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USA Today
10 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Everything Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said after Sooners lost to Texas Tech in WCWS
Everything Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said after Sooners lost to Texas Tech in WCWS Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso hadn't felt what she did Monday night in several years. The Sooners, winners of the last four Women's College World Series national championships, were eliminated from the tournament by Texas Tech. Gasso was contemplative afterward, having taken a team with 14 new players as deep into the tourney as she did. The world may have not considered Oklahoma underdogs, but the team had a sense they were, anyway. After the game, Gasso reflected on what she called one of her most fun years as a coach ever. Patty Gasso opening statement Congratulations to Texas Tech. They earned that. They played well, they hit well, they pitched well. Well deserved. Just extremely proud of this team. Who they are first. What they do second. It's been a joyous ride and if you would have ever asked me - and I think I've already said this a million times - but we're standing at the World Series as one of the top three teams left with a team of 14 newcomers. I just shared with them in the locker room how much fun I had with them. Coaching them. Watching them grow. Watching them be hungry. Watching them never quit. The amount of rebounded, extra-inning or last-inning heroics and come-from-behind wins has been something incredible. As much as I need a break, I'm really ready to have them come back and start over again because I think we learned so much and we're going to be that much better. Lessons along the way. What I hope is that they learned lessons about themselves. And turning from girls to women, that's really important to this program. Giving them life lessons and versing them and things that will help them throughout life. It was an emotional, amazing, one of my favorite years of all time, I must say. Gasso on feelings in the moment Yes. I haven't felt this in a while. No one is feeling sorry for me about that, I'm sure. But you always want to raise a trophy and just celebrate down at Toby Keith's place. That's kind of been our place the last four years. I don't know. It's hard to talk about. I'm really excited for the future, but really, really pumped for Cyd Sanders to have her best softball when it was needed. It finished that way. Tonight was a tough night for Sam Landry. A lot of emotions for her because of her connection to Louisiana and now all of them at Texas Tech. I was really proud of her because that could have been a very tough situation. She handled it really, really well. There was a lot of emotions going on for her. It's hard to lose. This was the most enjoyable season I've had in a long time. Us, as coaches, really feel that everybody kind of jumped on board with us. They believed in what we were saying. They carried on the championship mindset. They grinded on the field every single day. There are some future superstars on this team and I'm really excited about that. But they had to grown through Cyd Sanders and some of these others that have been around. Ella Parker. Still going to be a young team next year. Extremely excited about it. Just don't want to think about it right now. They've done some miraculous things. You witnessed one that just happened not long ago with the walk-off with two strikes. Their ability to believe has been unbelievable this season. Gasso on what impressed her about the young team's growth It's just absolute trust in each other. If you would have seen it in September and October, we started to kind of gel a little bit more in November. But it was still so new. So many things to learn. Still, at the end of the season, we didn't work on such-and-such enough. We need to do more of that. Seemed like time flew so fast and just kept going. I can't even believe the season is over. Normally, I'm like 'Thank God.' But this was, let's keep going, let's keep going, let's keep going. It really was fun to watch them work together and believe together. They never, ever, ever thought that they would lose. Ever. A lot of times they didn't. It's been a wonderful time. Gasso on pitcher Sam Landry I just go back to when I was recruiting her out of the portal. Literally sat in an iHOP with her and made her an offer in Norman with her family. Her mom kind of disappeared, went into the restroom and I'm like 'what's going on? Are we yes? Are we no? I don't know.' She didn't want to leave her family. Her mom didn't want her to leave. But she knew that this was right. It started off like yes or no, c'mon, what are we doing? When she said yes, I was so excited about that because I know coach (Jennifer) Rocha could create something really special. No offense to anyone, she's a different pitcher here. What I loved about her, she's gone through a lot but her confidence was very, very strong. She maintained. Kind of in and out sometimes, but I can't tell you how fun it was to watch her have that confidence and lead us in that way. Man, I really have a lot of fun with her. We connect really well. She's got a very infectious smile, but she's that big of a person. All of these guys are just special young women. Sam got that golden ticket and she truly thought 'my career is going to end at OU.' And when she got that golden ticket, it was such a big moment for her. Deservedly so. She's always going to be part of this program. I hope she's not going to go far away. She's going to try to go to med school soon and try to do it here in Oklahoma. Gasso on roller-coaster of emotions late in the game They continued to believe. It's just like, get your swing off. You've got to get there real quick. (Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady) is unbelievable. She's really tough. It was hard to square her up. It was hard to make solid contact. As long as they have a swing left, they believe. They do. And that's proof of it. Gasso on references to OU as a historic program I appreciate those comments. Not warranted, but appreciated, for sure. I don't even, honestly, think about that. I just do my job. That's all I'm trying to do is turn girls into women and help them become elite softball athletes but at the same time, make sure they learn about life so that they become good mothers, good daughters, good friends. That they try to live the right way, do the right things. Those are the lessons that are going on that are probably more important to me than wins and losses. I want them to walk away and say 'I'm equipped for anything. I can handle this. I can handle anything.' Losing is not fun. But losing is life. We all lose at something. It's hard, but it's lessons learned from it. I think that's probably what's most important for me is these guys leave with something to take with them for the rest of their lives. Gasso on the importance to keep tenets of program year after year I look at the front row of these crazy, crazy athletes that we had last year that have been winning championships. They've got their rings on them and they're just flashing them out there. They're proud of it, but they're here and they're supporting this next movement. I can hear Rylie Boone. Oh, my gosh. I don't know how she does it. I don't know how she has a voice left. They're running around with signs and they're loving our team. They love this team. They want to help them however they can during the game. Shay Knighten is here. Caleigh Clifton. They're all around. They're all helping out. They're just very prideful and they feel it as much as anyone. It's very fun for them to watch them carry on their legacy. It's not their legacy anymore. This is a new legacy they're starting. That's something we talked about in the locker room. Gasso on importance of team understanding what they did was special They're just 'we got a trophy, all right.' It is the most confusing thing for me. I've never seen them dogpile or do anything like that. Today was the first time I've seen them cry. That was not the emotion that I wanted to see. It happens. It comes with it. But they just have a crazy expectation of greatness. And it happens so fast. We're sitting in the locker room and I'm looking at Ailana (Agbayani) and I'm looking at Gabbie (Garcia) and they're sitting next to each other. And they used to - early in the season or in January, they were still trying to connect as a middle and now they're sitting together holding hands and they're crying. Just looking around at some of these connections and just the growth was so fast and so furious. But so beautiful to watch. It really, really was. I don't know. It was pretty amazing. I'm at a loss of words because it was so far beyond anything that I thought this season would be like. So incredibly proud of them. If we would have won the national championship, I still don't know if they would celebrate. I don't know. Hopefully we'll know again sometime. Gasso on strategy of keeping powerhouse program in NIL/portal era Quite honestly, getting players in your program that are 100% bought in. That are 100% behind the program, the coaches, teammates, etc. This day and age, I think there's a lot of 'I'm not playing here, I'm going somewhere else.' It's fine. Doesn't bother me at all. I've never tried to stop anyone if they're ever trying to leave because I want them to find what they want. If it isn't here, it isn't here. The right people need to be in your program giving everything they have. Gasso on changes WCWS needs to make And, can I go on a soapbox for one second, please, everyone? Because I'm old enough, I don't care what anyone thinks anymore. I see Joe. Don't worry Joe, this isn't going to be bad. I've been in this tournament enough and there's one thing that has to change. I'm going to say it out loud and I hope the committee is going to look at this. If we are all about women's athletics and women's sports and rah-rah, do not make us play doubleheaders to get to a national championship series. Do not do that. Don't do that. They don't do it in baseball. It should not happen. If we were to win or if Texas Tech were to lose and they made here all the way undefeated and they were to lose to us and then we have to play another game right after, that is not fair. It's not fair to them more than it is not fair to use because we didn't get there on the road that they did. But we've got to make changes. We've got to put money into this. People will watch. They'll come back and they'll watch this next day. This is one of the most-watched championships in any sport. Softball is one of the top. So why wouldn't you want to come back and watch that 'if' game? Or would you rather watch us have zero energy left and you're not able to throw your best because you're just trying to scrap it together. It's unfair to the athletes at this high level. That is my soapbox. Let's try to change that even if it's going to cost a little bit of extra money. These athletes deserve it. And thank you all very much. Thank you for listening.
San Francisco Chronicle
12 hours ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Texas Tech ends Oklahoma's 4-year run as Women's College World Series champ with walk-off 3-2 win
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's run of four straight Women's College World Series titles ended when Lauren Allred's walk-off sacrifice fly gave Texas Tech a 3-2 victory in the semifinals on Monday night. Coach Patty Gasso's Sooners (52-9) were down to their last strike in the top of the seventh inning when Abigale Dayton summoned a bit of magic, hitting a tying two-run homer against Red Raiders ace NiJaree Canady. It was just her third longball of the season. But the Red Raiders (53-12) responded quickly in the bottom half. Mihyia Davis singled with one out and Hailey Toney followed with a double. Allred hit a flyball to right field and Sydney Barker's throw to the plate was wide, allowing Davis to score easily. Texas Tech, in its first trip to the WCWS, will play Texas in the best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday. The Longhorns reached the finals for the third time in the past four years. They lost to Oklahoma in 2022 and 2024. Oklahoma had won nine straight elimination games. Canady lost the shutout but got the win. She is the two-time reigning National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Year and was the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. ___
Associated Press
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Texas Tech ends Oklahoma's 4-year run as Women's College World Series champ with walk-off 3-2 win
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's run of four straight Women's College World Series titles ended when Lauren Allred's walk-off sacrifice fly gave Texas Tech a 3-2 victory in the semifinals on Monday night. Coach Patty Gasso's Sooners (52-9) were down to their last strike in the top of the seventh inning when Abigale Dayton summoned a bit of magic, hitting a tying two-run homer against Red Raiders ace NiJaree Canady. It was just her third longball of the season. But the Red Raiders (53-12) responded quickly in the bottom half. Mihyia Davis singled with one out and Hailey Toney followed with a double. Allred hit a flyball to right field and Sydney Barker's throw to the plate was wide, allowing Davis to score easily. Texas Tech, in its first trip to the WCWS, will play Texas in the best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday. The Longhorns reached the finals for the third time in the past four years. They lost to Oklahoma in 2022 and 2024. Oklahoma had won nine straight elimination games. Canady lost the shutout but got the win. She is the two-time reigning National Fastpitch Coaches Association Pitcher of the Year and was the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last season. Formerly with Stanford, Canady signed a name, image and likeness deal worth more than $1 million to go to Texas Tech. ___ AP sports:
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Everything Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said after OU beat Oregon in the WCWS
Everything Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said after OU beat Oregon in the WCWS Bittersweet. That's how Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso described her team's win over Oregon on Sunday in the Women's College World Series. The Sooners eliminated the Ducks to secure a place in the final four of the WCWS with a 4-1 win. Oregon is coached by former OU player and assistant Melissa Lombardi. Oklahoma will play Texas Tech on Monday. If the Sooners win the initial game against the Red Raiders, the two will meet again immediately after in a winner-take-all game for a spot in the WCWS championship series. Gasso had nothing but positive things to say about her protege Sunday, though, and looked forward to facing a former Big 12 opponent for Monday. Patty Gasso's opening statement Huge win for the Sooners. Personally, kind of bittersweet, because those are my people on the other side. It's hard to play on such a platform that means so much and it's going to end somebody's season. It was hard, but super proud of that staff and all that they've done, so really proud of Missy (Lombardi) specifically getting back here. She's dreamed of this for a long time. Gone through a lot to get here. Really happy for her. This team I think it all started in the circle. (Kierston Deal) came out and really handled her business pretty well. Gave up a run, but that's expected. We answered back pretty quickly. And then we had Sam (Landry) come in in a good matchup with their three-hole, I believe, and just kind of let her ride it through. We're in elimination time now so you do everything and anything you can. Just super happy for Cyd Sanders. Her senior year, what a wonderful memory to have, these home runs. Really timely hitting for some of them. At the same time, we left a lot of runners on base, but that means we're getting on a lot. Very pleased. I'll tell you, just straight up, we win a game and we walk over and we shake hands and we walk in the dugout like 'Hey, OK' and I'm like 'Do you know what we just did? Does anyone know what we just did? We're in the Final Four.' 'Yeah, we're good. We're swag. Swaggy swag.' I'm just like, 'Somebody celebrate. Can we do something fun.' They're just the most calm, chill. Sometimes I'm like 'I don't know that you know. Do you know?' 'Yeah, we're good.' So I'm like OK. Hopefully we'll have some massive celebrations in the future. But I'm really happy and proud of these guys. Gasso on the challenge of having to beat Tech twice (Associated head coach JT Gasso) has got a lot of work to get going on. I do, to someone's point, we talked about the amount of elite pitchers we have faced and have had some success off of. That's what we're going to live off of. We're going to have to make a few adjustments for sure. But we're fighting. We're fighting for our lives now. That's 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. That's how we're going to approach it. Gasso on Oklahoma's pitching plan for Monday I like where we're at. I have no idea how we're piecing it together quite yet. But everybody is, they're going to empty their tanks, without question. Gasso on Sanders' clutch-ness Very needed for this offense. Cyd is exactly what you just saw. Very chill. Very easy-going. Does not get affected by much of anything. Just getting her swing on. Grein is tough. She is tough. Definitely facing her will help us tomorrow. But Cyd is just very unassuming. Doesn't get all caught up in the thought process. She just waits for her moment. Gasso on wanting to see her team respond after losing to Texas OK, the warm-up was better, for sure. Seven innings, they get distracted. They just look around a little bit. They talk some. They just kind of become spectators sometimes. I don't need them to be like the little kids in the 10-and-under teams in the dugout, but I do need them paying attention. They are. They just sometimes don't make a lot of noise. Every once in a while they'll create something. They were definitely more focused and ready today. They learned a valuable lesson. That's one thing we're doing this season is learning so many valuable lessons to help this team go into next year so much better than when we started. I'm on an amazing ride. I don't know how they feel. They don't share a lot. They just walk off the field, walk in the locker room like 'what are we having for dinner?' I'm like 'OK.' I want to celebrate with somebody, but it's swaggy but it's bizarre at the same time. Trying to figure it out. On Tech being a newcomer to the WCWS It's been cool to see new faces because that brings in more fans and fan bases. I've known coach Glasgow for quite a long time. I've watched his career move around some. He's an amazing coach. He really is. Some of the stuff he pulls out of his hat is pretty epic. He does it the right way. I really enjoy going up against him because you know you're going to have a battle. Ole Miss the same thing. I was also a member of the Big 12 for 30 years. To see a Big 12 team get in here that's a new name. That's really, really cool for the Big 12. Ole Miss just got on that hot run. Sometimes it's fun to follow those underdogs or Ole Miss that way. The experience, when you have a team that comes to the World Series - that's why I'm really excited for Missy because she really worked hard. Her standard and my standard are very similar and so to finally get her team here. I was just watching. I was a fan from afar. I was really rooting for them. It's going to edify and move her program to a new level. Gasso on whether four WCWS titles or nine straight elimination wins is more impressive Oh, I don't know. That's impressive. Nine is pretty dang impressive. That's character. That's like, we are not going to quit. So I love, love, love that. But it's also nice raising a trophy and taking an easier route. I do respect the fact that our team fights their tail off to the end. Gasso on preparing Sam Landry to face former coach and teammates I'm going to work on that. That's a good question. She's so different. She's quite different. She's quite a different pitcher than she was. And she really, really showcased, she threw really well tonight. Really well. I hope that will carry over for her and just really have tunnel vision and blinders on and not worry so much on that side but more about her girls on her side. Gasso on the importance of seeing her former assistants get love from current schools Thank you for asking that question. If you aren't investing in Melissa Lombardi then you're not paying attention. Not only is she a great coach and very organized and a hustling, hustling staff that recruits very well, but she's an extreme professional and does it the right way. Treats her players the right way. Expects hard work on the field but also her players walking through the line were very grateful for the game that we have, wished us luck. She is turning girls into women and that's what we've done at OU. That's what she was when she came to OU was a girl that turned into a woman. She's one of the best out there. There's no question about that.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
4-time defending Women's CWS champ Oklahoma beats Oregon 4-1 to reach semifinals, eliminate Ducks
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Cydney Sanders hit two home runs and four-time defending national champion Oklahoma beat Oregon 4-1 on Sunday night to reach the Women's College World Series semifinals and eliminate the Ducks. Sanders' two-run homer in the third put the Sooners up 3-1, and her solo shot in the fifth made it 4-1. Isabela Emerling hit a solo home run for the Sooners (52-8). Dezianna Patmon's homer provided the only run for Oregon. Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso got the win against Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi, a longtime assistant for her with the Sooners. Oklahoma will play Texas Tech in the semifinals on Monday for the right to play in the best-of-three championship series. The Sooners will need to beat the Red Raiders and star pitcher NiJaree Canady twice to advance in the double-elimination format, while the Red Raiders will need just one win to play for the national title for the first time. Oklahoma's Sam Landry earned the win on Sunday in 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. She allowed two hits, struck out six and walked one. Ella Parker and Kasidi Pickering each had two hits for the Sooners. Oregon (54-10) won the Big Ten regular-season championship in its first year in the league.
