SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Interesting that No. 1 Oklahoma has defeated five of the teams in the upcoming NCAA Division I National Softball tournament.
Good to remember, but it’s all history. Times have changed, so don’t bet your house that it can happen again.
No. 9 Stanford lost 10-1 n six innings to the Sooners in Game 3 of the season in Irvine, Calif.
Shortly after, No. 7 Washington lost 5-4 at Oklahoma’s Martha Hynes Field. And right after that, No. 15 Utah lost 10-3 in Norman, and two weeks later, got past No. 3 Florida State, 5-4.
And last but certainly not least, this was a biggie when the Sooners hit the road for Stillwater and swept Oklahoma State in three, 6-1, 5-2, 6-3, and that equals 17 runs to six.
The Sooners also won over three others who were eliminated in the Super Regionals — No. 8 Duke, No. 12 Northwestern, and No. 13 Texas three times during the regular season and again in the Big 12 tournament final.
Oklahoma, 56-1 overall, now holds the all-time winning streak record of 48 games, bettering the 47 won in the 1996-97 seasons by Arizona.
This came in Super Regional Game 2 against Clemson when, with two out, two on, two strikes, senior catcher Kinzie Hansen clouted a three-run home run to tie the game at 7-7in the top of the seventh inning.
With only ace sophomore righthander Jordy Bahl available after using three other hurlers in that game, head coach Patty Gasso sent her to the circle, she pitched the next three innings, and junior second baseman Tiare Jennings’ solo shot over the fence in right field became the winning run.
The sore spot in that game was also the dismal two frames of junior righthanded pitcher Nicole May, the starter who allowed three runs in the fourth and four in the fifth. it was disappointing because May was one of the better hurlers in the land, All-America last year.
But with this rest period, Gasso has choices she can make as far as the pitching goes. She can start either May, Bahl or righty Alex Storako, the senior transfer from Michigan who has yet to lose along with May, while Bahl’s lone setback came in the initial game at Baylor.
The best 3-game Super Regionals was the one in Tularoosa before a huge turnout when No. 12 Northwestern edged home team No. 5 Alabama, 3-1, then lost Game 2 2-1, and Bama was the 3-2 victor in the deciding game.
So the Crimson Tide is coming off a toughie just in time, FSU is also playing well with its quality pitching and balanced hitting.
No. 7 Washington can’t be taken lightly, Oklahoma State can be in quest of avenging the three losses suffered at home versus the Sooners.
Then there’s Stanford on a high as it now has less travel via a trip to Oklahoma City after last week’s cross country journey to Durham, N.C., and Utah is in its first softball World Series.
