How concerning are OU softball's offensive woes vs. Texas? Here's what Patty Gasso said
AUSTIN, Texas — In holding top-ranked OU to just seven runs in last weekend’s three-game series, Texas pitchers aggressively attacked the Sooners’ vaunted lineup.
The result?
The Sooners had just 19 hits in the series, won by Texas 2-1. OU had three doubles and two home runs but the other 14 hits were all singles.
“The Texas pitchers were outstanding this weekend and they came at us, they were confident, you could feel all that, and we just left too many opportunities,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said. “We weren’t getting our swings off.”
OU drew just six total walks in the series.
“They just hunt pitches,” Longhorns coach Mike White said. “They’re so good at taking advantage of any mistakes you make so I was just proud of our pitching staff for minimizing mistakes. … They never lay down. They just keep pushing. They’ve got multiple ways to kind of cause damage and we had to just play at our best.”
More: OU softball stunned again by Texas, snapping Sooners' Big 12 series winning streak
Tiare Jennings and Kinzie Hansen each had a hit in each game of the series, with Hansen going 4 for 9 and Jennings going 3 for 10.
Gasso said afterward that she wasn’t too concerned about long-term effects of the series.
The Sooners, hitting .382, still have the best offense in the country.
“This is only going to prepare us for what’s to come and I’m excited to see how we respond collectively,” Alyssa Brito said. “That’s probably the main thing.”
Even with their back-to-back losses, the Sooners are tied for the fewest losses in the country with Duke, the team they beat Feb. 8 in the second game of the season.
“They’re gonna bounce back hard,” White said. “We know that.”
Here’s a look at what we learned from the Sooners last week:
More: OU softball stunned again by Texas, snapping Sooners' Big 12 series winning streak
No. 1 OU
Overall record: 35-3, 13-2 Big 12
Last week: 1-2 (Beat Texas 5-2, lost to Texas, 2-1, 2-1)
This week: at Wichita State, 6 p.m. Tuesday, vs. BYU, 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday).
Kelly Maxwell, OU pitching shines
Gasso switched things up with her pitching rotation Sunday.
Through the first four conference series, Gasso had used a three-pitcher rotation with Kelly Maxwell, Nicole May and Kierston Deal each getting one start per weekend.
But against Texas, Gasso went with Maxwell for a second time, having the Oklahoma State transfer start both the first and third games with Deal throwing in relief Saturday and Sunday.
“I was proud of our pitching staff for holding a very potent Texas offense to two runs,” Gasso said Sunday.
While the Sooners’ pitching depth remains a strength, Maxwell’s use over the weekend shows that she’ll likely be leaned on more heavily once the postseason rolls around.
Maxwell has thrown a team-high 73 1/3 innings so far.
Maxwell is used to a heavy workload.
Over the last two seasons with the Cowgirls, Maxwell averaged more than 166 innings pitched.
More: OU softball loses at Texas as Longhorns snap Sooners' 40-game Big 12 win streak
Ella Parker shines Sunday
Freshman Ella Parker was 0 for 4 during the first two games of the Texas series.
But even through those two games, Gasso felt good about Parker’s approach.
Sunday, Parker was rewarded.
She blasted a home run to lead off the third inning, then added a two-out single in the fourth.
“Ella Parker had some really good freshman battles at the plate and I’m really proud of her,” Gasso said. “She looked really different this weekend. Just excited for her future as well.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma softball 'excited' to respond to losing series against Texas
