OU (5-0) heads to the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas, on Friday-Sunday to play Longwood (Friday), Stephen F. Austin (Saturday), Army (Saturday) and Baylor (Sunday).
Patty Gasso
Nicole May superstar? Handling the tough moments?
Really, really well. Poised. Controlled. Never panicked. Her goal was just to get us unscathed out of those innings, and she did such a great job of that. I just thought her poise, demeanor and maturity showed more than ever thus far in her career.
Jordy’s weekend?
I think she was a little nervous, to be honest. And she can be since it’s been such a long while. She is a little bit tight. I don’t think she’s thinking in her head about the injury or anything like that. It’s just a lot of nerves, honestly. I foresee her getting back. It’s going to take some time to get her back to where she wants to be.
Kinzie?
She won’t be back this weekend. I will not have her in the games yet. She’s not quite ready for that.
Haley Lee?
It’s funny because Haley Lee has such a chill, kind of free-living type of athlete. Sometimes I get aggravated because at practice it’s not 100 percent. It’s just good enough to get it done. But to see her in a game, though, it looked completely different. She was hustling. I was like, wow, I haven’t seen you look like that before. I thought she was poised as well.
Haley’s personality?
I knew her personality was a little bit different. But everybody needs that fun-loving, free-spirited person in their locker room. Now I have a few because Jayda has kind of been that person for us. I didn’t know what her practice style was like. She definitely turns up to another gear when we’re in games.
I ask about the mixed bag of a first weekend?
We had a lot of nerves. I don't know if it was just newcomers. It almost felt like throughout the lineup. I don't know if it was expectations. We talked about it. It was taking the bats away from us. When you're nervous, your head isn't set right. You swing at things out of the zone. You are swinging at bad two-strike pitches. I thought nerves definitely were there. The first two games on Thursday, we were not ourselves. We were not. And we were lucky to get out of there with two wins.
The response on Friday was fantastic. I thought they played really well. The response on Saturday was fantastic, although our pitchers were tight. Nine walks, two hit batters and two errors and we still beat Washington; that's a sign of a good team. We didn't play clean.
And Sunday's effort was weak. And I was really not happy with that. I would rather feel the way I do right now than to walk out going 'oh, that was great.' Our expectations and our standards are quite high. And they know that. They know they were lucky to walk out of there with five wins. This weekend, we're looking forward to getting things straightened out.
Main issues?
Some of these guys looked like they were close to hyperventilating at times before going to the plate. So it was just the demeanor. It's just getting them to exhale. We got to breathe. We got to breathe. We got to slow things down. We got to not make the game too big. I think they know how good our team is. And I think they try hard because they want to stay in their positions. I can create all kinds of storylines for you. But I just think it was the beginning of the season jitters. We've been used to playing against ourselves for so long, to see somebody else in a different uniform with different faces ... I don't know how to explain it. Except I'm glad that they felt that way.
SEC in 2024, not 2025?
Scheduling has always been difficult for us being in the Big 12, specifically as teams were dropping in softball, we have I think seven. So it's always having to go out and find heavy-hitting tournaments and bolstering up our RPI. Then we get pretty good and people don't want to play us. And it's costing us a lot of money to create a lineup that is seen as a tough schedule, create a schedule that looks tough. That means we're charting flights or taking planes to LSU, to Mississippi State, to the east — Ohio, places like that — just to get good competition in some of these tournaments or single games.
Going into the SEC, I can wipe my hands of that. I don’t have to beg. I don’t have to pay. I don’t have to do those things anymore. But I’m excited. The competition there is going to be tough. It’s going to be a grind. It’s day in and day out, all throughout. It is a very, very, very competitive softball conference. I’m going to enjoy the rest of my time in the Big 12, but I’m certainly ready to take that next step.
Texas/Kentucky tie? (Ha)
Yes, I did. (Thoughts?) Nope. I talked to a particular umpire. The coach didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just gamesmanship… Period… The end. (long pause, ha)
Team’s response in tight moments?
It’s why I’m not walking out just panicked by anything because they made big-time double plays, big time plays when they needed it, big time pitches thrown at the right time by Nicole May. I’ve learned this throughout all my years: a very good team can play bad, or not get breaks or not play well, and still find ways to win. We’re finding ways to win. And we know we walked out knowing we didn’t do enough. We didn’t hit well. Two strikes, we’re rolling over and giving up outs.
We just weren’t fighting the way we know how. But part of that, I felt, was just the tightness and the uncertainty or the ‘should I? shouldn’t I?’ That kind of stuff. So our practices the last couple of days have been focused towards being aggressive towards one of the first three pitches. If it’s thrown for a strike and you’re not taking it, next. We’re just really trying to hound that. We were taking good pitches and swinging at some bad ones.
Patty Gasso
Nicole May superstar? Handling the tough moments?
Really, really well. Poised. Controlled. Never panicked. Her goal was just to get us unscathed out of those innings, and she did such a great job of that. I just thought her poise, demeanor and maturity showed more than ever thus far in her career.
Jordy’s weekend?
I think she was a little nervous, to be honest. And she can be since it’s been such a long while. She is a little bit tight. I don’t think she’s thinking in her head about the injury or anything like that. It’s just a lot of nerves, honestly. I foresee her getting back. It’s going to take some time to get her back to where she wants to be.
Kinzie?
She won’t be back this weekend. I will not have her in the games yet. She’s not quite ready for that.
Haley Lee?
It’s funny because Haley Lee has such a chill, kind of free-living type of athlete. Sometimes I get aggravated because at practice it’s not 100 percent. It’s just good enough to get it done. But to see her in a game, though, it looked completely different. She was hustling. I was like, wow, I haven’t seen you look like that before. I thought she was poised as well.
Haley’s personality?
I knew her personality was a little bit different. But everybody needs that fun-loving, free-spirited person in their locker room. Now I have a few because Jayda has kind of been that person for us. I didn’t know what her practice style was like. She definitely turns up to another gear when we’re in games.
I ask about the mixed bag of a first weekend?
We had a lot of nerves. I don't know if it was just newcomers. It almost felt like throughout the lineup. I don't know if it was expectations. We talked about it. It was taking the bats away from us. When you're nervous, your head isn't set right. You swing at things out of the zone. You are swinging at bad two-strike pitches. I thought nerves definitely were there. The first two games on Thursday, we were not ourselves. We were not. And we were lucky to get out of there with two wins.
The response on Friday was fantastic. I thought they played really well. The response on Saturday was fantastic, although our pitchers were tight. Nine walks, two hit batters and two errors and we still beat Washington; that's a sign of a good team. We didn't play clean.
And Sunday's effort was weak. And I was really not happy with that. I would rather feel the way I do right now than to walk out going 'oh, that was great.' Our expectations and our standards are quite high. And they know that. They know they were lucky to walk out of there with five wins. This weekend, we're looking forward to getting things straightened out.
Main issues?
Some of these guys looked like they were close to hyperventilating at times before going to the plate. So it was just the demeanor. It's just getting them to exhale. We got to breathe. We got to breathe. We got to slow things down. We got to not make the game too big. I think they know how good our team is. And I think they try hard because they want to stay in their positions. I can create all kinds of storylines for you. But I just think it was the beginning of the season jitters. We've been used to playing against ourselves for so long, to see somebody else in a different uniform with different faces ... I don't know how to explain it. Except I'm glad that they felt that way.
SEC in 2024, not 2025?
Scheduling has always been difficult for us being in the Big 12, specifically as teams were dropping in softball, we have I think seven. So it's always having to go out and find heavy-hitting tournaments and bolstering up our RPI. Then we get pretty good and people don't want to play us. And it's costing us a lot of money to create a lineup that is seen as a tough schedule, create a schedule that looks tough. That means we're charting flights or taking planes to LSU, to Mississippi State, to the east — Ohio, places like that — just to get good competition in some of these tournaments or single games.
Going into the SEC, I can wipe my hands of that. I don’t have to beg. I don’t have to pay. I don’t have to do those things anymore. But I’m excited. The competition there is going to be tough. It’s going to be a grind. It’s day in and day out, all throughout. It is a very, very, very competitive softball conference. I’m going to enjoy the rest of my time in the Big 12, but I’m certainly ready to take that next step.
Texas/Kentucky tie? (Ha)
Yes, I did. (Thoughts?) Nope. I talked to a particular umpire. The coach didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just gamesmanship… Period… The end. (long pause, ha)
Team’s response in tight moments?
It’s why I’m not walking out just panicked by anything because they made big-time double plays, big time plays when they needed it, big time pitches thrown at the right time by Nicole May. I’ve learned this throughout all my years: a very good team can play bad, or not get breaks or not play well, and still find ways to win. We’re finding ways to win. And we know we walked out knowing we didn’t do enough. We didn’t hit well. Two strikes, we’re rolling over and giving up outs.
We just weren’t fighting the way we know how. But part of that, I felt, was just the tightness and the uncertainty or the ‘should I? shouldn’t I?’ That kind of stuff. So our practices the last couple of days have been focused towards being aggressive towards one of the first three pitches. If it’s thrown for a strike and you’re not taking it, next. We’re just really trying to hound that. We were taking good pitches and swinging at some bad ones.
