{"id":8720,"date":"2021-05-24T20:35:41","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T01:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=8720"},"modified":"2021-05-24T20:35:41","modified_gmt":"2021-05-25T01:35:41","slug":"sooner-softball-bats-the-best-in-history-but-will-they-win-the-wcws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?p=8720","title":{"rendered":"Sooner softball bats the best in history&#8230;..but will they win the WCWS?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #bd0b0b;\"><em><strong>OU NOT GUARANTEED A WIN OVER WASHINGTON<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8722\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8722\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?attachment_id=8722\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-8722\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8722\" src=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/337d4f8ffc954fa68227c5214c12961e.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/337d4f8ffc954fa68227c5214c12961e.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/337d4f8ffc954fa68227c5214c12961e-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/337d4f8ffc954fa68227c5214c12961e-768x461.jpg 768w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/337d4f8ffc954fa68227c5214c12961e-525x315.jpg 525w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/337d4f8ffc954fa68227c5214c12961e-100x60.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8722\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oklahoma&#8217;s Shannon Saile (4) pitches in the second inning of the NCAA college Big 12 Championship softball game against Oklahoma State, Saturday, May 15, 2021, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo\/Sue Ogrocki)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><strong><span style=\"color: #bd0b0b;\">Oklahoma Sooner softball in 2021 has demonstrated that it might have the best batting team in the history of the game.\u00a0 For sure it is the most explosive one anyone can remember and that tells the softball world that OU will be a tough out this year.\u00a0 The fact that the Sooners are number one means they are the odds on favorite to beat the Washington Huskies this weekend in the Super Regional in Norman.\u00a0 With advancement, and two wins over UW, it&#8217;s<\/span><\/strong><strong><span style=\"color: #bd0b0b;\"> on to the Women&#8217;s College World Series the following week in Oklahoma City.\u00a0 There, the Big Red will again be the team to chase for the National Title.<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<h6><strong><span style=\"color: #bd0b0b;\">Before the college softball world crowns OU, be duly aware that this high octane Sooner team is going to need superior pitching to get it done.\u00a0 If they run into a hot pitcher for the Huskies, a derailment is a possibility.\u00a0 The recipe for OU has been to blast homers and have a big inning, sometimes two, or even three in the same game, and destroy their opponents.\u00a0 That they did in their two wins in the sub-regional,\u00a0 crossing the plate 19 times against Morgan State and 24 in their third win, in a game against Wichita State.\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<h6><strong><span style=\"color: #bd0b0b;\">But without that super star on the mound, the Sooners will give up runs and if a team does have that great pitcher to shut OU down, yes, they could taste the agony of defeat.\u00a0 The Shockers got a five spot in their first game with OU this past weekend and seven more in the final game.\u00a0 That is 12 runs OU pitcher gave up in those two games and pitching like that against Washington or in the WCWS would prove fatal.\u00a0 As in sport, especially on the diamond, either softball or baseball, pitching and defense win championships. That holds true until it doesn&#8217;t.\u00a0 And now OU will face schools that have that one dominate pitcher.\u00a0 OU will have to show that they have a number one stopper also.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<h6><strong><span style=\"color: #bd0b0b;\">OU has excellent pitching, and they are deep.\u00a0 But is the staff better than in previous World Series for OU?\u00a0 Maybe not.\u00a0 The equalizer is that other teams will have that one or two pitchers that are also excellent, maybe great.\u00a0 Maybe great enough to shut OU&#8217;s offense down? Who knows?<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<h6><strong><span style=\"color: #bd0b0b;\"> Given the odds, OU will have to fight every game to win in 2021.\u00a0 They have the offense, but that offense cannot take a two game vacation.\u00a0 OU will win out with the Washington Huskies, two game to one. That is what I believe.\u00a0 But Sooner fans, never be surprised to see Washington pull the upset.\u00a0 They are the best team in the second eight of the super-regional seeding, and yes, they will pitch a girl that is every bit as good as what Patty Gasso will put on the mound.<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_8723\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8723\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/?attachment_id=8723\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-8723\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8723\" src=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/USATSI_16131907.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/USATSI_16131907.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/USATSI_16131907-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/USATSI_16131907-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/USATSI_16131907-560x315.jpg 560w, https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/USATSI_16131907-107x60.jpg 107w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-8723\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oklahoma&#8217;s Tiare Jennings (23) celebrates beside Wichita Sate&#8217;s Bailey Urban (7) in the fifth inning of a 7-5 win Saturday in Norman.<br \/>ou3<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_8720\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"8720\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OU NOT GUARANTEED A WIN OVER WASHINGTON &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Oklahoma Sooner softball in 2021&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_8720\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"8720\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-prefix=\"far\" data-icon=\"chart-bar\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" class=\"svg-inline--fa fa-chart-bar fa-w-16 fa-2x\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M396.8 352h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V108.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v230.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm-192 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V140.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v198.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zm96 0h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8V204.8c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v134.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8zM496 400H48V80c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16H16C7.16 64 0 71.16 0 80v336c0 17.67 14.33 32 32 32h464c8.84 0 16-7.16 16-16v-16c0-8.84-7.16-16-16-16zm-387.2-48h22.4c6.4 0 12.8-6.4 12.8-12.8v-70.4c0-6.4-6.4-12.8-12.8-12.8h-22.4c-6.4 0-12.8 6.4-12.8 12.8v70.4c0 6.4 6.4 12.8 12.8 12.8z\" class=\"\"><\/path><\/svg><\/i> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10,4,7],"tags":[16,722,951,723],"class_list":["post-8720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-featured","category-home","category-latest","tag-oklahoma-sooners","tag-patty-gasso","tag-washington-huskies","tag-womens-college-world-series"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":359,"today_views":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8720"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8725,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8720\/revisions\/8725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fredsportsextra.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}