Patty Gasso on Tiare Jennings' first-inning home run: 'It's something we expect'

Tiare Jennings wasted no time putting Oklahoma on the board in the first inning against Florida State, hitting a no-doubt home run during her first plate appearance of the day.

The Seminoles chose to walk her in four pitches during her next at-bat during the second-inning, but that was before Oklahoma had already added a run to its lead. Of course, Jennings has become one of the best hitters in the country this season — and has certainly lived up to head coach Patty Gasso’s expectations.

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“It’s a hard position to fill, obviously, but she’s been doing great,” Gasso said of Jennings. “And we’re very proud of our defense as much as we are on our offense. And our pitching, so we work on it hard. It looks good, I’m sure from [in the stands], but it’s something we expect everyday at practice.

Florida State earned those two runs back in the third, but after Oklahoma’s first two batters reached during the next half inning. Rylie Boone slapped a hit into the infield and after a wild throw to first base went into the outfield — Boone’s small hit would bring in another two runs for the Sooners.

Oklahoma finished the inning by scoring one more run on a fielder’s choice to take a 5-2 lead into the fourth inning.

Defensively, Sooners starting pitcher Kelly Maxwell worked herself out of a couple of bases-loaded jams within the first three innings. While she escaped the first one unscathed, Maxwell allowed a two-RBI double to tie the game. Maxwell had already thrown north of 80 pitches before the first out of the fourth inning, so getting her comfortable on the mound while maintaining her command is a major emphasis moving forward in this matchup.

Luckily for the Sooners, her offense has made up for that mistake thus far as Oklahoma looks to capture game one of the best of three series at the Norman Super Regional. They would do just that — run-ruling the 15-seeded Florida State Seminoles 11-3 in five innings. It was the fifth run-rule in Oklahoma softball history in the Super Regional round the NCAA Tournament — the most of any team in NCAA history.

They’ll come together for game two on Friday, with the first pitch being scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. One win now separates the Sooners from making the 2024 Women’s College World Series.