S P O RT S
T
he Oklahoma Sooner Softball team clinched its 5th National Championship beating Florida State. After losing its first games in both the Women’s College World Series and the Championship Series, the Sooners became just the 4th team to rally and win a title despite losing those first games. But the story of the 2021 Championship run goes far beyond what happened in Oklahoma City and is more about the record-setting offensive performances and dominating pitching from Giselle Juraez that showcase the Championship Mindset that is engrained within the Sooner Softball program.
THE SEASON In previous issues of Boyd Street Magazine, we have focused on both Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo and the power surge the Sooner offense put up in 2021. But the incredible season for Alo is not complete without understanding the challenging path this team took to get to a point where they could play in 2021. “I just don’t know that people understand how rough it was,” Sooner Head Coach Patty Gasso said. “I think every coach in the country could relate… week by week you’re wondering who’s going to be at practice and who might not, whether they are contact traced and they’re out for two weeks, 10 days. There was a lot of that going on.” Even the challenge of putting together a schedule created issues. The typical release date for the Sooner softball schedule is in late November, this year the schedule did not even drop until two days before opening day. Once the season started, weather played a factor too, with a crazy winter story freezing out most of the South and forcing the Sooners to find themselves in a state of fluidity. The term pivot became central to the Sooner Softball, early in the season. “Every day at practice, I was trying to get people to learn new positions in case we don’t have those players with us,” Gasso said. “It was hard. But at the same time, they were so athletic and understanding about it and saying, hey, whatever we need to do to win, put me wherever you need to put me. Some players were sitting out when they know that they’re good enough to be in. It was just such a selfless team approach the entire season. That’s what it’s about.”
Photos by: Mark Doescher
During the Championship Celebration at Marita Hynes Field, Gasso went even more in-depth on how difficult the challenge was to get through the season. “Four hundred fifty-five days ago, I had to look at Giselle Juarez, Shannon Saile and Nicole Mendes and tell them I’m not sure that you’ll ever play here at OU again because this season is over,” Gasso said. “There was anxiety and a lot of uncomfortable athletes, not knowing what was going on. Thank you, Lord, that we got an extension for our super seniors. “We played with masks, we had constant COVID testing…. It was really unsettling and kind of nerve wracking, but I so appreciate this team and their commitment to this sport, commitment to wanting to play and making very good decisions.”
32 | July 2021
