There was no panic in Patty Gasso as her squad fell into an early hole against Wichita State on Sunday. Wanting to see how Olivia Rains and Alanna Thiede would fair against a lineup as powerful as the Shockers, Gasso went with her #4 and #5 pitchers to start the game and the result was a 0-4 deficit and some confusion in the Sooner Nation. Oklahoma outscored Wichita State 24-3 after that point.
The Sooners hit six home runs off Wichita State pitchers to tie a program record for the postseason. A total of ten different Oklahoma batters went to the plate and recorded a hit. In other words, ten of the thirteen batters OU sent to the plate recorded at least one hit.
Tiare Jennings, Rylie Boone, Taylon Snow, Grace Lyons, and Lynnsie Elam each went deep for the Sooners on Sunday. Lyons hit two home runs on the day, Boone and Snow were pinch hitters when they went deep and Boone’s was a grand slam.
It was an extreme confidence in her lineup that allowed Gasso to experiment in the circle. The experiment didn’t last long though as Rains and Thiede each pitched just a third of an inning before giving way to freshman Nicole May. Rains was responsible for three of Wichita State’s first inning runs with Thiede allowing the other. With all of the explosiveness of Oklahoma’s offense it was actually Nicole May who was the big story though. May went the distance after taking the circle, pitching 6.1 innings in which she allowed just three runs on six hits, while striking out four, to earn her 13th win of the season.
Oklahoma now awaits the winner of the Seattle Regional finals where Michigan and Washington are playing to decide who will come to Norman next week to play the Sooners in the super regional.
Follow us on Twitter: @SportsHeartland