OU softball back to WCWS semifinals, Cydney Sanders not done yet

OKLAHOMA CITY – Cydney Sanders hasn’t been that conventional leader for OU softball. She’s not the most vocal, never has been.

A leader by example, for sure, but more than anything? A quiet leader behind the scenes. That’s where she has excelled the most. The one-on-one conversations where she can relate to whatever someone else is going through.

Because she’s been there. Time and time again, Sanders has been there. And when she gets to Devon Park, she knows how to deliver.

It was Sanders who provided the massive spark to keep the OU softball season alive for another day.

Sanders hit two home runs and drove in three in a 4-1 victory for OU against Oregon in a Women’s College World Series elimination game Sunday evening at Devon Park.

OU is back to the WCWS semifinals for the ninth straight time and takes on upstart Texas Tech 6 p.m. Monday.

“Honestly, I think just being present today was a really big factor for me,” Sanders said. “I don’t think it was like a little bit different from the other moments. But I don’t know, it was pretty cool.

“I have never done that before, especially in the World Series. So that was, like, awesome. I don’t know, I have never seen that before. It was pretty exciting, but it may not look like it on TV or whatever, but I was excited on the inside.”

Getting hits hasn’t been a problem for OU in the WCWS. It’s about making them count, and Sanders did just that.

She came to the plate in the bottom of the third of a 1-1 game, just hitting 2 for 15 in the postseason.

That all changed dramatically with one swing on a 3-2 pitch from Lyndsey Grein that Sanders took deep for a two-run shot.

She would do the same in the fifth on a 2-2 count to give OU another insurance run.

“Very needed for this offense,” head coach Patty Gasso said. “And Cyd is exactly what you just saw. Very chill, very easygoing. Does not get affected by much of anything.

“Just getting her swing on that – Grein is tough. She is tough. And definitely facing her will help us tomorrow. But Cyd is very unassuming. Doesn’t get all caught up in the thought process. She just waits for her moment.”

For a team that doesn’t have a lot of WCWS experience, Sanders actually does. She came up with the monster clutch hit to help take down Texas in last season’s championship-clinching victory.

Sanders didn’t begin her career at OU (transfer from Arizona State), but she sure feels like it. She is a Sooner.

It was that type of night for the Sooners in terms of getting contributions from a couple of quiet bats.

Catcher Isabela Emerling had been in the same boat with Sanders, struggling at the plate. But if she can make contact, look out.

After Oregon had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, Emerling responded with a shot of her own to tie it up.

Pitching, obviously, was going to be situational. Gasso elected to start Kierston Deal. And then after 2.2 innings, Gasso turned to Sam Landry one more time.

Deal allowed a solo home run but did what was necessary to put Landry in a spot to bring OU one step closer.

“I don’t want to speak for KD, but I thought she just looked really good,” Landry said. “She came out very confident. It’s fun going in behind someone else like that.

“So I think she kind of fed into what I was able to do today. She definitely set up all the batters that I faced thereafter to how I pitch to them. So physically I feel good. Mentally? I feel pretty good. So just ready to go.”

This marks the ninth straight victory in a win-or-go-home game at the WCWS. That’s one way you win four straight national championships.

The quest for five? It continues, at least for one more day.

Up next

Here comes NiJa. Tech star pitcher NiJaree Canady introduced herself to the softball world in 2023 at the WCWS against OU. She made the Sooners work when she was a freshman at Stanford. Now she has Tech one win away, in its initial WCWS appearance, from the championship series.

“JT’s got a lot of work to get going on,” Gasso said. “To someone’s point, we talked about the amount of elite pitchers that we have faced and had some success with, and that’s what we’re going to live off of.

“We’re going to have to make a few adjustments for sure, but, I mean, we’re fighting. We’re fighting for our lives now, and that is what it’s going to look like. It’s going to be a fight on our side to say we will not surrender for anyone or anything. So that’s how we’re going to approach it.”

It will also mark the reunion of Landry and Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco. The two were at Louisiana together before Glasco went to Lubbock and Landry hit the portal to Norman.

Their roads will intersect again in Oklahoma City on Monday night.