SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Just sign right on the dotted line to welcome the newly recruited University of Oklahoma softball team.
Black or blue is fine, the red and white uniform colors will follow as the Sooners path continues down the road of success.
Don’t want to get in the way of the program possibly reeling in a sixth NCAA national World Series championship today, but there’s no doubt the Norman crowd will certainly be out there packed today among the usual capacity crowd at the Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City today versus state and Big 12 rival Texas.
In the best-of-three series that dominated the unseeded Longhorns, 16-1, in game one Wednesday, either Texas needs a miracle or Oklahoma’s defending champions will repeat the run against Florida State in last year’s run.
But with the newly brought 2023 recruits, it will be business on the field of play, and another whooping success will bring head coach Patty Gasso and company hoisting another trophy.
And with all that probably good news, it’s yet another grand old grab bag for the Sooners. Yes, they will lose some graduates after this 57-3 remarkable year, but the newcomers and returnees will step right in to keep the program on the winning path.
Stepping right in as No. 1 recruit is another special gift for Gasso, for she’s had several, and this time is another gem in the circle, namely southpaw pitcher Kierston Deal from Winston Salem, N.C. She was No. 1 player in the class of 2022 by Extra Inning Softball, No. 1 pitcher in the class of 2022 by Extra Inning Softball.
Just follow the bouncing ball of a youngster who originally committed to South Carolina and
who now brings the Sooners 292 strikeouts, 136 innings pitched, and with a 0.64 earned run average. She was named Central Piedmont Conference Pitcher of the Year, and Extra Inning Softball First Team HIgh School All-America.
She played travel ball for Mojo-Fisher Tennessee, and was also coached by longtime pitching mentor Billy “Chief” Gerald, and also starred in 2021 Extra Inning Softball All-Summer Team MVP.
Said Gasso: “Kierston was a late find for us and was a huge surprise. She had great success in the travel ball circuit, especially this last season, and showed some determination going through the PGF championship. She complements our pitching staff with her intense work ethic and focus, and so I’m really excited for what Kierston can do for us working with (associate head coach and pitching coach Jen Rocha)”.
Let’s backtrack to a phone call that Kierston made back in April to Gasso.
“Hi coach Gasso” she said, “this is Kierston Deal, who answers by congratulating me for signing with South Carolina, but I responded by asking her if she can switch to Oklahoma, and she answered by stopping short, and with a laugh, sure I can get you in in no time Kierston.”
Well no time took about a few days, and Kierston later explained that her mom and dad gathered one day with here and thought it was best to play for Oklahoma. They promoted the program, the area, and advised her to try and recommit and make us all very happy. Done deal, all aboard for Norman, just about 30 miles south of where the Oklahoma City Hall of Fame Stadium is played.
“I loved the family atmosphere of the coaches and players at OU,” Deal said. “I knew once I got there that I wanted to be a part of that and that I can really grow there as part of the OU family.”
On Wednesday, hours before game one against Texas in the World Series, she and the three other tip-top recruits were hanging out at the Onge Field Ballpark also known largely as Oklahoma City Stadium.
The daughter of Tony Tatum and Michele Deal, her mom played college softball and basketball, and she herself choose Oklahoma over South Carolina, Arkansas and others.
Joining her and collectively having a ball at the World Series where they are guests of Oklahoma, are Jocelyn Erickson, SJ Guarin and Avery Hodge. The four hail from across the country, with Erickson coming from Phoenix, Ariz., Guerin joining from Leander, TX., and Hodge from Richmond, TX.
All four signees ranked in the top 20 of Extra Innings Softball 2022 Extra Elite 100, and including No. 1 of all in Deal. Three of the top four rank in the top 10 nationally per Extra Innings and all four rank in the top 20 for their respective positions. Additionally, three rank in the top 25 of Softball America’s top 100.
Guerin, a lefthander, said the Oklahoma program is unlike any other. Greatness doesn’t just stop with the softball program, it flows throughout this whole university. Everywhere you look people are pushing each other to be better versions of themselves, and I hope to accomplish many things throughout my years at Oklahoma. I hope to get my degree, inspire younger girls, and can’t wait to start my journey here.
Guerin has a neat variety of pitches. She has excellent balance and her best is mixing fastball with a neat curve. She is the daughter of Robert and Angela Guerin, her mom played softball at Tulsa and her dad played football at Tulsa, so they are native Oklahomans.
Erickson is very versatile, delivers from the left side from the circle and plays behind the plate as a left-hander. She has a strong arm and does special things well defensively as a game-changer. She figures to be getting stronger and working with athletes at this level will be extremely beneficial for her, for as Gasso said her mindset will be able to elevate her game to a new level.
She is already one of the best infielders in the 2022 class, is very athletic, a real gamer, athletic, sneaky speed, and makes defense look easy, and at bat can be a one swing game-changer.
Her mom and dad attended high school in Phoenix, college at Arizona, and her mom played softball and was a swimmer, and her dad was on the football and baseball teams.ve
Hodge is a middle infielder with great range, strong arm, runs the bases well and was her team captain for three years. She is a line drive hitter, can hit the long ball and is very capable of turning the double play. She has been ranked the No. 6 prospect in the land, All-Region and All-State. Her parents played high school in Richmond, Tx., and at Texas Tech her mom starred in softball while dad played baseball at Baylor.
“I chose Oklahoma,” she said, “over Texas A & M because I felt it was like the best fit for me. I love the game of softball, how the program is here in Norman, everyone is every faith-team oriented and everyone is like a family.”
Such a deal!
