Sooners Win 2 against Seminole. Largest crowd of Fall Ball.

[OUBeliever56A]

The Oklahoma Sooners Softball won both 5-inning games 9-0 and 8-0 over Seminole State with former Sooner player standout player Amber Flores as their coach. The Sooner fans turned out for this Fall Ball Game as the stands were very near a full house.

A few player updates for the game.
• Ella Parker was not at the game. This could be related to the play down the first base line last Wednesday where she ran into the RF wall down the line. Maybe she is in some sort of concussion protocol or maybe it I is not about that. I did not see her at all last night.
• Cydney Sanders was there, dressed out but did not do anything but catch in balls in drills before the game. She has some sort of wrap under her uniform on her upper thigh/hamstring.
• I did not see Maya Bland either last night.
• Nellie McEnroe-Marinas is taking a few ground balls in warmup but nothing with lateral movement.

That reduced the Sooners down to 11 players in the field for the games last night. As you will also notice, Nicole May or SJ Geurin did not pitch last night. I saw nothing to indicate that they could not pitch. They participated in all the drills and warmup. I did not see if they threw in the bullpen or not.

Game #1:
Defense:
Hansen C, Torres 1B, Jennings 2B, Hodge SS, Brito at 3B, Pickering LF, Coleman CF, Boone RF, Lilio DP and NellieMac DP#2 with Monticelli in the circle.

Top of the 1st:
- Monticelli gave up a 3rd pitch single between SS and 3B.
- Monticelli got a ground ball double play against the second hitter on a nice 5-4-3 double play.
- The third hitter hit a soft liner to CF for 3-up and 3-outs. Giving up 1 hit by Monticelli.

Bottom of the 1st:
- Coleman hit a ground ball between the SS and second base and simply outran the play made by the SS who played the ball well. Infield single for Coleman.
- Brito singled over the third baseman with a nice looping line drive to move Coleman to 2B.
- Hansen flied out to shallow CF-RC with both runners moving up. Coleman ‘deeked’ the CF and then took off for third base and was safe on a great slide to the outside of the bag. Brito followed the play well to reach second base.
- Jennings hit a ground ball to 3B. The 3B for Seminole fielded the ball looked at Coleman and threw the ball to 1B as Coleman broke for home plate. Coleman scored easily on the ground out with Brito following the play to move to 3B. OU led 1-0 on Jennings RBI ground out.
- Pickering rolled over on the ball and hit a grounder to first base for the final out of the inning.
- OU had 2 hits (both singles) and scored 1 run in the first.

Top of the 2nd: - OU defense was the same lineup.
- Monticelli started the inning with 2 four-pitch strikeouts. Monticelli walked the next hitter in a 9 pitch at bat. Monticelli recorded her 3rd K of the inning with another 4-pitch at bat.

Bottom of the 2nd:
- Lilio walked in an 8-pitch at bat.
- Boone singled on a hard-hit ball to the right of the Seminole 1B as the fielder got her glove on the ball, but it bounded into short RF. Lilio advanced to second base.
- Torres walked on four pitches. Both runners advanced.
- Hodge hit a high popup to 3B, which was dropped but the infield fly rule was called and the runners stayed home on the drop.
- NellieMac hit is fly to mid-CF for a SFLY as Lilio scored from 3B with Boone and Torres moving up a base on the throw home. OU led 2-0 on the SFLY. (Note: NellieMac hit a foul ball just to the left of the 3B-foul pole that was hit very well for an almost Grand Slam on the 7th pitch of her at bat before the SFLY.
- Coleman hit a deep 3-run HR to RC for a 5-0 lead for the Sooners.
- Brito walked.
- Hansen reached first base on a throwing error by the SS with Brito moving to 3B.
- Jennings flew out to RF to end the inning.
- OU had 2 hits (1 HR) and 3 walks in the inning and led 5-0 after 2 innings.

Top of the 3rd: - OU defense was the same lineup.
- On a nine pitch at bat, (each pitch was a strike or a foul ball) the batter hit a ground ball to SS and reached first on a throwing error by Hodge as she threw wildly to first base. But the runner turned towards second base and crossed into fair territory. OU (Boone) caught the base running mistake with Torres tagging the runner for the first out after the runner reached first base safely.
- Monticelli picked up her fourth K of the game against the next hitter.
- The third out was recorded on a foul popup to Jennings behind 1B.

Bottom of the 3rd:
- Pickering picked on a pitch on a 3-1 count and hit the ball into the night over everything to RC. Solo HR.
- Lilio grounded out to second base.
- Boone lined out to 1B with the 1B making a nice jump to catch the ball.
- Torres hit a looping liner that the Seminole SS moved back on and made the play for the out.
- OU had 1 hit (HR) to score one run. OU led 6-0.

Top of the 4th: - Change in Defense. Ludlam C, Hansen 1B, Lilio 2B, Jennings SS, Brito 3B, Pickering LF, Coor CF, Boone RF.
- Monticelli collected her 5th and 6th strikeouts of the night against the first two hitters.
- The third hitter hit a deep warning track fly ball to CF that Coor tracked very well as she shuffled back under control to catch the ball and make it look easy.

Bottom of the 4th:
- Hodge laid down a perfect bunt for a single.
- Ludlam flew out to RF for the first out.
- Coor hit a line drive over the left side for a single moving Hodge to 2B.
- Brito walked to load the bases on 7 pitches.
- Hansen hit a soft line drive over the second baseman on a pitch on the outside of the zone for a 2-RBI single as Hodge and Coor scored with Brito moving to 2B.
- Jennings made the second out on a fly ball to shallow RF.
- Pickering singled hard past the second baseman to drive in Brito but Hansen was thrown out at third base by the Seminole CF to end the inning.
- OU had two hits in the inning (both singles) with a walk to score 3 runs and take a 9 to 0 lead in the game.

Top of the 5th: - Deal in the circle. Defense was Ludlam C, Hansen 1B, Lilio 2B, Jennings SS, Brito 3B, Pickering LF, Coor CF, Boone RF.
- In a six-pitch inning, Deal got a pop to 3B for the 1st out, a fly to RF for the 2nd out and a ground ball back to herself for the third out.

Bottom of the 5th: - Yes, OU did bat to end the first game.
- Lilio Fly out to CF.
- Boone struck out as she swung right thru the 3rd strike.
- Ludlam grounded out to 3B.
- OU had no hits in the inning.

OU won the first game 9-0. Monticelli and Deal allowed one single and one walk in the five innings.

= = = =

Game #2: OU lineup: Deal in the circle. Defense – same as the last inning of the first game.
- The first hitter hit a ground ball to the left of Brito that Brito almost extended and caught but the ball bounced off her glove toward second base for a single. I do not think the Sooners had a play from SS if Brito let the ball go by her.
- Ludlam made a very nice strong throw to throw out the runner trying to steal second. Plus throw by Ludlam!
- The second hitter flied out to Boone in RF in foul territory.
- Deal recorded the third out on a pop up to SS.

Bottom of the 1st:
- Hodge walked on four pitches. Hodge then stole second base.
- McEnroe-Marianas struck out in a 8-pitch at bat on a called third strike on the outside edge.
- Coor singled on a line drive up the middle driving in Hodge for the game's first run.
- Brito hit a “Brito Bomb” that cleared everything and then some in LC for a 2-run HR. OU led 3-0 now.
- Hansen singled to RF on a nice line drive on a pitch low and away.
- Jennings struck out swinging for the second out of the inning.
- Pickering on a check-swing hit a hard-liner right at the third baseman for the third out. I am not sure why Pickering checked her swing. The pitch was up a bit but if she had finished the swing it would have likley been a single over 3B.
- OU scored 3 runs on 3 hits (1 HR) and a walk. OU led 3-0 after the first inning.

Top of the 2nd: - Maxwell in the circle/ Defense – Hansen C, Coleman 1B, Hodge 2B, Brito SS, Torres 3B, Coor LF, Boone CF, Lilio RF.
- On five pitches, Maxwell struck out the first hitter.
- Maxwell got the second out on a ground ball to SS.
- Maxwell walked the third hitter on six pitches as she might have been squeezed by the umpire.
- Maxwell recorded her 2nd K on a foul tip handled well by Hansen.

Bottom of the 2nd:
- Lilio singled on a line drive to LC.
- Boone laid down a nice soft swinging bunt hit at the SS and was safe with no play as the 1B charged on the bunt and Lilio reached second without a play. Nice job of hitting by Boone and base running by Lilio.
- Ludlam hit a strong double to RC that platted both Lilio and Boone for 2 RBI. Ludlam moved to 3B on a throwing error by the Seminole SS.
- Hodge flew out to shallow CF for the first out.
- NellieMac reached base (with Pickering running from behind the plate) as the pitcher fielded the ball but the throw was not handled by the Seminole first baseman for an error. Ludlam scored on the play for an unearned run and no RBI.
- Coleman popped up to 3B for the second out.
- Brito flew out to RF to end the inning.
- OU had 3 hits with 1 double to score three runs. OU led 6 to 0.

Top of the 3rd: - Defensive change- Hodge to RF and Lilio to 2B
- Maxwell allowed a single to the first hitter. I did not record where the ball was hit, and I do not remember. I might have been up the middle to the left of Brito and hit fairly hard.
- Maxwell came right back and struck out the next two hitters on 8 total pitches before getting a popup to Lilio at 2B to end the inning.

Bottom of the 3rd:
- Hansen singled to RF one more time.
- Jennings hit a popup behind the second baseman. The Seminole 2B did not make the catch however with the RF picking up the ball and throwing it to 2B to get the force on Hansen as Hansen had no chance to react to reach second safely. Jennings reached first base.
- Jennings moved to 2B on a wild pitch. Then Coor hit a line drive to LF for a single with Jennings moving to 3B.
- Coor was out trying to steal 2B with Jennings not moving to from 3B on a double steal.
- With Jennings on third and two outs, Torres hit a deep high fly ball to CF that I thought was going to be a HR. But the ball died at the wall and the CF was not able to make the catch even though she was in position. I ruled this an error, but I saw where the twitter post showed a triple. I can see that, but the CF was there to make the catch. Jennings scored with Torres running well and reaching 3B safely on the play.
- Lilio made the third out on a line drive to LF.
- OU scored one run (unearned) on two hits and an error. OU led 7-0.

Top of the 4th: - Defensive change – Hodge to 2B and Lilio to RF.
- Maxwell struck out the first two batters.
- The third hitter reached first on an error by Hodge at second base as she misplayed the ground ball.
- Maxwell struck out the next batter for 3 Ks in the inning.

Bottom of the 4th:
- Boone flied out to CF.
- Hodge walked on 6 pitches.
- Ludlam hit a ground ball passed the 3B with Hodge moving to 2B.
- Torres doubled down the 3B line (I believe that is right) to plate Hodge and move Ludlam to 3B for an RBI.
- Coleman hit a ball to mid-CF. On the catch, I think Torres thought Ludlam would be moving home and broke to 3B. the CF tossed the ball to the SS and Torres was out in a rundown at 3B with - - Ludlam standing on the bag at 3B. Not sure why Ludlam did not break on the catch in CF, but maybe Coach Gasso held her. That was the third out of the inning.
- OU had two hits and scored one run with a double. OU led 8 to 0 after four innings.

Top of the 5th: - Defense – Hodge and Lilio flipped at 2B and RF with Lilio at 2B. Ludlam also came into the game to catch Maxwell.
- Maxwell jammed the first hitter and got a popup hit back to the circle that Maxwell fielded with no problem with Coleman racing from 1B to help if needed.
- The next hitter hit a high-hopper to SS that Brito charged well and made a very nice short-hop play on the ball with a strong sidearm throw to first base. This and the throw out by Ludlam on the caught stealing were the defensive plays of the game.
- Maxwell got the final out of the game on a lazy fly ball to CF.

Game over! OU won 8 to 0.

OU (Deal and Maxwell) allowed 1 single and one walk in the second game.

It was two nice, neat wins against Seminole on Monday night.

I will follow with stats in a second post here.

Boomer Sooner!

[OUBeliever56A]

Here are the pitching stats for Oklahoma for the Seminole State DH.

- Monticelli - 4.0 IP, 1 H (single), 1 W, 6 Ks - 43 strikes / 54 pitches = 79.6% strikes
I thought Monticelli demonstrated good control and was around the plate with almost every pitch. But I did not think she was throwing as hard as she has in other games.She pitched inside a great deal with success.

- Deal - 2.0 IP, 1 H,] (single), 0 W, 0 Ks - 8 strikes / 13 pitches = 61.5% strikes
I thought Deal threw well but was in the middle of the plate with most of her pitches. She probably needs to work the edges more. Deal did come right at the hitters though. Deal's pitches have movement.

- Maxwell - 4.0 IP, 1 H (single), 1 W, 7 Ks - 39 strikes / 56 pitches = 69.6% strikes
Maxwell might be adding a new pitch that is effective against lefties and righties. At least, I do not remember this pitch from her. It can be a great pitch. If I am true, it reminds me of a pitch that Gee Juarez threw and she is down there in the bullpen as a volunteer coach. Maxwell threw well as she mostly overpowered the hitters tonight.

Team - 10.0 IP, 3 hits (all singles), 2 W and 13 Ks - 90 strikes / 123 pitches = 73.2% strikes

Here are the hitting stats.

Coleman - 2 for 4, 2 RS, 3 RBIs and 1 HR
Brito - 2 for 3, 2 RS, 2 RBIs, 2 W and 1 HR
Hansen - 3 for 5, 2 RBIs
Jennings - 0 for 5, 1 RS, 1 RBI and 1 K
Pickering - 2 for 4, RS, RBI and 1 HR
Lilio - 1 or 4, 2 RS, 1 W
Boone - 2 for 5, 2 RS, 1 K (had 1 bunt single)
Torres - 1 for 3, RS, RBI, 1 W and 1 Double. (I did not credit Torres with a triple where some might have. I called it an E8.)
Hodge - 1 for 3, 3 RS, 2 W, 1 SB (had 1 bunt single) - 2 Errors (1 at SS on a throw and 1 at 2B)
NellieMac - 0 for 2, RBI, SFLY, 1 K
Ludlam - 2 for 4, RS, 2 RBIs and 1 Double
Coor - 3 for 3, 2 RS, RBI, 1 CS

I thought Coor had a good game offensively as she hit the ball hard each at bat. Ludlam is looking better at the plate and behind the plate. Torres hit the ball hard twice. All three of Hansen's singles were to RF. Pickering has 4 HRs to lead the Sooners this fall. Coleman and Brito hit their 2nd HRs of the fall.

Team:

19 for 45 = .422 BA
6 walks for a .500 OB%
2 doubles and 3 HRs for a .667 Slug%
17 RS, 15 RBIs
3 Ks
1 SB, 1 CS, 1 SFLY

Boomer Sooner!

[TropicalSooner]

A couple of quick observations....
I am so glad that Coor has seemed to found a bat laying around somewhere....last night and a few nights ago she seems to be getting some nice hard hit singles. And that FB to LF, was so hoping that would have been on the other side of the pole. She also seems to be doing well defensively.
Lilio seems to be doing ok at the plate as well. Torres is coming on better at the plate now and I like her defense also.
Hodge is the one concerning me. I think eventually she will find her bat but I'm worried she's trying too hard in the field....she's had several uncharacteristic bad throws and bobbles this fall that's not what I remember from last year. I don't know if she's feeling too much pressure to win the SS job or what. Seems maybe tight? Maybe she will settle down the last part of fall ball.
Pickering continues to amaze me. I think she's got an outfield position nailed down if her performance doesn't fall apart the rest of fall ball.
We still have a lot of fall ball to go and of course all of winter practice that we won't see, but if we cut it off today and our first real game was tomorrow, I think my lineup would be
Infield:
1B Parker (or Sanders if healthy)
2B Jennings
SS Brito
3B Torres
Outfield:
LF Boone
CF Coleman
RF Pickering

Hansen catching of course....but Ludlam seems to be have a decent fall settling in now after a bit of a nervous start.

[OUBeliever56A]

A couple of quick observations....
I am so glad that Coor has seemed to found a bat laying around somewhere....last night and a few nights ago she seems to be getting some nice hard hit singles. And that FB to LF, was so hoping that would have been on the other side of the pole. She also seems to be doing well defensively.

I should have highlighted that Foul Ball HR that Coor hit. It was in the first inning of the second game. Yes, Coor crushed that ball. It was foul by about 4 feet. The flight of the ball was higher than the LF foul pole but still more of a line drive than a high fly ball. The crowd really enjoyed that one and tried to 'will' it to be fair.

[Sooneryankee13]

Starting to wonder about bland.. all the other injured sooners are with the team in the dugout she has missed the last 3 games. Hope everything is OK!! Hope parker is OK as well that was a hard collision and she looked OK but she was removed from the game after that hoping it's just precaution or she just wasn't there last night for other reasons. Hate seeing these young players out and not get a chance to play in the fall.

[OUBeliever56A]

Starting to wonder about bland.. all the other injured sooners are with the team in the dugout she has missed the last 3 games. Hope everything is OK!! Hope parker is OK as well that was a hard collision and she looked OK but she was removed from the game after that hoping it's just precaution or she just wasn't there last night for other reasons. Hate seeing these young players out and not get a chance to play in the fall.

It is usually critical time for them to play and adjust to D1 softball and to the Sooner way. You can really see McEnroe-Marinas is really wanting to go full speed and play but her knee is not ready yet. Seeing what she can do at the plate with one good leg is pretty impressive.

I think Parker will be okay. As for Bland, college is college. It is not always easy for every student.

[Sooneryankee13]

Starting to wonder about bland.. all the other injured sooners are with the team in the dugout she has missed the last 3 games. Hope everything is OK!! Hope parker is OK as well that was a hard collision and she looked OK but she was removed from the game after that hoping it's just precaution or she just wasn't there last night for other reasons. Hate seeing these young players out and not get a chance to play in the fall.

It is usually critical time for them to play and adjust to D1 softball and to the Sooner way. You can really see McEnroe-Marinas is really wanting to go full speed and play but her knee is not ready yet. Seeing what she can do at the plate with one good leg is pretty impressive.

I think Parker will be okay. As for Bland, college is college. It is not always easy for every student.

I'm super impressed with Nelly!! Can't wait til she's healthy. Really hope bland figures the student part out she's ultra talented. I have no doubt she will.. super impressed with pickering as well, i think she may be our starting rf this spring.

[White River]

You can't take Coleman off the field which leaves a competition for left and right field. I love Boone and she has been a key player for the Sooners with her defense and her batting average but when you watch Pickering play I don't know how you keep her off the field. Throw in Coor hitting and fielding the way she is along with the early look we got of Bland and I see a huge amount of talent available and I'm not sure how you keep them all happy. That's why Patty makes the big bucks but wow, that's 5 players with a ton of talent.

[1KCSoonerFan]

I agree with you, White River. This team is loaded!

Bouncing a few thoughts off what you said! Nothing you have not thought about before me:

1.) It was Tropical Sooner who increased my awareness of injuries a few weeks ago. At the time, we had injuries to Keeney, Lilio, Sanders, and Nellie Mac...and maybe one more player who was missing at the time (perhaps it was Bland who was out for unknown reasons). Chime in, Tropical! That made me glad we have a deep bench. Geesh! Five out of 20 or so total players is 25%+/- of the whole team is not 100%. Now Parker is out for awhile.
Not panicking nor trying to be hyperbolic, just aware of how fast things can change.

2.) During a post game interview a week or so back, Patty was asked if having six pitchers was too many. She responded that there is no such thing as too much pitching - and then cited how injuries (Keeney) or no-go's can whittle down your staff very fast.

3.) When asked about having so many high quality pitchers on the team and how she would keep them all happy, Coach said she thought these players were more concerned with getting better in their craft and winning a Natty. They don't just want lots of innings; in fact they appreciate being able to rest their arms and bodies. Maxwell seemed to nod along with that comment.

4.) The three points above go to your comments about a deep bench and keeping top level talent happy (at least for the pitchers). At least the way Patty runs the show, most of the time the cream will hang around because they earned it with performance....and I do expect transfers now as a matter of the way this all works rather than as the way something is not working.

5.) Pickering, Coleman, and Boone: I think you just named a formidable starting outfield. Coor will be the first sub, IMO - especially if Coleman plays 1B (like vs Seminole State). That was fun to see. Don't know if it was more than that.