Via Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer
With all due respect to the other teams that have set their sights on winning the national championship in Division I softball in 2022, I’m not sure anyone else has ever had a real chance.
To be sure, the mighty Oklahoma Sooners have lost three games this season en route to their sixth championship in show history and fifth in the past nine years. They even made it through three innings in Game 2 of Thursday’s Collegiate Women’s World Championship series against Texas – the team beat them first of the year on April 16, after the Sooners started. season with a Division I record 38. -0 – before they confidently came back to win 10-5.
No, Oklahoma isn’t completely invincible. But anyone who watched this incredible team this spring knows them witness something specialsomething historic, something unstoppable.
The Sooners won 59-3 in 2022, fine with a win percentage of 0.952, the third highest in the Div. My softball history is second only to UCLA 1992 (54-2, .964 W%) and 1994 Arizona (64-3, .955 W%). Forty of the OU’s 59 wins came from the run rule (i.e. an eight-run lead after five innings). The Sooners’ offense overwhelmed the opposition throughout the season, including on the biggest stage in Oklahoma City, where they broke several WCWS records:
They are led by Jocelyn Alo, the strongest hitter the sport has ever seen, whose legendary career ended in proper fashion: as a champion.
With the 2020 season cut short because of the pandemic, Alo was able to return to the Sooners for a fifth year as a “super senior” in 2022. She entered the season with just eight runs home to overtakes former Sooner Chamberlain slugger Lauren’s 95th for the most home games in the Div. I softball history.
In fairy tale style, Alo, a native of Hauula, Hawaii, kicked off track 96 on March 11 in front of her hometown crowd.
Then it’s just a matter of how high she can set the new bar. Alo ended the season with a dazzling 1,858 OPS and 34 home runs, including five at WCWS, bringing her career total to a staggering 122 – a mark that may not be the case. who touches in our lives.
If this all feels a bit familiar, that’s because this is the second year in a row Oklahoma has won the national championship after a mining lineup headlined by Alo. In fact, you could argue that last year’s lineup was even better than this year’s offensive lineup.
2021 Sooners Offense in 60 Games: .405/.490/.778 (1,268 OPS), scored 638 runs (10.63 runs per game), 110 doubles, 161 home run, 238 walk, 161 strike, 65 base theft times
2022 Sooners offense in 62 games: .371 / .474 / .734 (1,208 OPS), scored 579 runs (9.33 runs per game), 82 doubles, 155 home runs, 268 walks, 161 strikes, 60 base theft times
So what made this 2022 team better than last year’s team, which went through 56-4 and won it all? (And how could that happen?) The pitch was even better.
2021 Sooners’ pitching in 60 games: 357.1 pitches, 2.49 ERAs, 0.97 WHIPs, 0.184 BAAs, 233 hits, 115 walks, 426 strikes, 44 home runs, 23 offs
2022 Sooners’ pitching in 62 games: Throw 361.0, 1.05 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 0.14 BAA, 178 hit, 121 walk, 463 strike, 15 home run, 33 shutdown
While seven of the nine players who started from the team in 2021 return, only one of the team’s main pitchers – right hand Nicole May – returns this season following the graduations of Giselle Juarez and Shannon Saile. That means head coach Patty Gasso has plenty of innings to substitute in the circle. And even if Gasso knows that any pitcher will get huge support when running, the standard in Norman is sky-high, so it’s no surprise that she delivers two incredible pitchers to help power another championship.
The first is freshman Jordy Bahl. Raised just outside of Omaha, Nebraska, Bahl was initially committed to playing for the Cornhusker team when she was in eighth grade, but she switched her commitment to the Sooners after bursting into prominence as one of the best pitchers in the country. when I was a young student. in high school. She was Gatorade’s Player of the Year as a senior at Papillion-LaVista High, and she continued that momentum in her first season in Norman, where she didn’t lose much time to introduce himself to the national softball audience as a force to be reckoned with.
In 2022, she posted a 1.09 ERA with 205 hits in 141.1 hits.
Even though she was dealing with a forearm injury that kept her out for most of the final month of this season, Bahl was able to start Game 2 of the title series and keep Oklahoma. continue to compete until the offense becomes a reality.
Her presence in the circle is just as intimidating as the stuff itself, and this is clearly just the beginning of what is sure to be a career follow-up for the Sooners.
Unlike Bahl, Hope Trautwein wasn’t a celebrity prospect during her prep career at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, Texas. She eventually entered the University of North Texas, where she became one of the best pitchers at the Conference-USA.
Last year, Trautwein received national attention when she beat all 21 in a perfect match against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. But Trautwein first appeared on Gasso’s radar a year ago, when she Closing a victory for North Texas in Norman on February 28, 2020, this was also the last time Oklahoma lost a home game. The Sooners have won 46 in a row at home, unbeaten in both 2021 and 2022.
Like Alo, Trautwein has one more year of qualifying after her senior season in 2021, and she chose to move to Oklahoma. Her North Texas career numbers are outstanding: ERA 2.05 with 693 shots in 598.2 innings and a 61-24 record. But it’s worth wondering if that dominance will shift against stiffer competition in the Big 12.
Well, that’s for sure: Trautwein posted a 0.77 ERA in 126.2 plays for the Sooners and performed on the game’s biggest stage when her team needed her most. She even has her own hashtag, which the Oklahoma softball Twitter account never hesitates to use: #HopeIsDope. Very agree.
The dynamic duo of Trautwein and Bahl – coupled with the continued excellence of May who posted an ERA of 1.30 in 91.2 works – proved why Oklahoma has been so dominant over the past decade. past century. Whether through recruiting the best high school players in the country or bringing in potential superstars through the transfer portal, Gasso has ensured that the squad maintains an exceptionally high level of talent.
Now you might be wondering: Will the Sooners be able to do it again next year? A triptych has only happened once in Division I softball history (UCLA, 1988-90).
Let’s start with the obvious: There is no alternative Alo. There are some great players still on this list, but Alo is a once-in-a-lifetime presence on the roster and we probably won’t see another player like her for a very long time – if yes.
Plus, Alo isn’t the only key contributor the Sooners need to replace. Trautwein, 3rd rider Jana Johns, 1st rider Taylon Snow and catcher Lynnsie Elam will all graduate. It’s not just the important bats that need to be replaced, but also the important positions in the yard that will need to be filled.
Then again, there’s still so much talent on this roster that no one would be surprised if the Sooners go into 2023 as #1 and win another national championship.
Bahl will remain the lead in the circle as she continues to establish herself as one of the best pitchers in the country. May will be back in her senior year. If fouled, Tiare Jennings – who has had a historic start to his career, with a staggering 46 home appearances in his first two seasons – is sure to lead the way, along with power center operator Jayda Coleman in leading position.
Senior candidate Grace Lyons has another qualifying year, which we can assume she’ll use, but we don’t know for sure. Her return, considering her spectacular defense at short duration and newfound power at disk, will be huge for OUs.
Catcher Kinzie Hansen, whose injury has limited her from playing more of a platoon role in 2022 after she becomes All-American in 2021, will also return. There are also some talented freshmen beyond Bahl who haven’t had much game time this year but are sure to see more action on the field as slots open up.
You also shouldn’t be shocked to learn that the Sooners are giving four rookies are touted a lot, including the top pitcher in Division 2022, a left hand from North Carolina named Kierston Deal. And it looks like the Sooners will most likely bring in another talented player or two through the transfer portal.
The years of Alo’s reign may be over, but if history teaches us anything, the next wave of Early stars is sure to keep Oklahoma at or near the top. softball world for many years to come.
Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He lives in DC but is a huge fan of the Seattle Mariners and loves to watch KBO, which means he doesn’t get much sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.
