Wait, What Did We Just Watch?!
To say yesterday’s first game of the Women’s College World Series Championship round was a surprise would be an understatement. It left many of us in the press box at Hall of Fame Stadium utterly stunned.
UCLA unleashed a 16-3 blasting of Oklahoma that include four home runs. That mark tied the record for most runs in any WCWS contest. The 13 run deficit is also the second-largest margin of victory in a WCWS Game and the largest in a championship series game and ties the largest margin of victory in UCLA WCWS history (2010 vs. Florida).
Not only did the Bruins have the number of every Sooner pitcher, Oklahoma also played poorly committing four errors of their own.
During the NCAA Championship Series there is no run-rule so the contest finished through the seventh inning.
But how did UCLA do it? And what does it mean for the Sooners the rest of the way?
1. “G” Juarez came from the Pac-12
Worth noting and remembering is that Oklahoma ace, “G” Juarez transferred to the Sooners after spending two seasons at Arizona State University. In past Pac-12 play the Bruins faced Juarez three times, defeating her twice. Not only that, with her being a conference foe the amount of film, scouting reports, and shear attention the coaching staff surely paid to her has to be higher than non-conference foes.
2. UCLA thumped Oklahoma earlier this season
The Bruins bested the Sooners in the beginning of the season, 7-1. They faced Mariah Lopez and chased her after 3.2 innings of work. The Sooners also committed an error in that contest, which in general is incredibly rare for this program.
3. So what happens now?
At the press conference following yesterday’s game Sooners’ head coach, Patty Gasso said, “Well, first I’ll give absolute credit to UCLA. They cleaned our clocks. There’s no tiptoeing around it, that’s bottom line. There’s nothing in our game that worked tonight, nothing … We might have embarrassed our Sooner Nation, but we’re going to do everything we can to make them proud tomorrow.” But how can they do that? What UCLA did yesterday was unlike anything I’ve ever personally seen and even if you take the Oklahoma errors away, who by the way are tied for first nationally in fielding percentage, it was still an ugly game.
I don’t share the common opinion follow media members feel as I don’t think the Sooners are going to be able to “pop this Bruin bubble”. While I don’t think we’re going to see a blow out in game two I don’t know if Oklahoma can stop this UCLA train that is speeding full steam ahead toward the championship and I believe they will claim it tonight. The Bruins have their number and as much as I don’t like phrases and hype such as “teams of destiny”, this 2019 squad might be the embodiment of that concept. Do I expect the Sooners to come out stronger, more settled, and fired up? Absolutely. Despite the loss they are still Might Oklahoma; their student-athletes, coaches, and programs caliber doesn’t suddenly change after one bad game. It should be a closer match up, I just feel UCLA is so loose, focused, and firing on every single cylinder right now on a level that may not be able to be stopped.
Then there is the not-so-secret “x”-factor: Rachel Garcia. Can you imagine how freeing and invigorating it must have been for her to a) have that much run support behind her b) continue to perform well at the plate herself going 2-for-5 with four RBI and c) being able to rest and enjoy the game after five innings of work? Can you imagine what that could do for her heading into tonight’s contest? That concept would concern me if I were the opponent.
4. The matchup
Heading into tonight, what can we expect to see? If I’m the Sooners, I struggle with how and who I am starting the circle. Juarez is your ace and is how you got here but UCLA seems to have the “411”. Even still, I don’t think the Sooners can start anyone but Juarez, especially if you need the option to reenter her later if pulled early. If you look at it that way, I don’t believe you can start Lopez – Juarez gets the nod tonight. We could see some “pitching by committee” between Juarez and Lopez but the fact remains, stay with your ace.
For UCLA, not much changes. Keep what is working and let Garcia continue to write and seal her own legacy.
The advantage I feel pushes things in UCLA’s favor is the potential pressure that may linger after a) losing that badly on what is basically your home-field-away-from-home in front of your fan base b) being up against elimination and the end of your season and c) with the memory of the errors and poor at-bats, etc. Say what you want, and if any program can regroup and move on quickly it is Oklahoma, but you cannot deny the presence of these thoughts and feelings. If things start to get tight, we will see Oklahoma also tighten up? It’s not something we’re used to seeing, but everything is working against them heading into tonight’s must win contest.
————————————-
