Here's your post-championship presser.
First question for Jayda and then the other players. Jayda, got to ask you about the first inning catches. Especially the second one. Have you ever had an opportunity to make two plays like that back-to-back? Just what was your perspective on that second catch that you went up and got over the wall? And for Jordy, Jocelyn, and Kinzie, what were your perspectives on that play, and just how much momentum did that give you? Obviously, you are down 2-0 there, but obviously, it was a pretty energizing moment.
JAYDA COLEMAN: Yeah. What's crazy is that we practice that all the time. There's Brito in practice that robs home runs, Boone will rob a home run. And we do that all the time. It's crazy that it actually showed up in a game when we really needed it.
The best part of it is looking at Jo, and she's just, like, "Let's go." That's the best part of making the whole play is seeing your teammates really excited for you. It felt great. It was awesome.
JORDY BAHL: I have seen Jayda do that over and over and over in practice, but when it's in a game and she has your back as well as everyone else on our defense, that stuff fires me up more than any strike-out every will. It gives us momentum and really just lets me take a deep breath because they got me, so ...
JOCELYN ALO: Definitely just fires us up and kind of takes the momentum away from them, I would say, and brings it back into our dugout. She's robbed me a lot at practice too, so it's just a normal thing for her.
KINZIE HANSEN: I was about to say the same thing. She's robbing all of our home runs at practice all the time.
When she does it in the game, it's almost like routine. We're, like, oh. Not that we are like -- she obviously grabbed the momentum for all of us, but we were, like, yeah, we expected that from her. Tip our hat. Jayda is an animal. We all know that. When she does it, it's pretty unreal.
Q. This question is for Jocelyn, and I have another one for Kinzie. Jocelyn, Patty put you in at left field there in the seventh inning. Just kind of walk me through what that moment was like. And then for Kinzie, you've been through your ups and downs this season, and then you finally were able to hit that home run. Kind of talk about that moment if you can.
JOCELYN ALO: I do practice defense, by the way. I don't just hit. So, I mean, just going in there and getting the job done.
They made some really good pitches, so it was just a matter of me just going out and catching the ball.
KINZIE HANSEN: I had went through some ups and downs this year. I had a tough year. I got injured a couple of times. And then coming back mentally, it was really tough on me.
But it's not about me. That's something that I really learned throughout this year is coming up and hitting that home run, these girls have been doing it all year when I wasn't able to.
When I came up, my mindset was just do it for them. It's a tie ball game, and we're up by one run at the time. I have Jordy's back. I have Hope's back. I have Nicole May's back, all these pitchers. And my teammates that are up there giving everything every at every at-bat, it's about them, and it's about our God-given abilities, and it was -- it all came through.
Q. This is for all the players. Given how you just won the trophy, all the numbers involved, there's going to be strong arguments made that this might be the best college softball team ever. I was wondering if you guys want to chime in on that one.
JORDY BAHL: I would say there's been chatter all season, but one thing that we did is just stayed focused on ourselves, and we weren't trying to be better than anything in the past, but we were just trying to be the best version of ourselves and show up every day, work as hard as we can, and leave it all out there and have no doubt in our mind that we didn't go all in.
I think we were just trying to maximize every day and just be focused on ourselves and being the best that we can be.
JAYDA COLEMAN: I agree 100% with Jordy. We were just doing us. It just happened to fall.
Honestly, I think it's because we play for an audience of one. We play so free. We already know the story is written, so we can just go out there and have a blast because we already know that it's all in God's hands.
Just having that in your mind, just going up to bat, like it doesn't matter what happens. God is going to Love me no matter what, even if I strike out, regardless. But just playing so free. It comes naturally when you are just being who you want to be.
JOCELYN ALO: I would say with me being a senior, I think this is the best team. (Laughing.)
But one thing about Sooner softball, and I've seen it year in and year out, is they just continue to get better. I don't know what holds next year, but I know that they could be a run for the best team too and years to come.
I just think Sooner softball will continually climb and keep climbing the ladder. I think you should be excited for what's being to.
KINZIE HANSEN: They all hit the nail on the head. I don't really have much else to say, but when we found how to be our true authentic selves on the field -- because we don't need to do too much. When you try to do too much, that's when you get in over your head.
When you can trust your training and be yourself, that's when you know we really started to peak at the perfect time. Truthfully, this probably is one of the best teams I've ever been a part of. We'll see how that statement holds up next year and the years after that, but so far this is it.
Q. This is for all four of you. For three of you, you have won back-to-back national titles. That has to be incredible. Jordy, you just won your first. I'm curious, what do you think about winning the Natty again? And for your run, you've won two in a row for three of you.
KINZIE HANSEN: It's funny that you ask that question because I was hugging Tiare and Jayda and a couple of other girls that are around my age, and Jordy, and we were, like, We're going again next year. That was the next -- for us we're enjoying this moment and living in this moment, but our eyes are on next season already and we're ready to get back to the drawing board.
JOCELYN ALO: Going back-to-back, no better way to finish your career. I've had a lovely five years here, and it's been hard at times, but I wouldn't change it any other way. I've enjoyed my journey here, and sad that it's coming to an end. Well, it is ending, so ...
JAYDA COLEMAN: Like you said, the next one is going to be the best one, but for me personally I'm going to enjoy it all right now. I'm not even thinking about next year yet. I'm going to -- this week I'm going to enjoy. I'm going to celebrate. I'm not going to lift. I'm not going to touch a ball.
I'm just going to celebrate because you never know. You never know if you're going to be back here again. You never know if you're going to win that trophy again. Why not celebrate it and just take a step away for a little bit? Then when that week is over, then it's right back to the grind. We're going right back at it next year.
JORDY BAHL: With this being the first one, just like Jayda said, I'm really going to sit in it for a little bit, but then as far as our team's future, we're all competitors, and when you are a competitor, if there's something else out there you can go get, you're going to want to go get it. So I don't ever worry about us ever losing our hunger to win more national championships. I'm going to enjoy this one.
Q. Jocelyn, you go the curtain call when you finished up down in Norman, but you got a different kind of curtain call today getting to hug teammates. You were emotional. Can you just walk us through what that walk back to the dugout was like for you?
JOCELYN ALO: Yeah. It's been a minute since I've been out on defense, so I was just enjoying it while I was out there.
I don't think the moment could have been any better, and I just enjoyed my time with these girls, and I'm sad that it is ending, but I'm going to just enjoy it. These are the moments that I'll remember forever, but I'm just happy to be going out top and to just know that all the hard work we put in paid off.
Yeah, I couldn't have scripted a moment any better for me to just exit out of the field.
Q. Kinzie, this one is for you. Nicole May just her bouncing back from Monday, coming out and just being excellent for you guys. What did you kind of see from her and her mentality coming into this game as well?
KINZIE HANSEN: Even last year Nicole May has been lights-out in postseason. When we played Washington last year, we won the game 2-1, and I saw that fire in her today.
Everybody has bad games. We can't all be perfect, but when she came out on that mound today after Jordy, I just -- the look in her eyes, when I had gotten that first squat, I was, like, yeah, she's going to do it. Just the vibe that she gave off and just the fire that she had and kind of vengeance a little bit from her last outing. She knew she was going to do it, and everybody else knew too.
Q. This is for the girls who will be here next year. What have you learned from those seniors that are leaving, the five? What influence have they had on your lives?
JORDY BAHL: I'm just going to talk about Jocelyn Alo and one of the biggest things that I've learned from her is to just really just leave it all out there. You're never going to regret putting in the extra work when you don't want to. She's one of the hardest workers, and for her it's all paid off.
Also, with all the spotlight she's gotten, she is still the most humble teammate ever. She's out there working for us, not for herself, but just to continue to be a selfless person, and she handles everything with grace. So just all that from her.
JAYDA COLEMAN: I think what I've learned the most is finding your why. Our super seniors, they know their why. When we were in Hawaii and I saw Joce talking to the little girls in Hawaii, I just broke down crying because she knows her why, and that's why she has pushed way past anyone else.
My freshman year I came here just to play softball. I wasn't even thinking about why I'm doing it, and now I know my why. It gets me through the day when there's tough times. It gets me through. That's the biggest thing I've learned from them, is understanding my why, pushing me every day.
KINZIE HANSEN: For me the super seniors taught me the power of being a good teammate. And when I was a freshman, I struggled a little bit my fall, and everybody has that super senior that takes them under their wing, and mine was Joce. To see her go, she's going to pass the baton down. It's just something that I have always had here, so I hope that, as my class gets older, that we make her proud and the super seniors that have taught us that being a good teammate is the most important thing.
Q. This is for Kinzie, Joce, and Jayda. Can you talk about the crowd tonight? It was another record-breaking attendance. Seemed like the fourth and the fifth inning they were really getting behind you when you were starting to string some runs together. Can you talk about that?
KINZIE HANSEN: This field really feels like home field advantage for us a lot of the time, so when we're up getting the crown, it's like a sea of red out there. When they're behind us, it just kind of feels like a tidal wave. Like the wave builds and builds and builds and we score runs, and it gets huge. It's kind of like there's no escaping us at that point.
Our goal was to be suffocating today, and when the crowd gets behind us, it's kind of -- it's just a tidal wave, and it comes crashing down.
JOCELYN ALO: Yeah, there's no better crowd like Sooner Nation, and I almost felt like I was at a football game for a little bit because of the Boomer and Sooner. It's just crazy to see. And I have obviously been to OU football games, and I had that same feel here playing. There's no fans like Sooner fans.
JAYDA COLEMAN: Sooner Nation is great. They've given me chills multiple times. Just crazy to see how much the game has grown. We appreciate it. We love that people are really investing in our sport and having our backs, and we love to hear them.
Q. Jayda, one of the early innings you got on base, and it looked like you were making a rowing motion. What is the significance? I've seen a few of your other teammates do that as well. What's the significance behind that?
JORDY BAHL: We have Sarah Roberts. She comes and talks to our chapel. It's a story. I don't know if I really want to share it out. That's --
(Teammates say "do it." )
JAYDA COLEMAN: I really don't want to talk about it. Jo, you want to --
JORDY BAHL: In the Bible it talks about when Peter walks on water, and he is in the boat, and it's nighttime, and there's a storm, and they see Jesus walking on the water towards them. They think it's a ghost at first, but then He says, "don't fear, it's Me." Then Peter says, "Lord, if that's really You, then tell me to get out of the boat and start walking towards You."
Jesus says, "All right, Peter, get out of the boat." So he gets out of the boat, and his eyes are fixed on Jesus, and he starts walking towards him. Then he looks around, and he sees the storm, and he sees the waves and the wind and everything, and he starts to sink because he took his eyes off Jesus for a second and started looking at all the distractions and the dangers around him.
We say "get out of the boat" because we just want to go out there, be free, and eyes on Jesus the entire time. Everything we do is for Him and the gifts that He has given us.
Once you're out of the boat, the next part is, okay, now don't take your eyes off Jesus. You're out of the boat, so continue to get out of the boat and continue to keep your eyes fixed on Him and our play. That's where the row comes from.
Q. I had a question for Jocelyn. I saw an interview you did earlier this week where you talked about hoping that you leave the game of softball better than you found it. Now that you're at the end of your collegiate career, you know, how do you reflect back on that sentiment in hindsight, and can you say confidently now that you have done that?
JOCELYN ALO: Yeah. I've enjoyed my five years through the ups and through the downs. I feel like something good always came out of it.
I came into this game very stubborn and thought that it was all about me, and I came in as a girl, and now I'm leaving as a woman. I'm just happy to be having that mentality going out into the real world. I'll still be playing softball, though, so it's all good. But I'm happy that just this coaching staff continues to trust in me and have molded me into the person and player that I am. I think that I've definitely left my mark.
I've definitely enjoyed my five years, and I'm excited to see what the Sooner softball team does. I'm just excited to see what little girl is going to work hard out there to come and break my record.
Q. Two-part question. One for Jayda. Can you just -- your second catch you made, the one that you robbed the home run on, would you say that's a game-changer that led to you guys eventually coming back to win the whole thing? Then, secondly, for all the athletes, as we know, the mentality is to try -- how hard it is to win a championship back-to-back years. Can you talk about how hard it was to go back-to-back?
JAYDA COLEMAN: I think the catch got us a lot of momentum, but I don't think it changed the game to that's the reason why we won.
I think there was a lot of really big defensive plays that were getting us momentum. We had big-time hits. We had Brito come in and be our new hero for this game.
I think it was just a combination of everything. We just had to get the ball rolling. We kind of started a little slow. I was just one of the little pieces that got the snowball going.
JOCELYN ALO: Yeah, to go back-to-back is super hard, but I think one thing that the Sooners do really well is after they win one, they never look back. Oh, we did this last year. Oh, I did this last year. It's a whole new journey.
This year was a whole new journey for us with many ups and downs, different adversities, and we've overcome them. I know the Sooner team well, and I know that they're not going to look back on this year's, and they're just going to continue to strive forward for the next.
Yeah, it's super hard, and I'm very, very proud of this team.
KINZIE HANSEN: Greatness doesn't come without its difficulties, and that will always be a statement going forward knowing the kind of competitors that we are on this team and that Coach Gasso recruits. It's just there will always be difficulties. There will always be expectations and pressure, but pressure also breeds champions. And I think that that's a piece of championship mindset that will run in the DNA at OU forever.
