Patty Gasso built a softball powerhouse known for its hitting. Lauren Chamberlain. Jocelyn Alo. Shelby Pendley. Sydney Romero.
The Sultanas of Swat.
So explain OU’s Easter Weekend sweep of Texas Tech: 3-0, 6-0, 7-0. Three shutouts. Three different pitchers.
Alex Storako in Game 1, Jordy Bahl in Game 2, Nicole May in Game 3.
I’m sure it’s been done. But I’ve never heard of that. It’s hard enough to find a team that uses three starting pitchers in a three-game series, much less records three shutouts.
That’s got to be uh-oh for a sport already driven by fear of having to deal with the Sooners in the postseason. OU has won two straight NCAA championships, four of the last six and five of the last nine.
And a team with big boppers Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman, Haley Lee and Alyssa Brito, now has not only pitching prowess, but also lots of it.
More:OU baseball rewind: Sooners drop three-game road series to Baylor
“You’ve got to have a good pitching staff to shut those guys down,” Gasso said of Texas Tech. “Our pitching staff was outstanding, phenomenal this weekend.”
Tech entered the weekend with even more home runs than did the Sooners.
But Storako, a transfer from Michigan, pitched a three-hitter in Game 1. Bahl gave up one hit in 6 ⅓ innings of Game 2 (Kiersten Deal finished). And May gave up two hits in 5 ⅓ innings (Deal and Storako finished).
That’s 18 ⅔ innings by OU’s three aces, with six hits allowed, three walks and 24 strikeouts. Against a high-scoring, free-swinging foe.
“They do have big swings,” Gasso said of Tech. “They’re very aggressive. The key for me is the way our pitchers can change speeds and move the ball.
“They're aiming for the fence. They have the ability to change the game with one swing. To keep the ball in the park is a big deal against them. It’s like you’re kind of facing us, when you look at their numbers.”
Gasso knew she had an ace in Bahl. Gasso figured Storako, the 2022 Big Ten pitcher of the year, would be a worthy partner for Bahl. But now May has joined the club, pitching better than ever, and she wasn’t bad her first two Sooner seasons, going 30-3 with a 1.82 earned run average.
“I’m more confident in Nicole May than I ever have been thus far,” Gasso said. “Putting her on the mound, I feel very very comfortable with all of them. But May has really kind of stepped into her own space, getting better with each outing. That’s what’s crazy about it, the expectations of this team, and this pitching staff. Nicole May is in a perfect place right now.”
More:
Here are the season statistics for Gasso’s three aces after Bahl's Tuesday night gem in a 3-0 win at No. 12 LSU:
Storako: 12-0, 66 ⅔ innings, 0.73 ERA, seven walks, 83 strikeouts.
Bahl: 12-1, 81 innings, 1.30 ERA, 26 walks, 105 strikeouts.
May: 11-0, 64 ⅔ innings, 0.43 ERA, 21 walks, 98 strikeouts.
Maybe the worst news for OU opponents is Bahl’s rebound. She didn’t pitch as well early in the season, but Bahl is rounding into form.
“Her absolute consistency,” Gasso said of Bahl. “Her locked-in look. It’s intimidating. You could see it. You could see that she’s in a zone and she never really let herself get out of it. If she got down 2-0, 3-0, she came back and hammered.
“That’s her competitive spirit that bleeds into this team. We need more of that in those areas.”
The Sooners also played excellent defense against Tech, a Gasso staple.
“If you have two of the three parts of the game working well, you’re going to find ways to win,” Gasso said.
And for a long time, Gasso has had all three parts of the game working well. Now she’s not only got great pitching, but lots of it.
More:How big has the OU softball spectacle become? It left coach Patty Gasso 'feeling chills'
Tim Rattay update at OSU
Tim Rattay is both pivotal and anonymous with OSU football.
Rattay is Mike Gundy’s quarterbacks coach. Rattay is not the offensive coordinator – that's Kasey Dunn’s title – but Rattay still is heavily involved in the gameplanning, as well as the personal coach for the most important position on campus.
And yet we don’t really know the guy. Gundy historically has allowed his non-coordinator assistant coaches to speak to the media once a year, and that didn’t even happen in 2022. So Rattay is fairly incognito, while still having a huge impact on Cowboy football.
2023 marks Rattay’s fourth season as the OSU quarterback coach. It’s the first time he’ll pick a starting QB. Spencer Sanders was the incumbent when Rattay arrived and remained the starter until he entered the transfer portal in December.
Last week, I asked Gundy how Rattay is doing as quarterback coach.
“He's been really good,” Gundy said.
Then Gundy gave us a quick biography of Rattay, some of which most of us knew and some of which we didn’t. And I’ll help fill in some blanks.
Rattay, a former National Football League quarterback, grew up in Mesa, Arizona. At Mesa High School, Rattay was a backup QB as a sophom*ore and junior.
Then his father joined the football staff at Phoenix Christian; Tim Rattay transferred there and became the starting quarterback.
Rattay received little recruiting interest, so he went to Scottsdale Community College, became the starting quarterback as a freshman and threw for 3,526 yards and 28 touchdowns.
More:Mike Gundy feels Oklahoma State's offensive line is already 'further along than last year'
Louisiana Tech came calling, and Rattay was a sensation. He set the NCAA Division I-A record for passing yards per game, 386.2, and threw for more than 12,000 yards. Rattay finished 10th in the 1999 Heisman Trophy voting.
Rattay was a seventh-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers. He played eight NFL seasons and made 18 starts. Some were memorable.
In 2004, Rattay threw for 417 yards in a 31-28 victory over the Cardinals. In that game, he set the still-standing 49er record of 38 completions.
In 2006, Rattay led Tampa Bay on its biggest comeback ever, rallying the Buccaneers from a 21-point deficit to force overtime, before the Chicago Bears beat the Bucs 34-31.
In 2007, Rattay threw touchdown passes on three consecutive completions, for Arizona.
Rattay joined Louisiana Tech’s football staff in 2013, became the Washington Redskins’ quarterback coach in 2019 and came to Stillwater in 2020.
“So he's got a lot of experience with that particular position,” Gundy said. “And he's done a good job, in my opinion, of recruiting guys that we think fit what we're trying to get accomplished, who are good players, and then hanging on to him.
“It wasn't easy to hang on to Zane (Flores) last year, based on all the NIL (name, image and likeness) stuff going on. So, he's been a really good addition for us.”
Gundy said Rattay and Dunn “work really well together in the passing game. And I'm pleased with what he's done and how he's gone about his business here."
Soon, Rattay will pick a starting quarterback for the first time, whether it’s returner Garret Rangel or Michigan transfer Alan Bowman.
More:Oklahoma State baseball rewind: Cowboys drop series to TCU, fall in Big 12 standings
The List: Thunder playoff road woes
The Thunder plays at New Orleans on Wednesday night in a play-in game, and it’s been a minute since the Thunder won a postseason road game. Try 2,521 days.
On May 16, 2016, the Thunder stunned the 73-win Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals in Oakland. But the Thunder hasn’t won a playoff road game since. OKC takes a 12-game, post-season, road losing streak to New Orleans.
Here are the Thunder road defeats since winning that Game 1 in 2016:
1. Blazers 118, Thunder 115, April 23, 2019: The Damion Lillard “bad shot” game. Lillard dribbled out the clock, then hit a buzzer-beating 37-footer over Paul George to send the Thunder home. PG13 called it a bad shot. Lillard’s decision was bad, his shot was good.
2. Blazers 114, Thunder 94, April 16, 2019:Portland guards Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 62 points on 22-of-43 shooting, while Russell Westbrook had a miserable game, shooting 5-of-20 with six turnovers.
3. Blazers 104, Thunder 99, April 14, 2019: Portland maintained a single-digit lead the entire second half. The Thunder drew within 93-92 with 2½ minutes left on George’s 3-point shot, but Lillard followed with his own 3-pointer and the Thunder never got closer.
4. Jazz 96, Thunder 91, April 27, 2018: Westbrook scored 46 points (on 18-of-43 shooting), but Carmelo Anthony had just seven points in 25½ minutes, during which OKC was outscored by 19 points, as Utah closed out the series. In the final minute, down three, the Thunder missed six straight shots before the Jazz finally corralled a rebound and secured the victory.
5. Jazz 113, Thunder 96, April 23, 2018: The Thunder made just five of 26 3-point shots and was routed in Game 4. George, Westbrook and Carmelo were a combined 2-of-18 from deep.
6. Jazz 115, Thunder 102, April 21, 2018: Another Westbrook flameout game – 14 points, 5-of-17 shooting, eight turnovers – as Utah dominated. Jazz point guard Ricky Rubio had 26 points (on 9-of-18 shooting), 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
7. Rockets 105, Thunder 99, April 25, 2017: Westbrook was at his best in this series. In this Game 5, he had 47 points (15-of-34 shooting) with 11 rebounds and nine assists, but no teammate had more than 11 points.
8. Rockets 115, Thunder 111, April 19, 2017: More Westbrook fireworks – 51 points (17-of-43 shooting), with 10 rebounds and 13 assists – but he again got little help. Andre Roberson was the second-best offensive player in that series for OKC.
9. Rockets 118, Thunder 87, April 16, 2017: Westbrook had a miserable game, which for that team meant automatic defeat. Westbrook shot 6-of-23 from the field and finished with 22 points and nine turnovers.
10. Warriors 96, Thunder 88, May 30, 2016: In Game 7, Golden State led by 11 with three minutes left, but Kevin Durant scored 11 points in 71 seconds, drawing OKC within 90-86. Then with 1:18 left and the shot clock running down, Serge Ibaka fouled Steph Curry on a 3-point shot, and the series was decided.
11. Warriors 120, Thunder 111, May 26, 2016: Down 3-1 in the series, Golden State rallied with its bench, which outscored the Thunder’s 30-13. Durant and Westbrook outdueled Curry and Klay Thompson, but Golden State’s superior depth won out.
12. Warriors 118, Thunder 91, May 18, 2016: Wounded from that Game 1 loss, Golden State dominated, led by Curry’s 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Seven Warriors scored in double digits. Only Durant and Westbrook did for the Thunder.
More:Carlson: NBA play-in tournament should boost this young Thunder team for years to come
Kliff Kingsbury to help Lincoln Riley at USC
Kliff Kingsbury left Southern Cal to become head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Now Kingsbury’s first football job after getting fired by the Cardinals is back at USC.
USC announced Tuesday that Kingsbury will join Lincoln Riley’s staff as senior offensive analyst. Kingsbury is expected to work with quarterbacks, which always has been Riley’s domain.
At both OU and USC, Riley was/is head coach/offensive coordinator/quarterback coach.
It’s a tough assignment. Demanding. Pressurized. Time consuming. All the things required of a head coach, plus gameplanning and QB mentoring.
Riley handled those responsbilities well in Norman; he seems to have handled them well in his one-plus year in Los Angeles. But perhaps Kingsbury is coming aboard to ward off any crashes.
It’s definitely something to consider for head coaches who take over massive roles. Brent Venables included.
Ted Roof is OU’s defensive coordinator, but this is Venables’ defense. He’s calling it. He’s implementing it. Roof is a trusted lieutenant and works well with Venables, but the time could come when Venables needs to lighten his burden. Perhaps Riley is nearing that point.
Kingsbury and Riley are Texas Tech contemporaries. Riley arrived at Tech in Kingsbury’s senior season as the Red Raider quarterback. Riley tried to play football but in less than a year was urged by head coach Mike Leach to become a student assistant.
The rest is history. Kingsbury went on to become a head coach himself, at Texas Tech and with the Cardinals, with a one-month stop in between as the USC offensive coordinator.
Riley was a phenom; East Carolina’s offensive coordinator at age 27, OU’s offensive coordinator at age 31 and OU’s head coach at age 33. Riley’s not yet 40, and already his head coaching record is 66-13.
Kingsbury was fired by the Cardinals after going 28-37-1 in four seasons. Riley’s OU quarterback, Kyler Murray, is the Arizona franchise QB.
Kingsbury’s Tech record was 35-40.
But Kingsbury’s track record with quarterbacks is strong: Case Keenum at Houston, Johnny Manziel at Texas A&M and Patrick Mahomes at Tech.
Now Kingsbury will work with reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, who was the Sooner QB in 2021.
Riley will not step away from full-time position coaching. He’s too smart for that. Riley has a bunch of great traits, but coaching QBs ranks near the top.
In the same way that OU shouldn’t want Venables out of the defensive game, USC doesn’t want Riley out of the quarterback game.
But the job of a college football head coach is vast. A guy can use all the help he can get.
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Mailbag: Masters back nine
Jon Rahm won the 2023 Masters, a rain-drenched tournament that on Sunday required 31 holes from Brooks Koepka and Rahm.
Jeff: “What a cruel, cruel Masters! As golf enthusiasts have said for decades, the most stressful nine holes in golf is the backside at Augusta, on Sunday. And lo and behold, Brooks Koepka had to play it twice. Golfing gods are pretty legendary!”
Tramel: It was rather interesting. Two Augusta back-nines on a single day. Koepka was two-over par on those two back-nines. Can’t win that way. Not at Augusta.
Rahm was even par on those 18 holes. He was two-over on the morning back-nine, then two-under on the afternoon back-nine. Rahm birdied 13 and 14 to take command of the tournament.
The real story of the 2023 Masters was the lack of drama. The rain seemed to drench any intrigue. Rahm won by four strokes over Koepka and Phil Mickelson, the latter having shot 65 in the fourth round but finishing long before Rahm.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
