Even though it was a little cooler, the weather looked pretty nice for the Sooner Softball Scrimmage #4 on Saturday. Shannon Saile returned to the circle for the Red Team and Nicole May started for the Frey Team. The Grey Team was the visiting team and batted first.
The starting lineups were:
Grey Team:
Jayda Coleman SS
Taylon Snow 2B
Nicole Mendes CF
Lynnsie Elam C
Zaida Puni 1B
Jana Johns 3B
Alycia Flores LF
Paige Knight RF
Red Team:
Rylie Boone CF
Tiare Jennings 2B
Kinzie Hansen C
Grace Green RF
Jocelyn Alo LF
Grace Lyons SS
Eliyah Flores 3B
Mackenzie Donihoo 1B
Once again, Raylee Pogue was in uniform but I think only played one inning on defense (RF) and pinch ran a couple of times late in the scrimmage. There was a Kinsey Koeltzow sighting at the game. I am pretty sure that she was coaching first base for both teams and was in uniform. That was good to see.
1st inning:
The game started with a 4 pitch walk to Coleman by Saile. (Ugh!) Snow followed that with a ground ball single up the middle to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Deep in the count, Mendes dropped a bunt in front of Saile that proved to be trouble for the Red Team. It looked like Donihoo took a couple steps to cover the bunt then returned to the bag. Jennings got to first base from her position at 2nd base but then neither player took control of the bag for Saile’s throw. Saile’s throw passed between the two players and into right field. (Ugh! #2) Mendes ended up on 2nd with Snow to 3rd as Coleman scored on the error. The announcer called the play a sacrifice bunt (which was valid) with the runners moving a base on the errant throw or non-catch of the throw. This type of play on a bunt has happened several times this fall and last spring to the Sooner defense. This failure to handle the small ball bunts has got to improve. I know some players are playing a little out of position but all it takes is “I have the bag!” to be said.
With runners on 2nd and 3rd and no outs, Saile got on track and struck out Elam and Puni on rise balls up in the zone. Johns hit a lazy pop fly to foul territory in right field that Green made the play on for the third out of the inning. 1 hit, 1 unearned run allowed to give the Grey Team a 1-0 lead.
Nicole May got a third strike swinging strike on Boone to start the bottom of the inning but Elam could not handle the pitch that was down and in. The pitch went to the backstop and Boone made it to first base safely on a passed ball/wild pitch strikeout. (Ugh! #3 - again!) Jennings followed with a sharply hit grounder up the middle past a diving Coleman at SS. May got Hansen to hit a soft pop up to Lyons for the first out of the inning. After several pitches to Green, Saile left a ball up in the hitting zone and Green crushed a 3-run HR just inside the left field foul pole. 3-1. Alo formally announced herself to the new freshman in a game situation as she followed Green with her own “Alo HR Shot” that was the classic smash over the scoreboard in left field. 4-1. Lyons flied out to RF and E Flores went down on strikes for the third out.
The first inning was not the start that either pitcher wanted to have as the Red Team lead 4-1.
2nd inning:
Saile found something in the dugout between innings as she promptly stuck out A Flores, Knight and Coleman in the top of the 2nd. Saile got Coleman to swing at a pitch ‘just a little bit outside’ for the third strike on Coleman.
May issued a walk to Donihoo to start her 2nd inning. May got Boone for the first out on a fly ball to CF. Jennings then hit a hard grounder to 3rd that Johns made a good play on to get Jennings at first base as Donihoo moved to 2nd on the grounder. Mendes followed that with a one hop grounder back to May for the third out of the game.
It was good to see the pitchers rebound in the second inning.
3rd inning:
Snow continued her extremely hot streak with a double to RC to lead of the 3rd against Saile. Mendes followed that with her own double to LC that just got over a running Alo’s glove to drive in Snow. Alo made a good move on the line drive but was a step to shallow when she got there. I think I would say that the play could have been made, but it would have been a very good play if it had been made. Elam found a ball to hit but flew out to CF deep on the warning track that Mendes moved over to 3rd base after the catch. Lyons showed why she plays SS on the next ground ball by Puni. Lyons fielded the ground ball and just stared at Mendes off 3rd base. The stare froze Mendes and then Lyons threw a strike to first base to get Puni at first base. It was really a nice play to watch. Johns coaxed a walk off of Saile to put runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs. Saile got a strikeout of A Flores but once again the ball got by Hansen and went to the backstop. Mendes scored from third and Johns moved to 3rd as A Flores reached first. The pitch that got away was a pitch up that glanced off of Hansen’s glove. (Ugh! #4). Saile got Knight to ground back to herself for the third out of the inning. The Grey Team scored 3 runs with only one earned thru the first three innings.
Alanna Thiede entered the circle in the bottom of the third inning for the Grey Team taking over for May. Green greeted her with a line drive to RF for a single. With good control, Thiede got a ground ball double play against Alo as Johns and Snow made a nice turn for the 2 outs. Lyons then ripped a ball in the hole between third and SS. Coleman fielded the ground ball and went to her knees to turn and throw to first base but Lyons was safely passed the bag. It was a good try by Coleman. (If you ask me if Lyons makes that play, maybe, but not with Coleman running.) After a steal of second base by Lyons against Elam, Thiede got a ground ball back to the circle from E Flores for the third out of the inning.
After 3 innings the score was 4-3, Red Team leading.
4th inning:
Coleman lead off the top of the inning with a sharp grounder up the middle past Lyons. Coleman moved to 2nd on a wild pitch/passed ball by Saile/Elam. (Ugh!) Snow followed that with a walk for her 8th straight time to reach base. Mendes tried to get a hit with a ground ball but the ball bounced off the plate. Hansen made a very good play on the high hop to get Mendes at first on the grounder as Coleman and Snow moved up a base. With two runners in scoring position, The Red Team made a pitching change and brought in Olivia Rains to pitch in relief of Saile.
Facing Rains, Elam grounded sharply up the middle to drive in two runs to give the Grey Team the lead at 5-4. Puni followed with a ground ball back to Rains who threw to first for the 2nd out of the inning with Elam moving to second. Johns was the third out as she popped up to Lyons a shortstop.
The bottom of the fourth was a 1-2-3 inning for Thiede as she got Donihoo, Boone and Jennings with Jennings flying out to RF on the warning track that Knight made a good easy catch on. This was Thiede’s first 1-2-3 inning of the fall.
After four innings the score was 5-4 in favor of the Grey Team.
5th inning:
Rains pitched her own 1-2-3 inning as she got A Flores and Knight to ground out and then she struck out Coleman. E Flores made a very good play at third base on her sister’s ground ball for the first out of the inning.
Thiede continued strong as she got Hansen to fly out to LF before Green singled down the left field line. A Flores did a good job fielding this ball and keeping Green to a single on the hit. Thiede did pay with danger against Alo as Alo hit a deep fly ball to RC. Knight moved to the ball very well and caught it against the fence for the 2nd out. Knight ended the inning as she caught another deep fly off of Lyons to end the inning.
Grey Team still leads 5-4.
6th inning:
Snow continued her streak with a ringing double to LC to lead off the sixth for the Grey Team. Mendes moved Snow to 3rd base as she grounded hard to Donihoo at first base. Elam singled again for her third RBI. Pogue entered the game to run for Elam. Rains got another ground ball from Puni that E Flores fielded and got the force out at 2nd for the second out on a close play. Johns followed with a ground ball single to move Puni to 2nd base. The threat against Rains was ended as A Flores popped up to Lyons on a lazy popup.
Macy McAdoo entered the game to pitch the bottom of the sixth for the Grey Team. McAdoo got E Flores to fly out to LF for the first out of the inning. Donihoo then walked and moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch by McAdoo. Boone singled up the middle to move Donihoo to 3rd base. Jennings hit a hard ground ball to 3rd base that Johns made a good play on down the line and dove to tag Donihoo trying to get back to the bag. After a little dodging, Donihoo was out at 3rd with the runners staying at 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. With some dramatics, Hansen followed that with a deep fly ball to center field. The ball was at the fence with Mendes there also. In a ‘SportsCenter-highlight’, Mendes got up over the fence to make the catch for the 3rd out and preserve the lead for the Grey Team. Really nice play by Mendes as the Grey Team all ran to congratulate her.
Grey Team leads 6-4 going to the 7th inning.
7th inning:
Knight may have collected her first hit of the fall to lead off the top of the 7th. (I will admit that this hit might have been by Pogue because she was on first running for Knight after she got to first base. The announcer never addressed this though. If anyone has any thought on this and the at bat, let me know please. The swing on the single looked like a Pogue-swing to me but I realized it late.) Coleman quickly added another single moving Pogue to 2nd base. I think this was the play that ended with a bang-bang play at second base as Pogue slid into the bag at second on a ground ball to shortstop. Coach Gasso made the final call that Pogue was safe. As Snow stepped into the batter’s box, she had reached base 9 straight times on a hit or walk and had 8 straight hits. She added one more to the total as she ripped a double to the right of Boone in CF to drive in two more runs for the Grey team. Mendes followed with a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Rains got Elam to ground out to shortstop where Lyons went to first base for the out with Snow and Mendes moving up a base. Puni then contributed to the offense as she singled to drive in two more runs. Johns followed that with her own single to move Puni to 2nd base. A Flores flew out to RF for the second out of the inning. Knight followed with a ground out to second base to end the inning. The Grey Team took a 10-4 lead into the bottom of the 7th.
I think that Vestal pitched the bottom of the inning for the Grey Team. I am pretty sure that the pitcher was not McAdoo who pitched the sixth because the new pitcher had brown hair. The announcer said nothing about this however, so I am not sure. What did you think about this? Whoever pitched the seventh, she pitched well. Green was a strikeout victim for the first out. Alo then grounded back to the pitcher for the second out. Lyons then hit an easy fly ball to left field for the final out of the scrimmage.
Final:
Grey Team wins 10-4.
Grey Team has won 3 of the 4 games. I think that only Elam has been on the winning team in all four games. This time, Thiede was the winning pitcher, Saile was the losing pitcher.
The player of the game, I will pick three.
1) Taylon Snow – 4 for 4 with 3 doubles, 4 RS, 2 RBIs and a walk. Whatever Ms. Snow is eating or wearing for a good luck charm she should keep doing it. She has made a change in the batter’s box as she is not slapping, she is standing deep in the box and swinging away with great success
2) Alanna Thiede – As the only lefty pitcher on the team, she could be a key for the team. She pitched 3 innings allowing 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 0 strikeouts. She just kept the ball down and got outs. She pitched through the Jennings//Hansen/Green/Alo/Lyons five-some twice also. Big outing for her as a Sooner.
3) Grace Green – 3 for 4 with a 3-run HR and two singles. This is her 3rd HR of the fall. Her bat seems to be alive again with the HR’s showing up. She has developed a good right field swing also with her power to the left side of the field.
Concerns about the team:
1) The defense of the short game. This continues to be a problem. It MUST be better.
2) The wild pitch/passed ball of third strikes. The Sooners can’t give the good teams four outs in an inning in this way.
3) What might be the three top pitchers to date, all got roughed up a bit. Saile allowed 5 runs (3 earned), May allowed 4 runs (3 earned) and Rains allowed 5 runs. They need to be better than that even if they are pitching against us, the Sooners. It is surprising how good the two scrimmage team lineups are each time.
Positives about the team:
1) Team speed is really good. There are a lot of pressure on fielders with the speed the Sooners have on the bases. There can be no bobble, or hesitation on throws. Singles turn into doubles at time with our hitters. Moving an extra base on a hit or ground ball is common place for the Sooners.
2) Nine players have now hit HRs. That does not include, Lyons, Johns, E Flores, Puni or Boone who will hit their own at some point.
3) The outfield play was better in this game. No questionable plays at all. Mendes’s catch was the highlight to save a 3-run HR.
4) Johns had a better game at third base in this game. Two nice plays in the field and she ended the game with two straight singles.
- - - - -
It sounds like they will have another scrimmage sometime this weekend. Watch social media for the notice about the game.
It is too bad we will probably not see the annual Halloween charity game with the baseball players this year due to COVID. I think many players, fans and students will miss this event.
The starting lineups were:
Grey Team:
Jayda Coleman SS
Taylon Snow 2B
Nicole Mendes CF
Lynnsie Elam C
Zaida Puni 1B
Jana Johns 3B
Alycia Flores LF
Paige Knight RF
Red Team:
Rylie Boone CF
Tiare Jennings 2B
Kinzie Hansen C
Grace Green RF
Jocelyn Alo LF
Grace Lyons SS
Eliyah Flores 3B
Mackenzie Donihoo 1B
Once again, Raylee Pogue was in uniform but I think only played one inning on defense (RF) and pinch ran a couple of times late in the scrimmage. There was a Kinsey Koeltzow sighting at the game. I am pretty sure that she was coaching first base for both teams and was in uniform. That was good to see.
1st inning:
The game started with a 4 pitch walk to Coleman by Saile. (Ugh!) Snow followed that with a ground ball single up the middle to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Deep in the count, Mendes dropped a bunt in front of Saile that proved to be trouble for the Red Team. It looked like Donihoo took a couple steps to cover the bunt then returned to the bag. Jennings got to first base from her position at 2nd base but then neither player took control of the bag for Saile’s throw. Saile’s throw passed between the two players and into right field. (Ugh! #2) Mendes ended up on 2nd with Snow to 3rd as Coleman scored on the error. The announcer called the play a sacrifice bunt (which was valid) with the runners moving a base on the errant throw or non-catch of the throw. This type of play on a bunt has happened several times this fall and last spring to the Sooner defense. This failure to handle the small ball bunts has got to improve. I know some players are playing a little out of position but all it takes is “I have the bag!” to be said.
With runners on 2nd and 3rd and no outs, Saile got on track and struck out Elam and Puni on rise balls up in the zone. Johns hit a lazy pop fly to foul territory in right field that Green made the play on for the third out of the inning. 1 hit, 1 unearned run allowed to give the Grey Team a 1-0 lead.
Nicole May got a third strike swinging strike on Boone to start the bottom of the inning but Elam could not handle the pitch that was down and in. The pitch went to the backstop and Boone made it to first base safely on a passed ball/wild pitch strikeout. (Ugh! #3 - again!) Jennings followed with a sharply hit grounder up the middle past a diving Coleman at SS. May got Hansen to hit a soft pop up to Lyons for the first out of the inning. After several pitches to Green, Saile left a ball up in the hitting zone and Green crushed a 3-run HR just inside the left field foul pole. 3-1. Alo formally announced herself to the new freshman in a game situation as she followed Green with her own “Alo HR Shot” that was the classic smash over the scoreboard in left field. 4-1. Lyons flied out to RF and E Flores went down on strikes for the third out.
The first inning was not the start that either pitcher wanted to have as the Red Team lead 4-1.
2nd inning:
Saile found something in the dugout between innings as she promptly stuck out A Flores, Knight and Coleman in the top of the 2nd. Saile got Coleman to swing at a pitch ‘just a little bit outside’ for the third strike on Coleman.
May issued a walk to Donihoo to start her 2nd inning. May got Boone for the first out on a fly ball to CF. Jennings then hit a hard grounder to 3rd that Johns made a good play on to get Jennings at first base as Donihoo moved to 2nd on the grounder. Mendes followed that with a one hop grounder back to May for the third out of the game.
It was good to see the pitchers rebound in the second inning.
3rd inning:
Snow continued her extremely hot streak with a double to RC to lead of the 3rd against Saile. Mendes followed that with her own double to LC that just got over a running Alo’s glove to drive in Snow. Alo made a good move on the line drive but was a step to shallow when she got there. I think I would say that the play could have been made, but it would have been a very good play if it had been made. Elam found a ball to hit but flew out to CF deep on the warning track that Mendes moved over to 3rd base after the catch. Lyons showed why she plays SS on the next ground ball by Puni. Lyons fielded the ground ball and just stared at Mendes off 3rd base. The stare froze Mendes and then Lyons threw a strike to first base to get Puni at first base. It was really a nice play to watch. Johns coaxed a walk off of Saile to put runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs. Saile got a strikeout of A Flores but once again the ball got by Hansen and went to the backstop. Mendes scored from third and Johns moved to 3rd as A Flores reached first. The pitch that got away was a pitch up that glanced off of Hansen’s glove. (Ugh! #4). Saile got Knight to ground back to herself for the third out of the inning. The Grey Team scored 3 runs with only one earned thru the first three innings.
Alanna Thiede entered the circle in the bottom of the third inning for the Grey Team taking over for May. Green greeted her with a line drive to RF for a single. With good control, Thiede got a ground ball double play against Alo as Johns and Snow made a nice turn for the 2 outs. Lyons then ripped a ball in the hole between third and SS. Coleman fielded the ground ball and went to her knees to turn and throw to first base but Lyons was safely passed the bag. It was a good try by Coleman. (If you ask me if Lyons makes that play, maybe, but not with Coleman running.) After a steal of second base by Lyons against Elam, Thiede got a ground ball back to the circle from E Flores for the third out of the inning.
After 3 innings the score was 4-3, Red Team leading.
4th inning:
Coleman lead off the top of the inning with a sharp grounder up the middle past Lyons. Coleman moved to 2nd on a wild pitch/passed ball by Saile/Elam. (Ugh!) Snow followed that with a walk for her 8th straight time to reach base. Mendes tried to get a hit with a ground ball but the ball bounced off the plate. Hansen made a very good play on the high hop to get Mendes at first on the grounder as Coleman and Snow moved up a base. With two runners in scoring position, The Red Team made a pitching change and brought in Olivia Rains to pitch in relief of Saile.
Facing Rains, Elam grounded sharply up the middle to drive in two runs to give the Grey Team the lead at 5-4. Puni followed with a ground ball back to Rains who threw to first for the 2nd out of the inning with Elam moving to second. Johns was the third out as she popped up to Lyons a shortstop.
The bottom of the fourth was a 1-2-3 inning for Thiede as she got Donihoo, Boone and Jennings with Jennings flying out to RF on the warning track that Knight made a good easy catch on. This was Thiede’s first 1-2-3 inning of the fall.
After four innings the score was 5-4 in favor of the Grey Team.
5th inning:
Rains pitched her own 1-2-3 inning as she got A Flores and Knight to ground out and then she struck out Coleman. E Flores made a very good play at third base on her sister’s ground ball for the first out of the inning.
Thiede continued strong as she got Hansen to fly out to LF before Green singled down the left field line. A Flores did a good job fielding this ball and keeping Green to a single on the hit. Thiede did pay with danger against Alo as Alo hit a deep fly ball to RC. Knight moved to the ball very well and caught it against the fence for the 2nd out. Knight ended the inning as she caught another deep fly off of Lyons to end the inning.
Grey Team still leads 5-4.
6th inning:
Snow continued her streak with a ringing double to LC to lead off the sixth for the Grey Team. Mendes moved Snow to 3rd base as she grounded hard to Donihoo at first base. Elam singled again for her third RBI. Pogue entered the game to run for Elam. Rains got another ground ball from Puni that E Flores fielded and got the force out at 2nd for the second out on a close play. Johns followed with a ground ball single to move Puni to 2nd base. The threat against Rains was ended as A Flores popped up to Lyons on a lazy popup.
Macy McAdoo entered the game to pitch the bottom of the sixth for the Grey Team. McAdoo got E Flores to fly out to LF for the first out of the inning. Donihoo then walked and moved to 2nd base on a wild pitch by McAdoo. Boone singled up the middle to move Donihoo to 3rd base. Jennings hit a hard ground ball to 3rd base that Johns made a good play on down the line and dove to tag Donihoo trying to get back to the bag. After a little dodging, Donihoo was out at 3rd with the runners staying at 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. With some dramatics, Hansen followed that with a deep fly ball to center field. The ball was at the fence with Mendes there also. In a ‘SportsCenter-highlight’, Mendes got up over the fence to make the catch for the 3rd out and preserve the lead for the Grey Team. Really nice play by Mendes as the Grey Team all ran to congratulate her.
Grey Team leads 6-4 going to the 7th inning.
7th inning:
Knight may have collected her first hit of the fall to lead off the top of the 7th. (I will admit that this hit might have been by Pogue because she was on first running for Knight after she got to first base. The announcer never addressed this though. If anyone has any thought on this and the at bat, let me know please. The swing on the single looked like a Pogue-swing to me but I realized it late.) Coleman quickly added another single moving Pogue to 2nd base. I think this was the play that ended with a bang-bang play at second base as Pogue slid into the bag at second on a ground ball to shortstop. Coach Gasso made the final call that Pogue was safe. As Snow stepped into the batter’s box, she had reached base 9 straight times on a hit or walk and had 8 straight hits. She added one more to the total as she ripped a double to the right of Boone in CF to drive in two more runs for the Grey team. Mendes followed with a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Rains got Elam to ground out to shortstop where Lyons went to first base for the out with Snow and Mendes moving up a base. Puni then contributed to the offense as she singled to drive in two more runs. Johns followed that with her own single to move Puni to 2nd base. A Flores flew out to RF for the second out of the inning. Knight followed with a ground out to second base to end the inning. The Grey Team took a 10-4 lead into the bottom of the 7th.
I think that Vestal pitched the bottom of the inning for the Grey Team. I am pretty sure that the pitcher was not McAdoo who pitched the sixth because the new pitcher had brown hair. The announcer said nothing about this however, so I am not sure. What did you think about this? Whoever pitched the seventh, she pitched well. Green was a strikeout victim for the first out. Alo then grounded back to the pitcher for the second out. Lyons then hit an easy fly ball to left field for the final out of the scrimmage.
Final:
Grey Team wins 10-4.
Grey Team has won 3 of the 4 games. I think that only Elam has been on the winning team in all four games. This time, Thiede was the winning pitcher, Saile was the losing pitcher.
The player of the game, I will pick three.
1) Taylon Snow – 4 for 4 with 3 doubles, 4 RS, 2 RBIs and a walk. Whatever Ms. Snow is eating or wearing for a good luck charm she should keep doing it. She has made a change in the batter’s box as she is not slapping, she is standing deep in the box and swinging away with great success
2) Alanna Thiede – As the only lefty pitcher on the team, she could be a key for the team. She pitched 3 innings allowing 3 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 0 strikeouts. She just kept the ball down and got outs. She pitched through the Jennings//Hansen/Green/Alo/Lyons five-some twice also. Big outing for her as a Sooner.
3) Grace Green – 3 for 4 with a 3-run HR and two singles. This is her 3rd HR of the fall. Her bat seems to be alive again with the HR’s showing up. She has developed a good right field swing also with her power to the left side of the field.
Concerns about the team:
1) The defense of the short game. This continues to be a problem. It MUST be better.
2) The wild pitch/passed ball of third strikes. The Sooners can’t give the good teams four outs in an inning in this way.
3) What might be the three top pitchers to date, all got roughed up a bit. Saile allowed 5 runs (3 earned), May allowed 4 runs (3 earned) and Rains allowed 5 runs. They need to be better than that even if they are pitching against us, the Sooners. It is surprising how good the two scrimmage team lineups are each time.
Positives about the team:
1) Team speed is really good. There are a lot of pressure on fielders with the speed the Sooners have on the bases. There can be no bobble, or hesitation on throws. Singles turn into doubles at time with our hitters. Moving an extra base on a hit or ground ball is common place for the Sooners.
2) Nine players have now hit HRs. That does not include, Lyons, Johns, E Flores, Puni or Boone who will hit their own at some point.
3) The outfield play was better in this game. No questionable plays at all. Mendes’s catch was the highlight to save a 3-run HR.
4) Johns had a better game at third base in this game. Two nice plays in the field and she ended the game with two straight singles.
- - - - -
It sounds like they will have another scrimmage sometime this weekend. Watch social media for the notice about the game.
It is too bad we will probably not see the annual Halloween charity game with the baseball players this year due to COVID. I think many players, fans and students will miss this event.
