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Sooners On SI Softball Podcast: We're Back ... is OU? · The Sooners On SI Podcast

• 0:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's up to everybody, welcome on in.
• 0:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is not that time of week, usually, for the citizen's on a side podcast.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is the citizen's on a side softball show, though.
• 0:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is very creatively named.
• 0:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: We spent millions and millions of dollars and many think tanks are trying to figure out what should we do?
• 0:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we landed on the softball show.
• 0:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Right, Chapman here, along with my pal Ryan.
• 0:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: A-burn, we are your softball crew here for the year ride.
• 0:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: How did you enjoy the Merry Nutter experience?
• 0:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Not being there.
• 0:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know you've got to go before, but we were just bumping up with flow like everybody else.
• 0:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's it, it was all right.
• 0:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of great things about the Merry Nutter, the weather.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: just a beautiful part of the country, but it was also nice not to have to go with all the traffic and crowds because it's not just, oh, you, it's every other softball team of seemingly any note that's out there for the weekend, but it was a fun week of action, and you know, I think we learned some things about this team, and I think we're going to continue to learn
• 1:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Here moving forward is they move home for the first time this season.
• 1:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: And this is coming to you in all podcast feed.
• 1:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're on the YouTube, I think you probably know what you signed up for.
• 1:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're just a little FYI.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to do this every Monday with the exception of the Ole Miss series.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Whatever we get in that is, well, I've selected a bump at back.
• 1:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: They plan Monday.
• 1:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: We get it.
• 1:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: But we'll just be breaking it down.
• 1:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're here and you know you softball fan, thank you for coming along.
• 1:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you're like,
• 1:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: But that's on the Wednesday pod.
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: The Wednesday pod will stay normal.
• 1:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll also still discuss the softball team every single Wednesday, but this gives us a chance to go in depth and Ryan to use set it.
• 1:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's a very interesting weekend week in one was a little bit different for OU with the Arizona State and three games against Arizona.
• 1:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was supposed to be a multi team event ended up only being an OU Arizona series basically after some people pulled out last week.
• 2:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: great stuff as far as home run numbers, stuff like that.
• 2:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: But on the get anyone really learned anything playing Utah, New Mexico State, this is where I felt like, hey, we'd start to piece some things together.
• 2:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe the last real chance before SEC play.
• 2:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it was kind of a roller coaster of a weekend for OU.
• 2:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: They first off have the Cal State Fullerton game, which we'll just peel the curtain back.
• 2:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Abraham has a class he takes that is on Thursday nights.
• 2:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't ever want to make someone pick somewhat something a game up halfway through it usually sucks.
• 2:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: So with that one initially scheduled for seven thirty I was like, hey Ryan, I'll do the women's basketball game and that game.
• 2:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'll give you the San Diego state game so I can go to sleep and do the morning show.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: I just do it on plenty of time.
• 2:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I should have just told you once we saw the direction that what was it, Auburn UCLA game was going Yeah, I should have just said, hey, let me have this one.
• 3:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'll do it because
• 3:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I had plenty of time to catch up to the action, uh, well, not even really catch up.
• 3:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: Just start to start strike the action from that Cal State Fullerton game, and then the San Diego State game went well into the night, because I almost couldn't make it, and I, uh, have later nights than you usually.
• 3:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's a final score graphic went out at 136 in the morning.
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think officially for Oklahoma, room to the Duke game on Friday, and then the day that everyone, oh my gosh, Patty Gasseau does a favor to her all my lot of Long Beach state grabs one, Oklahoma turns back around beats, Cal, and then just an absolute gun show.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: on Sunday against Washington.
• 3:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's just go Carl Ashley through the weekend Ryan real quick.
• 3:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: We can hit each game.
• 3:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe not have to hit the San Diego stay and maybe not the Duke game is heavy just because there's some stats I want to get to.
• 4:01
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I think we were kind of all in for a little bit of a shock initially.
• 4:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Cal State Fullerton by no means a like terrible softball team, but it's
• 4:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: And this comes with all the California squads out there that it might not be a power for school or a big name, but we know that they've got players left right and significant Cal State bulletin took the fight to Oklahoma.
• 4:19
  [SPEAKER_01]: You had to have the clutch Alyssa Parker Homer in the seventh.
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: We even get it to extras, and then we get into international based runner stuff.
• 4:26
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I just kind of thought that this Cal State Fullerton game initially is a continuation of what we saw through the first two weekends, which is the pitching staff is up
• 4:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: Audrey Lowey's nails or something like that then there are some days where the pitching's not perfect and I kind of wonder if Oklahoma's defense which we know is it was an excellent unit last year a lot of the pieces of the infield Specifically the third base shortstop second base.
• 4:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think everyone feels good about that
• 4:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: I kind of wonder how much pressure the Oklahoma players feel in the field though not really being comfortable with that pitching staff.
• 5:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: They look like a defense that has not had full faith and what's going on in the circle.
• 5:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I know that about it.
• 5:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: They won't say that and they probably shouldn't say that but it is difficult and it's different.
• 5:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's not what we've seen out of the Oklahoma pitching
• 5:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: for the most part this year, I think we saw, you know, in Miley with Chino, I have some success last week and take a little bit of a step forward.
• 5:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: But in this one, you know, a little bit of a Parker,
• 5:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: is is a fantastic player right now and is gonna be an incredible player.
• 5:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think there's any doubt about that, but certainly still, you know, working through some things and trying to find her footing, find, you know, what works best.
• 5:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think maybe all of the pitchers, she might be maybe most affected by not having Jen Roach her around because she could have benefited from that kind of tutelage.
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: early in her freshman season, especially not that, you know, Jen Roachon still helping her out on some level, but, you know, certainly we knew that not everything was going to be smooth for her in the circle, and she struggled a little bit, and then, you know, Audrey Lauri gave up the one, but was, you know, pretty good overall through and, you know, six innings, just allowing five hits in the one run.
• 6:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think that's the note walks.
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: No walks, which has been a constant here.
• 6:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe not no walks, but very, very few free passes from injury lowery.
• 6:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's something that would chain you know.
• 6:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not walks.
• 6:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: I always look at, but she hits a lot of batter.
• 6:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's just when she goes up and in, sometimes.
• 6:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's uh, it's almost like the wild day.
• 6:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: You sure minds, we have a little bit of like, uh, I don't know if Kindle Wells or Isabella Emerlings just like throw one at the mascot and just see what happens there.
• 6:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: Just to keep people off the plate, but that it, I think this pitching staff and this is like, uh, some high level stuff from the two Ryan's here.
• 7:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: Don't walk batters, but this pitching staff more than others, they have got to, I don't know if anyone's going to develop and be a super consistent.
• 7:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: high strikeout once you get into SEC play type thing.
• 7:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: I know that lorry rung up six.
• 7:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think in that Cal State Fullerton game, you look to the Washington game on Sunday in Machinio ended up with seven after you're gonna have the back-to-back jacks.
• 7:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I don't know if that's something they're gonna be able to count on every single day in SEC play.
• 7:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's usually where if the defense can settle in, that's something that Patty Gaso teams get better at throughout the year.
• 7:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not really worried about the defense at all.
• 7:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: It just becomes a, I think you saw in that Arizona game
• 7:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, this pitching staff is going to like everybody else in the country give up a home runner to that's fine.
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just a matter of is it a solo shot?
• 7:51
  [SPEAKER_01]: Is it back to back jacks in the first inning or oh my gosh, did you put three batters on with a single and two walks or hit batters something like that and suddenly the one bad pitch becomes four runs that you're trying to dig out of which.
• 8:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: is kind of what happened a little bit in its long beach state.
• 8:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't the long ball.
• 8:08
  [SPEAKER_01]: It would not feel like skip too far ahead, but it was, hey, you're dealing with some traffic, deal with some traffic.
• 8:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: The other team's got scholarship players too, and suddenly they put one or two things together and it becomes a beginning that you just can't have.
• 8:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they just, you know, like you said, scraped a couple of things together to sort of stay in that game, and then what was it the sixth, I guess, when, yeah, an error sort of helps build that ending a walk in an error.
• 8:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: So sort of both parts of that, and then a single three run home run, and then, you know, it's sort of over from an error.
• 8:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, you never had a chance to really seriously get back in the game after that point and, you know, Audrey Lauer's been really good.
• 8:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: I was just looking at her sort of game by game, break down and overall stats.
• 9:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, she's throwing 36 and 2-thirds innings with, let's see here, with four walks.
• 9:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: And two of those came in that long beach state game.
• 9:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: So before that, she'd only walked a couple and has been really good.
• 9:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: She's only hit two batters.
• 9:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, and, you know, she's gonna give up a home runs everybody does.
• 9:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: She's only giving up three of them, not that big of a concern, but like you said, if you can make those one run home runs, occasionally two run home runs,
• 9:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: With this offense, you're going to be in the game, but when things start to get away from you and you walk a stretch of hitters and hit batters and give them on, give them extra bases with your defense, I think that's when you get in trouble.
• 9:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think this defense can get into a rhythm with Audrey Laureka, like you said, she's not
• 9:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: overpowering, you know, she's never going to be the one who strikes out, you know, 10 or 12 battles a game, uh, but she's going to create a lot of weak contact, a lot of weak contact on the ground, and if your defense is pretty good, that's going to win you a lot of games.
• 10:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and, and I think to, I think the really good news out of this weekend outside of leading some of the power numbers here in a second, uh, I feel like that,
• 10:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: There's another number.
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there are some power that they hit the power ball.
• 10:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think we might just start calling it that is, you look at the shaky showings, Cal State Fullerton, they come back and then they immediately respond, I'm told it was a dominant show against San Diego State, I was asleep.
• 10:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: That Duke game, I thought was kind of a continuation.
• 10:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: You saw a good response there.
• 10:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think the exception might be the start of the Cal game.
• 10:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: That one was a little shaky there and then Cindy Burzon comes in and I have to think that Patty Gasso is hoping that's going to be a bit of a turning point for Sid.
• 10:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: That's an outing against Cal where that's the City Burzon that everyone got really really used to it.
• 10:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: LSU felt like it was her longest outing of the year all that and then you flip it around and that Washington game on Sunday.
• 11:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: It feels like once Burzon settled things down against Cal and then
• 11:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: that Washington performance it was a okay we've seen it whether they lose that game to Arizona then bounce back with the big one this is a group that does have that care to that does bounce back and that that's some of the unknown stuff and when you talk about clutch hitting we've seen kind of wells with seven thinning and six thinning homers a list of Parker that that's the stuff that usually we have to sit and wait and almost get to like the Texas series to be like how do these players truly respond to adversity and things like that I think that
• 11:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: is up and down is sometimes the pitching has been I have like the response of the team whenever they kind of get into some some rough waters.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah no doubt about it and that's why I think this stretch even though you know it wouldn't perfect and you would have liked to have seen you know them sweep through the weekend and things like that but I think this stretch of you know the close game against Cal State Fullerton the long beach state game like you said
• 12:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think those are big building blocks for this team as they move forward and you can learn some things about your players and also teach them some things about how you respond and that's something that patigasos teams have been really good historically with bouncing back from from difficult games and I think you know it's still even with the last couple years.
• 12:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think
• 12:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ed, you know, how could you lose a game to a team like Long Beach State?
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, every other shop all team in America loses games like this at some point during the year, just owe you hasn't for so long that when, you know, things happen like,
• 12:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: of Ohio a couple years ago, and this one, people freak out a little bit, but I think this can be a really good teaching moment for Pat Augusto and a really big learning experience for a lot of those young players who haven't been through this.
• 13:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: And a lot of those young players who are, you know, proving themselves worthy of being put in these big time late game
• 13:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's kind of been a little bit of, we, we have talked about this.
• 13:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: You know, I've talked with this, the story of post-COVID softball, it was at last five years, has simultaneously been this OU dominance path that is going parallel with the rise of parody across college softball.
• 13:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that last year was the first year the Oklahoma actually got to experience that.
• 13:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: They still made to the semi-finals.
• 13:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: You look all the way across and I'm not saying the Long Beach states like, ah,
• 13:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: What a, it's a good lie like no, it's not a good game.
• 13:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: They played about as sloppy and unenergetic as we've seen in the long time.
• 13:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: But these things happen.
• 13:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've seen maybe not Texas and tech have it dropped from to those yet.
• 13:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: Certainly Alabama Florida Tennessee or Rockeroa.
• 13:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: But there are a ton of teams across, it's hard to put together a top 25 right now because there have been so many of these mid-major games that,
• 14:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: throw wrenches into people's season, just go, I don't know what's happened in there.
• 14:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now I will say the thing that does, and I think everyone knows this, the pitching does me to get a lot better.
• 14:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: Here is the great, our good pal, my personal hero, Jesse Gritton, had compiled the stats this morning on Twitter, so I'll just read off Jesse's tweet because it's all in one place.
• 14:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: There are 86, right now, I'll use an ERA, 3.5, 4, 86th in hits aloud, 79th in runs aloud, 98th in walks, 53rd in opponent batting average, 75th in strikeouts.
• 14:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think with a new pitching staff, plus the Genrocha Carly Keating situation.
• 14:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: That was always going to be the last thing on this team to kind of come online.
• 14:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: Here's what I think is the most concerning bit about this Ryan.
• 14:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's hard to compile a strength of schedule or RPI this early in the season.
• 14:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: No one does it just because it people are waiting for data But as of right now in the country or on oh you schedule excuse me the top five offenses They've faced per batting average Duke was 30 fifth in batting average now.
• 15:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: They shut them down ASU 44 it's shut them down But then you take a big step back to UTEPIS 57 the New Mexico State is 69 Arizona's 75 not exactly like
• 15:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oklahoma has played this massive strength of schedule type day.
• 15:21
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you go to a home runs per game, issues 18th, 44th Purdue Mexico State, 67th the tie for Arizona, Utah, 89th for cap.
• 15:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: They've not played great offensive teams.
• 15:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: It is what I'm trying to say that the pitching numbers don't look great.
• 15:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: They've not exact.
• 15:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not like they went out to clear water and played a bunch of top 15 teams.
• 15:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Even the best teams that they've played,
• 15:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: are just, they're good.
• 15:42
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're not elite by any means.
• 15:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's not some of the non-commercials we've seen.
• 15:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: I expect all those to come down over the next two weekends with what's ahead of us at Love's Field, but that's kind of the one thing that I've circled is like, hey, Duke is fine, Washington is fine.
• 15:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: If we want to go through their schedules, it's like, I don't know.
• 15:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: Is this team actually that good?
• 16:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that A.S. use pretty good with Kinsey Brown, but I'm talking about the pitching staff on that side of things.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: That is, I think something derays that I don't think anyone that's freaking out about the pitching,
• 16:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: is necessarily wrong, because it's not been good, and I don't think they've played elite offenses to this point.
• 16:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt about it, and they've got to get Sydney Burzon going.
• 16:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think we saw some, you know, steps in the right direction with that over the weekend with her, but she's got to be, I mean,
• 16:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: you know, a lot of us, you know, I didn't expect her to be, you know, a Sam Landry like workhorse, but I think a lot of us expected and expect her to ultimately be the ace on this staff, and she certainly hadn't been that yet this year, mainly because she hadn't pitched enough to be, and I think there's some, you know, physical reasons for that that we've talked
• 17:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: But they've got to get her going and then, you know, they've got to figure out a way to get Kirsten deal to at least be able to get out because Kirsten deal, you know, you can say, you know, everything about her and not be in the ace and things like that and she hasn't been, you know, she's not the one that you throw out there against, you know, although she had that great performance against Texas last year.
• 17:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: But, uh,
• 17:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: you know, generally she's not the one you throw out there in the women's college world series and in big time situations, but she's generally been able to pretty well dominate against teams like she's pitched against so far this year and she's really struggled in those kind of games and you know we'll see ultimately if that mechanical issue that Jen Rochis saw a couple weeks ago winds up getting fixed and and she's able to to work through some things but didn't
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: uh... gave up a couple runs there uh... and that was it for her uh... over the weekend so they've got to get her going keep miley what you know heading in the right direction i think she's got a lot of room for growth still being a really young picture uh... so it's not all is not lost
• 18:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: But it got to be a much better, much more consistent, much deeper pitching staff as even in SEC play than they are now.
• 18:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Much less talking about, you know, postseason.
• 18:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think the big concern would be
• 18:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: even if you get Purson up and running, but it's not to the point of maybe the level of an OUA, we've seen these last couple of years, Sydney Purson's been scattered by the entire SEC three straight seasons.
• 18:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I don't think that that's going to be a big shock to a lot of people.
• 18:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now, she's a really good pitcher.
• 18:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's been able to get people out all three years at LSU.
• 18:52
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see she can get healthy enough to
• 18:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: replicate that for a year in Norman, but that's been scattered for years and years and years.
• 18:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Everyone saw lowery last year and wachania and so suddenly you're talking about there's not really something new to be thrown in there because I would say I'm not expecting a list of Parker to start a ton of SCC games unless you get to some days where maybe Oklahoma has the ability.
• 19:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that she'll come in and throw an inning or two here or there.
• 19:17
  [SPEAKER_01]: We've not really seen Berkeley's a K
• 19:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: at all for the most part.
• 19:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: So I don't know if she's really going to be a big part of that, but I guess I'm just curious with we talked to Patty last week and as you alluded to, she was able to flag a little mechanical thing.
• 19:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: Jen Roch is not.
• 19:33
  [SPEAKER_01]: there every single day, but it's not like they don't have, hey, I've watched the games, hey, let me pass some notes along to Carly Keeney, so it's not a total zero and far as far as like the contributions from Jinrocha.
• 19:45
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just really curious how quickly that could all come together and Carly Keeney's called pitches for three weeks.
• 19:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: So that's something else that it could either not get it a better, it could get a ton better, because she has a ton of room to grow.
• 19:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: This is for growth,
• 20:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt that they'll be growth from her as the year goes on.
• 20:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: But like you mentioned, not that gin roaches not completely separated from this team.
• 20:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I think those processes become much slower when you're watching from home and those conversations are happening on Monday or Tuesday rather than on as the games go on, and you can make some kind of adjustments
• 20:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: So those things are going to be difficult and Carly, keep any, you know, I think is certainly going to be good in this role, but, you know, how many of us were graded our jobs when we were, you know, 23, 24 years old versus, you know, how old we are now, I won't give anything away there, but 26 that's you ever 26, yeah.
• 20:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: almost times two, but not quite there yet, but, so I think there will be significant growth in that process this year.
• 21:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: We've seen, you know, catchers call more pitches this year than we have in the past with that staff.
• 21:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's going to be really interesting to watch and something to talk to, you know, Patty Gasseau and hopefully Carly Keenie about at some point and certainly, you know,
• 21:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: as well, how their comfort level has gone with that.
• 21:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: But that's something that we've got to keep an eye on here as a season goes on, because
• 21:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's certainly something they're missing in a big way with Jen Roach, and I think maybe that can contribute to some of the unevenness that we've seen through this first three weekends of a season.
• 21:50
  [SPEAKER_01]: Good news, if you want it, Oklahoma's offense at least through three weekends is profiling as one of the historically great offenses in the sport, literally.
• 21:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Uh, first in home run, slugging, OPS things with that.
• 22:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think they're second in batting average and I think they're second in just total hits behind.
• 22:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: You see a lay there, but you look at it, 56 bombs through 15 games.
• 22:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: I wrote on Monday morning, uh, first off, I'm not throwing anyone out of the bus.
• 22:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: I am just,
• 22:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Speaking out loud and we'll get to the end of this thought and I'm not doing one or the bus, but we were listening to our great friend Nicole Mendez and some other people on the Flow Sports Broadcast and Someone not Nicole Mendez, kept asking the question hashtag on pace hashtag on pace could Oklahoma hit 200 home runs at which point I was like okay the records 161
• 22:43
  [SPEAKER_01]: to beat that by 40, that's like a 25% improvement on a home run record, which would be a just unlike something illegal would be happening.
• 22:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not saying that these athletes are capable of it, but that is like for a long, long time it was said that Hawaii set the original home run record the OU broken 21 with the legal bats and that everyone just kind of knew it and then we're just accepted it and that's why it was such a big deal that Oklahoma was able to break it in 21.
• 23:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, they only had 50 home runs through 15 games in 2021, Ryan, and the schedule is light the next two weekends.
• 23:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Could Oklahoma, could they ramp this thing up and get to like something crazy, like 90 before SEC play?
• 23:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I think, well, one, generally it ball flies pretty well at love's field.
• 23:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I think certainly they're going to add significantly to those numbers this weekend, but like you said, the schedule gets so much more difficult.
• 23:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: The pitches are going to get better.
• 23:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: uh... they're going to learn somethings uh... certain players are going to go through slumps i think you know as good as kind of wells and lice parker i've been in there i've been great and they're going to continue to be great uh... it's unrealistic to think that they're going to keep up the
• 24:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: kind of pace, that there are now, but it's certainly been fun to watch, and you know, to be was it, it looks like nine home runs ahead of UCLA for that, although I'm not sure if that's right.
• 24:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's see, and it's sorry, I got to check something here.
• 24:23
  [SPEAKER_01]: Hey, we don't, the NCAA site takes a day off.
• 24:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, exactly because they've hit seven home runs since then.
• 24:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: So those games are just through Saturday.
• 24:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: So this doesn't include Sunday's games, which also makes maybe Jesse stats a little bit different, although maybe not because there is a site
• 24:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think does a little bit more live updating there, but I know, oh, use batting average was off by a couple of points last week.
• 24:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: But anyway, regardless, lofty numbers, they're at 56, I don't know about 90 over the next couple of weekends, but they're certainly going to be up there.
• 25:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: They've got a chance to at least make a run at the record if not break it.
• 25:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think 200's asking a little bit too much, but this team has so much depth of power that it's not going to disappear completely.
• 25:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: You're going to have peaks and valleys of individual players, but I think they're always going to be hitting home runs.
• 25:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well, and it's a group too that Kind of Welles lead the way with 10, right?
• 25:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Then you got Gabby at seven, then Pickering Parker, both Parker's are at six.
• 25:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: You've got someone, Nellie McAdermarinas, who was hammering an SEC play a year ago.
• 25:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's only got three at this point, Sydney Barker, who I think her numbers are just more down to at bats.
• 25:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: She's got 28 at bats, two bombs as opposed to opportunities and things like that.
• 25:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: we've seen a lot of these hitters that not the freshmen we've seen to tell these hitters who we know that this is not just like a all day loaded up on a non-conference schedule actually like oh you let the SEC and home runs a year ago i'm only expecting them to get better as far as what patty talked to us before the season with just another year of
• 26:16
  [SPEAKER_01]: Knowledge and strength and all that stuff like I don't think that this power it might not be 200 or it might not be 162 or something like that I don't think this is suddenly gonna go away from Oklahoma And I think that that's gonna buy them a lot of time this year.
• 26:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've been really really impressed with
• 26:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: Um, the, I don't know, fights the right word Ryan, but when the player that's not starting gets put in in the third inning, the fourth inning, they're not wasting those at bats.
• 26:54
  [SPEAKER_01]: They could put 13 players in them, but I really only trust 10, like in a high-leveled situation and of those 10, you're picking the three or four, like this is one that you go up and down and you could build me a lineup that I think's 12 people deep, and I'm just like, yeah, as of right now, I truly think that that competition's gonna keep pushing this group and that you're not gonna see them get to
• 27:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Eight nothing and then one I just get out of it like some of that I really truly think and I've talked to some of these players So I know this is true like the 2022 Still really powerful in 2023 they had been through years and years near so the run roll that little key They get to eight they get to nine everyone like pulls it back a little bit with so many freshmen and sophomores This team does not look like it's like the 2021 and try to where it was so new that they're like I'll forgive you everyone dirty to nothing.
• 27:38
  [SPEAKER_01]: Let's try to beat them dirty to nothing
• 27:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, I think, and you talk about that, you tap game a couple of weekends ago.
• 27:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, Patty, yes, so talk to us a little bit about that last weekend, sort of, before the official press conference started, and said, hey, I was, I was trying to, you know, pull back and, you know, run through all the players and everything, but you only have so many players you can run out there, and,
• 28:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: you can't tell them to go up there and not take their at bat.
• 28:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: You can't tell them to somebody to run off the base or whatever because that's more you know, makes a travesty of the game more than, you know, running up the score and things like that.
• 28:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: But just the depth and I think, you know, you say every player's hit a home run, that's impressive for sure.
• 28:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: But to me, more impressive is the fact that
• 28:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: And if you make it just two, you only add two more players to that, everybody else has at least three home runs, and they've got what is it, six players with five or more home runs.
• 28:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: So just the depth of this lineup, you can go at least 11 deep, I think, and feel comfortable with.
• 28:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: But, you know, even beyond that, you know, Lexi McDaniel has been really good and in some limited time there, she only has 23 at bats, but it's hitting 435.
• 29:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, Tia Malloy has come through big in certain situations and obviously, Cheney Helton with that big time home run, but, you know, she's been overall.
• 29:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: pretty good in other chances, too.
• 29:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: So this is as deep as a lineup as I think we've seen in a long, long time in college, softball, much less OU, softball.
• 29:30
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and I think that it's, I feel bad just picking out like, who have you been most impressed by?
• 29:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that everyone takes the step back and like, kind of wells.
• 29:40
  [SPEAKER_01]: What we saw throughout fall ball, this is what we saw and for her to just translate in and be able to do this has been unbelievable.
• 29:47
  [SPEAKER_01]: But I've been really impressed by Isabella Immerling, the person who is trying to stay in lockstep with Kindle Wells and we've seen that Kindle Wells has kind of won that starting catcher job.
• 29:57
  [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think did anyone under any illusions there.
• 30:00
  [SPEAKER_01]: But for Immerling to continue to push, where it's like, hey, she got her opportunity a weekend to go against Montana and had the three home run game.
• 30:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: I thought she had really good at bats throughout the first weekend.
• 30:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: It was a,
• 30:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: you know, a statement running joke, whatever last year that was homerunner strike out like that was kind of what it was I've kind of been impressed with Emily and that's that's the kind of stuff that
• 30:32
  [SPEAKER_01]: Kinsey is going to start, but Nudgen and Ericsson can crush your soul if you don't.
• 30:36
  [SPEAKER_01]: And it feels like Emreling has like legitimately taken a step forward, which is important for whether her or Wells is playing first or just to continue to keep pushing the freshman, especially if someone dips, you've got another option that you can go to.
• 30:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and, you know, say Kind of Welles gets hurt, which we certainly hope doesn't happen or anything like that, but you feel really good rolling out there with Isabelle Emerling right now, the way she's hitting and like you said, it's not just the home runs, it feels like she's a much more complete hitter this year than she was a year ago when it was, you know, boomer bust for her and that's, you know, something we talked about before the season that was going to be key for her just being able to one get
• 31:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, maintain playing time because it's so difficult with kind of wells and what we expected and what we've seen from her it was Sydney Barker what we've expected and what we've seen from her you've got to You know, assert yourself and make it impossible to keep you out of a lineup and, you know, not that Isabella Emily is going to be in a lineup every day.
• 31:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: but she's certainly making patty gas, so be much more deliberate about when she's not in the lineup and much more mindful of making sure that she has opportunities because she's taken advantage of them at every turn.
• 31:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: Cassie Pickering has 18 walks.
• 31:56
  [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like when we when we talk about Oklahoma softball that we're so used to talk about homers and things like that that I feel like Cassie Pickering deserves again another shout out for she's one of the most disciplined hitters.
• 32:07
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've seen and we've got to see a lot of those and then.
• 32:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: not home runs but Kai minor hit in 561 that that was going to be my other big question coming out of the fall it's we know what she can do out there in center she can make the routine or the spectacular look routine but if she can continue that you talk about always having Cassie pickering on the base pass being able to put Kai minor in her speed on the base paths it's a
• 32:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's been really, really impressive that it's not just been a boomer best home run situation.
• 32:34
  [SPEAKER_01]: There've been plenty of big innings where I'll come just like you give us two walks.
• 32:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: We're just going to string a bunch of stuff together and kind of cause chaos on the base as well.
• 32:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they've drawn 82 walks so far this year, which is really impressive.
• 32:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like you said, it's not just
• 32:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: You know, solo home run, solo home run, solo home run, they're stringing together walks, they're stringing together hits and then they're getting those big time home runs.
• 32:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's like, again, that you tap game a couple of weekends ago, where it's, you know, walk, single walk, grand slam, single walk, walk, grand slam, and
• 33:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Cassie Pickering is certainly at the top of the list of players who were you know, discipline in their approach, but Ella Parker has been really good at drawing walks as well.
• 33:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Pickering, you said 18 walks, but only six strikeouts in those Ella Parker 11 walks, six strikeouts as well.
• 33:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I think that speaks to the discipline that the leaders of this offense has.
• 33:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that sort of trickles down to everybody else and I think it makes it much easier for players like Alyssa Parker, Kendall Wells to, you know, see those lessons in place and realize the benefits of them that are going to and are making them better hitters.
• 33:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Alyssa and then I want to add by on me both with tin walks as well, which again, it's not just There are no unathletic pieces of Oklahoma's offense, but to be able to always have Elaparker and Kai minor and and I want to add by on me or Alyssa Parker on base as well as cat like it that's where you go.
• 34:14
  [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, okay.
• 34:15
  [SPEAKER_01]: Well good good like to everybody else
• 34:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I do want to add another thing, just about the lineup, the construction of the lineup.
• 34:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think we talked about this a couple weeks ago, I think you wrote about it.
• 34:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ella Parker's ability to play defense and play defense pretty well.
• 34:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: makes Patty Gassos job much easier in setting things out because it's not like you just have to you know write in Ella Parker as the DP and then that spot gets sort of blocked off so everybody else has to you know fit in these roles and even if they play a couple positions there's only so much you can do.
• 34:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now with Ella Parker being able to play the field that makes uh...
• 35:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: formulating a lineup gives Petagesso many more options than she already has and I think that's helped this lineup unlock some things as well because you can be much better about picking up matchups with that versus, you know, always having to have Gabby Garcia here, Cassidy Pickering here, Ella Parker here.
• 35:22
  [SPEAKER_01]: been really impressed with L.O.'
• 35:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: 's arm.
• 35:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: It's just on the way.
• 35:25
  [SPEAKER_01]: We didn't get to see it last year.
• 35:27
  [SPEAKER_01]: She was dealing with the shin splint.
• 35:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: So paddy basically was like, yeah, we she was in a boot.
• 35:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: She was trying we were trying to keep her off her feet, but it's something that she had worked on last off season that you didn't really get to see.
• 35:37
  [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we've seen her have.
• 35:39
  [SPEAKER_01]: two throws to the plate now that Ben put out some right field and then there was a relay in gosh, they're kind of running together.
• 35:46
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think it might have been the cow game.
• 35:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe it's the long beach stay game.
• 35:49
  [SPEAKER_01]: Anyway, there was a relay where the third base coach respected LOS arm and kept the runner at third.
• 35:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think that runner came in anyway, but that's something that to have L-o play right field and we know that she's fast and all that stuff is one thing to have
• 36:09
  [SPEAKER_01]: They're holding up and just not running on.
• 36:11
  [SPEAKER_01]: I think is a different dynamic too, because that we've seen Jocelyn play out there before and then after the Georgia double header, it became a, all right, you're the DP, the rest of the year.
• 36:20
  [SPEAKER_01]: I've not seen anything from Ella so far that I would see that Patty doesn't put her out there because she doesn't think Oklahoma can win an SEC game.
• 36:28
  [SPEAKER_01]: Now she might just opt for a more,
• 36:31
  [SPEAKER_01]: uh... familiar outfield anyway but i've not seen anything that would make patty go nope i'm not going to make this thing happen i can't wait to talk to l about hopefully we get to talk to her this week is uh...
• 36:41
  [SPEAKER_01]: her three home run performance and I'll be like, Hey, you swing the back really well.
• 36:44
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'd like to talk to you about your camera that you've debuted.
• 36:48
  [SPEAKER_01]: So we'll see that I don't know what I just can't believe this is probably bad podcasting bad journalism, for people that are on a website that we need your support and all that stuff.
• 36:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: Three games against Alabama state, two against Sam Houston state and a contest against southeast of Louisiana this weekend.
• 37:04
  [SPEAKER_01]: It loves field.
• 37:05
  [SPEAKER_01]: can't really I don't know what we're gonna learn because it's one of those things where if the pitch is learned how many home runs oh you is gonna hit and that's Sunday game actually has a chance to be you know sneaky fun yes uh it's not these are the easiest uh people know they have been a thorn in LSU side many many many years this is like a longstanding thing so uh it it's just one of those things though that if oh you goes out and pitches six shutouts
• 37:35
  [SPEAKER_01]: And if you give up three runs in one game, everyone's going to panic and it's like, yeah, it's kind of like a, in some ways, a lose lose weekend for the Vetching staff, but I'm excited to see another six games sat then they're headed down to Dinten next Tuesday, and then it'll be a little bit better with Lizzie and I coming in that next weekend and get a midweek game with Tulsa.
• 37:53
  [SPEAKER_01]: It'll be interesting to see how that thing goes.
• 37:55
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll obviously be there all weekend at Lausville.
• 37:58
  [SPEAKER_01]: If you see us, come and say what's up.
• 37:59
  [SPEAKER_01]: I will be platooning, probably we got some of his basketball stuff.
• 38:02
  [SPEAKER_01]: And we'll be back here next Monday, Ryan, to recap some of this stuff.
• 38:06
  [SPEAKER_01]: But looking forward to catching up with you all your long here on the softball show.
• 38:10
  [SPEAKER_01]: We'll be back on our normal Wednesday show.
• 38:12
  [SPEAKER_01]: But thanks for hanging out.
• 38:13
  [SPEAKER_01]: And I think we'll put a pin in it and leave it here and we'll probably regroup next week.
• 38:18
  [SPEAKER_01]: Sounds great, enjoy it, and looking forward to doing this throughout the season.
• 38:24
  [SPEAKER_01]: As always, OklahomaSooners on осide.com is the place to be for everything, but all of our softball coverage.
• 38:29
  [SPEAKER_01]: Big shout out to Ryan A. Bremanchev, and we'll see you guys next week.