WEEK 13 SOONER SOFTBALL REPORT: Bedlam presents tremendous opportunity
WEEK 13 SOONER SOFTBALL REPORT: Bedlam presents tremendous opportunity
Oklahoma can build momentum once postseason arrives or start now, against the fifth-ranked team in the nation
The Skinny
It seems like there’s a lot going on with Oklahoma as the second-ranked Sooners prepare to take on fifth-ranked Oklahoma State Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Love’s Field.
Though the Sooners have responded with a pair of series sweeps over Central Florida and Houston following a pair of series in which they took losses against Texas and BYU, it still doesn’t feel like the same OU team that entered the Texas series 34-1 and 12-0 in the Big 12 Conference.
That team, for instance, was slashing .396/.518/.801. Yet, the Sooners on their way to meet the Cowgirls are slashing .372/.480/.673.
Still great numbers, yet not what they’ve been.
Topping UCF in Orlando last weekend, no victory came by run-rule; between games one, two and the first inning of game three, the Sooners scored runs in just 4 of 15 innings; and in Sunday’s game, all three of the starters in coach Patty Gasso’s rotation — Nicole May, Kelly Maxwell, Kierston Deal — allowed earned runs in what eventually became an 11-7 victory.
As you’ll see in the notes sections below, the biggest Sooner bats, but for Kinzie Hansen’s, have slowed, while every starting pitcher’s earned run average, but for Deal’s, has risen.
It just doesn’t feel like the machine-like operation it’s been for most of the last three seasons as OU enters Bedlam, which precedes the Big 12 tournament, which precedes NCAA regional play, which precedes super regional play, which precedes the Women’s College World Series.
So, the opportunity is huge.
If OU is going to challenge for a fourth straight national championship, it can begin it’s finishing kick now, building momentum before the postseason arrives against a fantastic Bedlam opponent.
The Cowgirls are a complete team on an eight game winning streak, just like the Sooners.
They’ll enter the series slashing .310/.393/.556, which is not quite in OU’s league, yet still accounts for the 36th best batting average in the nation, the 32nd best on-base percentage in the nation and the ninth best slugging percentage in the nation, which is not bad at all, especially when you’ve got a workhorse like Lexi Kilfoyl — more on her in the notes, too — leading a pitching staff with an 11th-best in the nation 1.92 earned run average.
Add to all of it the fact it’s Bedlam, perhaps a final Bedlam and that both teams, as well as Texas, can win the regular season conference crown, it’s a golden opportunity for the Sooners to remember who they are, reclaim their dominance and begin their run toward the postseason.
Given the calendar, it’s also time for Gasso to put her best team on the field, her best lineup in the batting order and to make some choices concerning her pitchers.
It’s an exciting time of year.
Leading to an even more exciting time of year.
And it’s Bedlam.
The Schedule
Last week
— def. Central Florida 10-2
— def. Central Florida 2-1
— def. Central Florida 11-7
This week
— Oklahoma State, 6:30 p.m. Friday (FS1)
— Oklahoma State, Noon Saturday (ESPN)
— Oklahoma State, 3 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2)
Record: 45-4
Conference record: 21-3
Streak: Won 8
Numbers
Entering last week
Games: 46
Batting average: .379
On-base percentage: .475
Slugging percentage: .681
Earned run average: 1.56
Strikeouts/innings pitched: 281/279
Opponent batting average: .180
Fielding percentage: .985
Errors: 17
Unearned runs allowed: 7
Entering this week
Games: 49
Batting average: .372
On-base percentage: .480
Slugging percentage: .673
Earned run average: 1.66
Strikeouts/innings pitched: 292/300
Opponent batting average: .184
Fielding percentage: .982
Errors: 23
Unearned runs allowed: 8
Leaders
Batting average: Kinzie Hansen .441 (Alyssa Brito .417)
On-base percentage: Jayda Coleman .543 (Tiare Jennings .518)
Slugging percentage: Alyssa Brito .875 (Tiare Jennings .841)
Runs batted in: Tiare Jennings 55 (Alyssa Brito 50)
Home runs: Tiare Jennings 18 (Alyssa Brito 16)
Triples: Alyssa Brito 4 (Rylie Boone 1, Kasidi Pickering 1, Avery Hodge 1)
Doubles: Tiare Jennings 12 (Alyssa Brito 10, Ella Parker 10, Rylie Boone 10)
Hits: Alyssa Brito 60 (Tiare Jennings 56)
Runs scored: Jayda Coleman 54 (Alyssa Brito 52)
Stolen bases: Ella Parker 15 (Maya Bland 8)
Earned run average: S.J. Guerin 0.70; 10 IP (Kierston Deal 1.00; 63 IP)
Wins: Kelly Maxwell 16-1 (Nicole May 12-1)
Innings pitched: Kelly Maxwell 101 (Nicole May 64)
Strikeouts: Kelly Maxwell 107 (Nicole May 68)
Inside the numbers
• Kinzie to the rescue: Last week, here were the .400 hitters in the Sooner batting order: Alyssa Brito .425, Rylie Boone .424, Jayda Coleman .422, Kinzie Hansen .422, Tiare Jennings .406. Here they are now: Hansen .441, Brito .417, Boone .411, Coleman .405, Jennings .386.
Though Oklahoma’s .372 team batting average leads the nation, it’s also down seven points from last week, reflecting an ongoing downward trend of the Sooners’ top sluggers. Hansen is the exception after going 6 of 9 in three games against Central Florida, raising her batting average 19 points.
Hansen also drove in three runs and hit her seventh home run of the season last weekend. Hansen is capable of huge numbers. Two seasons ago she hit .438 with 24 home runs. Perhaps she’s just now finding her form.
• The Lexi Kilfoyl story: Typically, this space revolves around Sooner numbers but Sooner fans should know about Kilfoyl, who’s clearly among the best pitchers in the Big 12 Conference. She’ll come in with an earned run average of 1.16, which is better than every Sooner starter save Kierston Deal. Yet, the thing that separates Kilfoyl is her workload. To date, she’s started 18 games, completed 14 and thrown a triumphant 132 1/3 innings, which is 31 1/3 more than Kelly Maxwell, OU’s busiest pitcher. Look for Kilfoyl to start at least two games over the weekend.
• To err is human: Say this much for the Sooners, they tend not to let their errors turn into unearned runs. For instance, last Friday in Orlando, they committed three, yet Central Florida scored no unearned runs. The next day, they committed one and it cost them, allowing an unearned run to cross. Yet, in the Sunday game against the Knights, two more errors and no more unearned runs. On the other hand … six Sooner errors in three games?
Jayda Coleman, Alynah Torres and Rylie Boone committed errors in the opener and Avery Hodge, at second base, committed three between Saturday and Sunday. As a team, OU’s error count jumped from 17 to 23, though it’s unearned run total moved only from seven to eight.
Diamond Notes
Rotation in flux
Last week we examined the case Kierston Deal had made to at least move past Nicole May into the No. 2 spot in coach Patty Gasso’s pitching rotation, behind Kelly Maxwell. As a numbers matter, Deal was again the best pitcher on the Sooner roster last weekend, allowing one earned run over 7 2/3 innings, while Maxwell allowed three over 10 2/3 and May four over two. Also, the order in which each got their start last weekend was Maxwell Friday, Deal Saturday and May Sunday (Maxwell and Deal also relieved on Sunday). This week against Oklahoma State the question will be if May is dropped from the rotation altogether and, if she is, who gets the two starts and who gets the one. Going with Deal twice would be a huge change, but not unwarranted. While her inning count is up to 63, one short of May, her earned run average is down to 1.00, significantly better than Maxwell’s 1.66 and May’s 2.52.
Motivation for Pokes
This has to be the biggest three-game set in Bedlam softball history. One, it’s the last for these two programs as conference foes. Two, it’s the Nos. 2 and 5 teams in the nation, one of them the defending national champion. Three, the Big 12 regular season championship is at stake. If Texas were to drop two games at Texas Tech, OSU could win the conference by sweeping the Sooners. Meanwhile the Sooners can win it by sweeping the Cowgirls. Also, if OSU could take one game from OU, Texas could claim it by sweeping Tech. Not to mention, even should the Sooners knock the Cowgirls out of the race, the Cowgirls would likely still love to play spoiler and hand the crown to Texas.
Big series beyond the conference
Though OU will still have a conference tournament to play between this weekend and the opening of NCAA regional play, given the opponent’s capabilities, the Bedlam series could also have a real impact on the strength of the regional field the Sooners must take on in two-and-a-half weeks, not to mention the strength of a potential super regional opponent. If, say, the Sooners were to drop one or two games this weekend and not claim the Big 12 tourney title, the pre-WCWS postseason could become quite a bit more interesting.
For your own handicapping purposes, here is the NCAA’s official softball RPI entering the weekend, Nos. 1 to 16: 1. Texas; 2. OU; 3. LSU; 4. Georgia; 5. Stanford; 6. Duke; 7. Tennessee; 8. UCLA; 9. Missouri; 10. Florida State; 11. Louisiana; 12. OSU; 13. Texas A&M; 14. Alabama; 15. Arkansas; 16. Florida.
Also, here’s the just updated Monday Softball America top 16, which is wildly different: 1. Texas; 2. OU; 3. Tennessee; 4. Texas A&M; 5. OSU; 6. Duke; 7. UCLA; 8. Arkansas; 9. Stanford; 10. Missouri; 11. Florida State; 12. Florida; 13. Georgia; 14. Washington; 15. Louisiana; 16. LSU.
And, if you’re a true softball nerd, here’s one prognostication, from College Sports Madness, of the 16 regional matchups were the NCAA postseason to begin today.
Until next time …