add 115 or so runs. So yeah, 550 runs are about right. More than 2023 and less than 2022 and 2021.

8. I think the Sooner could steal 100 bases if they wanted to. But through the first four or five hitters in the lineup, there is no advantage to running when the top 4 or 5 hitters can hit 80+ HRs. Being thrown out on a steal will take more runs away than what waiting for the big hit will produce IMO. I think that 60-ish steals will be result for the Sooners much like the last three years.

9. The fielding will be good for the Sooners but there will be more balls hit into play in 2024 than in the last two years. I think the error total will still be below 25 and the fielding average will be at least .978% for the year. Only errors late in the season drove the Sooners over 15 errors last year. OU only had 11 errors through the first 43 games. They committed 8 down the stretch in their last 19 games. I think the Sooners will lock the defense down the last 25 games in 2024.

Bonus - I do think that Love's Field will be ready for prime time come March 1st. The grass is being brought from down south complete with the dirt and root system. They will lay the sod/dirt out in early to mid February and it will be playable by the time it is needed. There may be some trim and some small things that are still being worked on but Love's Field will likely be all we hope it is on March 1st.

The support structure and beams are being built as we speak. The scoreboard in CF is going to be as large if not larger than the scoreboard at the Hall Of Fame in OKC. I so wonder what will be provided for the OF fans to see looking in towards home plate though. Surely some ribbon scoreboards will be added around the grandstand behind home plate.

[MontOUfan]

The wording of the question makes it a little difficult. If the batter swings at a pitch it doesn't matter if the ball hits the batter. It is a dead-ball strike. This is true whether the ball rolls into play and a fielder throws it to first or the ball rolls foul. The hands are not part of the bat, but any pitch that contacts the batter is a dead ball.

[MontOUfan]

Wasn't there a post with a question about the hands being part of the bat or am I losing my mind?

[OUBeliever56A]

There was, but it is gone now, along with an answer that I provided.

I differ in my belief of the rule from MontOUFan though.

If the ball hits the hand (fingers) it is not a hit batter it is a strike. The best examples are on bunts. If the ball hit the hand holding the bat down the barrel of the bat, it is just a strike as long as the hand it in contact with the bat. The same on a swing on an inside. Or it should be, a full swing negates a HBP. And yes the ball is dead on contact with the batter.

[TropicalSooner]

I did, but after nobody replied, I was embarrassed and thought it must be really stupid so I killed it.
But here is the question I asked:

Regarding your comment about Maxwell's revamped pitch, I have a dumb general question:
If a pitcher's pitch is curving into the batter but still within the strike zone and the batter reaches into it and hits the ball with her hand, dribbles into the infield, fielded and thrown out at first...is that an out? or does the batter go to first on a HBP? In other words, are the batters hands when gripping the bat considered an extension of the bat?
aka Crimson47


Thanks to everyone for your kind replies.

[MontOUfan]

There was, but it is gone now, along with an answer that I provided.

I differ in my belief of the rule from MontOUFan though.

If the ball hits the hand (fingers) it is not a hit batter it is a strike. The best examples are on bunts. If the ball hit the hand holding the bat down the barrel of the bat, it is just a strike as long as the hand it in contact with the bat. The same on a swing on an inside. Or it should be, a full swing negates a HBP. And yes the ball is dead on contact with the batter.

You are correct about a bunt because that would constitute a swing (attempt to hit the ball). If on a checked swing on a pitch outside the strike zone the ball hits the batters hand even if it is contact with the bat, it would be a HBP. There are these considerations:
Was the pitch in the strike zone? It's a strike
If it wasn't was it completely in the batter's box? It's a HBP
If it was in the "river" (area between the two) did the batter attempt to get hit? Not HBP - a ball.
Did the batter swing at a pitch outside the strike zone? If yes, it's a strike, a dead ball strike if it hit the batter including the hands on the bat. If no, HBP including the hands on the bat.

[waddy's ghost]

I can't predict what is going to happen as far as the players are concerned but I epect the Sooner team to be back to the WCWS and likely winners of #8 and#4 in a row. I am not so blinded by my crimson lenses as to think we will lose only one game however .

IMHO the only hole position wise is SS BUT we have been great there before and I think we will be so this year . Who will fill that role I have no idea but there are is a lot of talent competing for this spot.

[TN Sooner]

As we see the “top 25” lists come out, I find myself going thru the top 10’s and it is easy (with the help of the great knowledge around this place) to see significant holes and question marks among all the other teams, at least in comparison to OU.

Sure, we have to replace the best pitcher in softball, but we have 2 solid (if not great) #1’s ready to take the rock. We have plenty of quality depth competing for the other innings.

Okay, we aren’t sure who is going to get the innings and AB’s at 1B and RF and 1 open slot at 2B/SS/3B, but the know the other 5 positions are AA quality, with 2-3 that are capable of POY recognition. And we have plenty of depth/options for those open positions. Some of that depth has proven, yet inconsistent abilities in NCAA softball and some Frosh ready to prove they belong.

We will once again be the top hitting team in softball. And we will be among the top 3 in pitching, if not #1. I would expect to be top 5 in defense too.

I hate to have this pressure on us, but it’s a privilege and our guys seem to embrace it. It will be disappointing if we aren’t dog piling at the pitchers mound in OKC in June.