Sooner Softball scores 9 runs in 1st / 7th to win 10-2 over UCF!
Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2024 6:45 am
The Oklahoma Sooners opened and closed strong against Central Florida in Friday nights game in Orlando and won 10-2 to move to 43-4 overall and 19-3 in big 12 play.
The Sooners used an impressive first inning (4 hits, w 1 HR by Brito, 2 walks for 5 runs) and a game clinching 7th inning (4 hits, 2 walks for 4 runs) to win going away. In between the Sooners. In the middle five innings the Sooners had 3 hits and walks and scored a run on a solo HR by Coleman in the 3rd inning.
In the circle, the Kelly Maxwell pitched 6.1 innings of 1 run softball allowing 7 hits (6 singles and 1 double) with 2 walks and 5 Ks. She picked up her 15th win on the season and lowered her ERA to 1.59 on the season. Karlie Keeney came on in relief, probably because of the 121 pitches that Maxwell had thrown, to finish the game. She faced three batters getting two ground balls to SS for outs and allowed 1 solo HR to give up the second run of the game by OU.
If I did not know the score of the game, and read the majority of posts here, I would have thought the Sooners might have gotten beat by UCF. But they did win the game convincingly and there was almost no doubt they would not win the game after the top of the 1st. C'mon Sooner fans, I ask you to look for a few good things in a 10-2 win instead of finding every little thing you can to, well complain about, when the team wins by 8 runs. Yean they won by 8 runs. The other team is trying very hard to defeat the Sooners every game. The other team can play softball also. It game for the Sooners is never a cakewalk despite the Sooners sometimes making it look like that. Enjoy the victories in some way. Enjoy the fact that the Sooners won their 43rd win of the game. Enjoy the effort by Kelly Maxwell, Jayda Coleman (2 for 3, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 walks), Kinzie Hansen (3 for 4 with an RBI), Kasidi Pickering (2 for 3 with 2 RBIs with a walk) and Alyssa Brito (2 for 4, HR, 2 RBIs) played well for the Sooners offensively. There were many things to be positive about. Many.
Now, were there a few things that were not great, sure there were. It is a diamond sport where Hall of Famers hit .350 not .850. Even Ozzie Smith made a bone-head play at SS a few times. Expecting perfection is not realistic. Expecting effort is and if you think the Sooners did not give effort, I suggest you adjust your thinking a bit.
In the first inning the first out was made when with the bases loaded Hansen singled into center field. The single plated Coleman for a Hansen RBI. The CFer threw the ball to the screen behind home plate and Ella Parker tried to score from 3B after she moved from 2B on the single. In a very close play at the plate, Parker was tagged out by the 1B covering home plate. I thought that Parker's foot bounced up off the ground and was in the air as she got to the plate and as she lowered her foot to the plate she was tagged out. I did not think her foot was down on the plate yet. The play was very close. I think it was called correctly. But no one knows for sure, the call was that she was out. The play is instinctual by Parker and probably even coach Gasso at 3B. There is a minute moment in time where a play happens and the player goes or he player does not. It is difficult to call it a bad play. It is just a play.
I thought another key play was this. After UCF removed Halajian from the circle in the 2nd inning and brought in DeVoe, Halajian was placed in RF. With the bases loaded and 1 out. Brito hit a shallow popup to short RF (yeah, the ball found the pitcher playing RF) and Halajian just barely made the catch for the out. If she does not the Sooners likley score on run and have one more to play with in the inning. With the play made, the Sooners left 3 runners on base. (More on that later.)
i thought the UCF Coach Cindy Ball-Malone handled her pitching staff well with some nifty double-switches to use Felton (starting pitcher) twice in the game, use Halajian twice and DeVoe twice. That took some planning and thinking to do in the game. Kudos to her. But she might have gotten lucky on the popup to shallow RF too.
A couple of notes about the Sooner defense. The Sooners made 3 errors in the game. The way two of them were made is what concerns me, I think. Not the fact that they were made. The first error was made by Alynah Torres at 2B. With 2 outs and a runner on first base the ball was hit to her right towards the bag. As she got to the ball she reached to back hand the ball and it ticked off her glove into shallow CF. Torres had to chase done the ball as the runners ended up on 2nd and 3rd on the play. Torres should have made the play even though she covered some ground to get to the ball. She probably tried to sneak a look to see if she had a play at 2B as she reached for the base. It might have been a close play. The error was given because the runners picked up the extra bases on the play. It was the first error of the year by Torres. Errors just happen sometimes. Maxwell recovered to get a ground ball to 3B that Brito fielded and made the out to first. No real harm in the inning just an error. Torres also had another play in the 3rd inning where the ball was hit to her left, she got o the ball out in the grass to field the ball but the ball hit the end of her glove and stayed on the grass. This play was ruled a hit for Kotzelnick. I am not sure if there was a play or not on the ball as Torres would have had to picot and throw quickly to 1B to get the out. To me the only questions about the two plays is. "does Hodge make the play?". Who knows?
In the same inning, the 3rd, against the next hitter, the ball was put into play on a little looper to LF. As Rylie Boone charged the ball she really did not get fully to the ball as she reached for the ball, I think in effort to maybe make a play at 2B on the force. But the ball ticked off the end of her glove and went deeper into LF. The two runners ended up on 2nd and 3rd after the play and the error was given as the runners moved up. I will say that the first thing an OFer must do is get to the ball and make the initial play. I think that Boone might have been thinking too much about the next play, the throw to second base for the force and I am not sure there was a play there to make. The ball was not hit that hard. Maxwell once got out of trouble, this time with two ground balls, one to herself (nice play) and one to Torres at 2B. Again no real harm, but an error probably in judgement more than anything by Boone.
The last error was more of the same, poor judgement. After Maxwell had struck out the first two batters in the 5th, the hitter hit a hard single back at Kelly's head into CF (I think this was the hit). Jayda Coleman in a, shall I say foolish play, charged the play and then threw the ball to 1B trying to get a 8-3 force out. The ball was quickly into the screen and perhaps into the Sooner dugout and came back out on the field. The runner moved to second base on the overthrow. There was simply no need to make the throw. No need at all. With a runner on second after the error, the next hitter hit a double down the RF line that plated the runner on second base. I wonder if she would have scored from first base? I do not know. But she did score from second base. It was ruled an earned run for Maxwell,, I wonder about that.
Judgement about playing and throwing balls by the outfielders could have been better I think especially by seniors in the outfield.
I thought the umpires got the call right on the runners interference play to end the 6th inning when Jennings and the Kotzelnick collided between SS and 3B.
Overall, the Sooners had 11 hits, 8 walks and reached base on one error (Parker's fly ball to LF). The Sooners reached base 20 times in the game. That is very good. The Sooners scored 10 runs and left 8 runners on base. One runner was lost at home plate on the tag on Parker and one was lost on a double play. Yes, they left 8 runners on base. Five of them were runners that were walked and there were no hits after the walk. I will choose to be happy about the 20 base runners and not get hung up on 8 of 20 runners being left on base when five were by walks.
The Sooners had 2 HRs in the game by Brito, 2 run-HR, in the 1st inning and Coleman, sole shot, in the 5th. I will say good enough.
The Sooners had good games offensively by Coleman, Hansen and Brito ( 3 of the big 4 ) and also got a boost from Pickering (2 RBIs). That was what the Sooners needed in the game. The Sooners also got a nice effort by Maxwell as the starting pitcher. It was not her best effort of the year, but it was more than good enough.
Today, the Sooners look to win the second game for a series win. I think it will be Nicole May in the circle for the Sooners. I think UCF will start Willis today.
In today's game there is a BIG moment also possible if the Sooners win the game. Coach Patty Gasso can win her 1500th game of her career. That is a big milestone for her. I hope we get to see the celebration of that today after the game.
I hope the Sooners play smarter on defense, much smarter. I hope that the Sooners continue to get good offensive output from the four seniors and one of the other five starters. I also hope the Sooners get something from the 7th and 8th spots in the lineup tomorrow. They have been absent in the offense lately unless Torres has a good game in the batter's box. The Sooners could use better offense from the 8th spot lately.
I also hope that fans of the Sooners can watch the game and appreciate the good plays and not focus on a bad play here and there and expect a 23-0 shutout in five innings. If you look around, in just the Big 12 yesterday, OSU defeated Kansas twice by the scores of 5-2 and 6-5. Texas beat Iowa State 5-2. UCF is at least as good of a team as Kansas or Iowa State. Oklahoma won 10-2. A much larger win than by OSU twice or by Texas once. Smile and be happy! Sooners won! Sooner won!
Boomer Sooner!
The Sooners used an impressive first inning (4 hits, w 1 HR by Brito, 2 walks for 5 runs) and a game clinching 7th inning (4 hits, 2 walks for 4 runs) to win going away. In between the Sooners. In the middle five innings the Sooners had 3 hits and walks and scored a run on a solo HR by Coleman in the 3rd inning.
In the circle, the Kelly Maxwell pitched 6.1 innings of 1 run softball allowing 7 hits (6 singles and 1 double) with 2 walks and 5 Ks. She picked up her 15th win on the season and lowered her ERA to 1.59 on the season. Karlie Keeney came on in relief, probably because of the 121 pitches that Maxwell had thrown, to finish the game. She faced three batters getting two ground balls to SS for outs and allowed 1 solo HR to give up the second run of the game by OU.
If I did not know the score of the game, and read the majority of posts here, I would have thought the Sooners might have gotten beat by UCF. But they did win the game convincingly and there was almost no doubt they would not win the game after the top of the 1st. C'mon Sooner fans, I ask you to look for a few good things in a 10-2 win instead of finding every little thing you can to, well complain about, when the team wins by 8 runs. Yean they won by 8 runs. The other team is trying very hard to defeat the Sooners every game. The other team can play softball also. It game for the Sooners is never a cakewalk despite the Sooners sometimes making it look like that. Enjoy the victories in some way. Enjoy the fact that the Sooners won their 43rd win of the game. Enjoy the effort by Kelly Maxwell, Jayda Coleman (2 for 3, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 walks), Kinzie Hansen (3 for 4 with an RBI), Kasidi Pickering (2 for 3 with 2 RBIs with a walk) and Alyssa Brito (2 for 4, HR, 2 RBIs) played well for the Sooners offensively. There were many things to be positive about. Many.
Now, were there a few things that were not great, sure there were. It is a diamond sport where Hall of Famers hit .350 not .850. Even Ozzie Smith made a bone-head play at SS a few times. Expecting perfection is not realistic. Expecting effort is and if you think the Sooners did not give effort, I suggest you adjust your thinking a bit.
In the first inning the first out was made when with the bases loaded Hansen singled into center field. The single plated Coleman for a Hansen RBI. The CFer threw the ball to the screen behind home plate and Ella Parker tried to score from 3B after she moved from 2B on the single. In a very close play at the plate, Parker was tagged out by the 1B covering home plate. I thought that Parker's foot bounced up off the ground and was in the air as she got to the plate and as she lowered her foot to the plate she was tagged out. I did not think her foot was down on the plate yet. The play was very close. I think it was called correctly. But no one knows for sure, the call was that she was out. The play is instinctual by Parker and probably even coach Gasso at 3B. There is a minute moment in time where a play happens and the player goes or he player does not. It is difficult to call it a bad play. It is just a play.
I thought another key play was this. After UCF removed Halajian from the circle in the 2nd inning and brought in DeVoe, Halajian was placed in RF. With the bases loaded and 1 out. Brito hit a shallow popup to short RF (yeah, the ball found the pitcher playing RF) and Halajian just barely made the catch for the out. If she does not the Sooners likley score on run and have one more to play with in the inning. With the play made, the Sooners left 3 runners on base. (More on that later.)
i thought the UCF Coach Cindy Ball-Malone handled her pitching staff well with some nifty double-switches to use Felton (starting pitcher) twice in the game, use Halajian twice and DeVoe twice. That took some planning and thinking to do in the game. Kudos to her. But she might have gotten lucky on the popup to shallow RF too.
A couple of notes about the Sooner defense. The Sooners made 3 errors in the game. The way two of them were made is what concerns me, I think. Not the fact that they were made. The first error was made by Alynah Torres at 2B. With 2 outs and a runner on first base the ball was hit to her right towards the bag. As she got to the ball she reached to back hand the ball and it ticked off her glove into shallow CF. Torres had to chase done the ball as the runners ended up on 2nd and 3rd on the play. Torres should have made the play even though she covered some ground to get to the ball. She probably tried to sneak a look to see if she had a play at 2B as she reached for the base. It might have been a close play. The error was given because the runners picked up the extra bases on the play. It was the first error of the year by Torres. Errors just happen sometimes. Maxwell recovered to get a ground ball to 3B that Brito fielded and made the out to first. No real harm in the inning just an error. Torres also had another play in the 3rd inning where the ball was hit to her left, she got o the ball out in the grass to field the ball but the ball hit the end of her glove and stayed on the grass. This play was ruled a hit for Kotzelnick. I am not sure if there was a play or not on the ball as Torres would have had to picot and throw quickly to 1B to get the out. To me the only questions about the two plays is. "does Hodge make the play?". Who knows?
In the same inning, the 3rd, against the next hitter, the ball was put into play on a little looper to LF. As Rylie Boone charged the ball she really did not get fully to the ball as she reached for the ball, I think in effort to maybe make a play at 2B on the force. But the ball ticked off the end of her glove and went deeper into LF. The two runners ended up on 2nd and 3rd after the play and the error was given as the runners moved up. I will say that the first thing an OFer must do is get to the ball and make the initial play. I think that Boone might have been thinking too much about the next play, the throw to second base for the force and I am not sure there was a play there to make. The ball was not hit that hard. Maxwell once got out of trouble, this time with two ground balls, one to herself (nice play) and one to Torres at 2B. Again no real harm, but an error probably in judgement more than anything by Boone.
The last error was more of the same, poor judgement. After Maxwell had struck out the first two batters in the 5th, the hitter hit a hard single back at Kelly's head into CF (I think this was the hit). Jayda Coleman in a, shall I say foolish play, charged the play and then threw the ball to 1B trying to get a 8-3 force out. The ball was quickly into the screen and perhaps into the Sooner dugout and came back out on the field. The runner moved to second base on the overthrow. There was simply no need to make the throw. No need at all. With a runner on second after the error, the next hitter hit a double down the RF line that plated the runner on second base. I wonder if she would have scored from first base? I do not know. But she did score from second base. It was ruled an earned run for Maxwell,, I wonder about that.
Judgement about playing and throwing balls by the outfielders could have been better I think especially by seniors in the outfield.
I thought the umpires got the call right on the runners interference play to end the 6th inning when Jennings and the Kotzelnick collided between SS and 3B.
Overall, the Sooners had 11 hits, 8 walks and reached base on one error (Parker's fly ball to LF). The Sooners reached base 20 times in the game. That is very good. The Sooners scored 10 runs and left 8 runners on base. One runner was lost at home plate on the tag on Parker and one was lost on a double play. Yes, they left 8 runners on base. Five of them were runners that were walked and there were no hits after the walk. I will choose to be happy about the 20 base runners and not get hung up on 8 of 20 runners being left on base when five were by walks.
The Sooners had 2 HRs in the game by Brito, 2 run-HR, in the 1st inning and Coleman, sole shot, in the 5th. I will say good enough.
The Sooners had good games offensively by Coleman, Hansen and Brito ( 3 of the big 4 ) and also got a boost from Pickering (2 RBIs). That was what the Sooners needed in the game. The Sooners also got a nice effort by Maxwell as the starting pitcher. It was not her best effort of the year, but it was more than good enough.
Today, the Sooners look to win the second game for a series win. I think it will be Nicole May in the circle for the Sooners. I think UCF will start Willis today.
In today's game there is a BIG moment also possible if the Sooners win the game. Coach Patty Gasso can win her 1500th game of her career. That is a big milestone for her. I hope we get to see the celebration of that today after the game.
I hope the Sooners play smarter on defense, much smarter. I hope that the Sooners continue to get good offensive output from the four seniors and one of the other five starters. I also hope the Sooners get something from the 7th and 8th spots in the lineup tomorrow. They have been absent in the offense lately unless Torres has a good game in the batter's box. The Sooners could use better offense from the 8th spot lately.
I also hope that fans of the Sooners can watch the game and appreciate the good plays and not focus on a bad play here and there and expect a 23-0 shutout in five innings. If you look around, in just the Big 12 yesterday, OSU defeated Kansas twice by the scores of 5-2 and 6-5. Texas beat Iowa State 5-2. UCF is at least as good of a team as Kansas or Iowa State. Oklahoma won 10-2. A much larger win than by OSU twice or by Texas once. Smile and be happy! Sooners won! Sooner won!
Boomer Sooner!