When you’re chasing history from multiple angles it’s pretty easy to find yourself in a unique position. Oklahoma is currently on a record breaking 62-game winning streak and they’re chasing an unprecedented fourth consecutive national title. Both of those put the Sooners in categories all by themselves, but there’s also something about this team that should be terrifying to opponents. Patty Gasso has never had a pitching staff as deeply talented as the one that she has right now.
Through the first nine games of the season, Gasso has sent six different pitchers into the circle. Five of those six have recorded at least one win, and four of them have yet to allow a run. The top three pitchers in the Big 12, in terms of ERA, wear crimson and cream. Nicole May and Karlie Keeney are sporting a perfect 0.00 ERA and Kelly Maxwell is right behind them with a 0.50 ERA. May and Maxwell are tied for fifth in the conference with three wins each, and are just two games behind Houston’s Shelby Smith who has five. The trio also ranks top five in the conference in hits allowed with Maxwell at #2, giving up just five, hits while May and Keeney are tied at #3,having each allowed seven. Not to pile on here, but Maxwell and Keeney are also tied for in the Big 12 with the fewest walks (2 each) and May is seventh with four.
Oklahoma’s Pitching Staff Through Nine Games This Season
| # | PLAYER | ERA | W-L | APP-GS | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | 2B | 3B | HR | B/AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | May, Nicole | 0.00 | 3-0 | 4-3 | 0 | 13.1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .149 |
| 8 | Keeney, Karlie | 0.00 | 1-0 | 5-1 | 1 | 11.2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .179 |
| 28 | Maxwell, Kelly | 0.50 | 3-0 | 5-2 | 1 | 14.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .109 |
| 17 | Monticelli, Paytn | 0.00 | 0-0 | 5-1 | 0 | 6.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .105 |
| 85 | Geurin, SJ | 0.00 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 0 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 11 | Deal, Kierston | 2.74 | 1-0 | 3-2 | 0 | 7.2 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .258 |
| Totals | 0.50 | 9-0 | 24-9 | 2 | 56.0 | 29 | 7 | 4 | 15 | 56 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .151 | |
| Opponents | 8.56 | 0-9 | 31-9 | 0 | 52.1 | 81 | 67 | 64 | 39 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 14 | .346 |
Each pitcher has a different approach, a different release, and different pitches. This makes life really difficult for opposing pitching coaches to prepare their lineup to face Oklahoma.
Now you’ve got six truly viable options. An opponent has to prepare for all of them, because you don’t know who’s coming or when they’re coming. That is a nightmare from a hitting coach perspective and a team trying to gather up all that information.
Patty Gasso on her Pitching Staff
Patty Gasso is looking well past those top three pitchers and at her entire staff of hurlers. Imagine being a hitting coach and you see an All-Conference First Team pitcher like Nicole May spelled by an All-Conference pitcher in Karlie Keeney, and then look into the bullpen to see All-American in Kelly Maxwell warming up. Then there’s the No. 1 player in the 2022 class (Kierston Deal) and Wisconsin’s 2023 strikeout leader (Paytn Monticelli) just waiting for their turn.
That’s why OU leads the Big 12 in ERA, and it’s really not that close. The Sooners have a team ERA of 0.50 and Texas is the next closest with a 1.17 ERA. Patty Gasso’s squads have always been dangerous from the circle. However, this year, in their pursuit of history, they’re both deep and dangerous.
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