Round 1 of Bedlam (emphatically) goes to Cowgirls
OU softball knows it’s going to learn a lot about itself during the Bedlam series. What it learned Friday is that Oklahoma State is here to play.
This isn’t just going to be a crowning moment for the Sooners. OSU took OU’s first punch and responded in a huge way to give the Sooners a 6-3 Bedlam loss at Love’s Field.
“Not good enough. Give Oklahoma State credit,” head coach Patty Gasso said. “They swung it really well. They pitched really well. Our bats were not timely. Our defense was great. Pitchers gave up too much, too many hard-hit balls. They’re good, and we knew it.
“Against a good team, you can’t give up innings. You can’t sit back and wait. There have been times when we used to be able to do that pretty easily. We’re not made that way this year. We can’t take innings off. We have got to grind. Work better at passing the bat on that side.
“We talked a lot more about being competitive and fearless. Fearless.”
You can’t say OU didn’t have the chances. Walk after walk after walk, but OU failed to do much with it. The Sooners only had one hit through the first five innings and finished with just three.
The huge storyline going into the weekend was pitcher Kelly Maxwell. How could it not be? The all-time OSU great now wearing the crimson and cream.
Maxwell has usually been untouchable in the first game of a series. It didn’t happen against her former team.
She pitched four innings, allowing three runs, walking two and striking out three. Maxwell falls to 16-2 this season.
For Gasso, though? No problems with Maxwell.
“I look at it a little bit differently. I am extremely proud of Kelly because it’s a very tough situation,” Gasso said. “Even if you’re playing at home, it’s a tough situation for her. So I was proud of her competing. But there’s too many walks. There’s hit batters, and then it’s a three-run bomb or whatever it is.
“I thought Kelly came out and was a little bit nervous, and then she started to settle in a bit, but this is a day that she was knowing was coming, and if you’ve ever been in a situation like that, your heart beats a little bit differently that day. But I’m proud of her and I think she’s gonna be better from it as well as KD and this team. We’re gonna see who we are and what we’re made of the rest of this weekend.”
And for the second straight relief appearance, it wasn’t a good outing for Kierston Deal. She couldn’t get out of the fifth inning, allowing three runs and two home runs.
Head coach Patty Gasso talked this week about her team rising to the challenge. About seeing if they can round into form and flip that switch. If it can? It would be one heck of an accomplishment because it just feels like something is missing.
OSU even gave OU extra chances. The Cowgirls committed three errors and gave the Sooners an opportunity to claw back into it with an unearned run in the sixth. It simply didn’t happen.
OU is now tied with Texas in the Big 12 standings. Of course, UT took two of three from OU back in Austin last month.
The six runs is the most OSU has scored in Norman since 1985. And it is the Cowgirls’ first win at OU since 1997.
Up next
You’d have to assume Nicole May is going to get the start. OU (45-5 overall, 21-4 Big 12) is going to need May to bring her best stuff in bouncing back. Sooners and Cowgirls return noon Saturday on ESPN. OU and OSU close it out 3 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.
