Giselle Juarez's New Mindset Leads Oklahoma Into the Postseason
Giselle Juarez has been building for this moment all season long.
With Juarez recovered from biceps surgery, Patty Gasso said the goal of this year was always to build her up to be playing her best softball by the postseason.
Now, as the Oklahoma Sooners start regional play on Friday, Gasso said she’s pleased with where her ace is mentally.
“I think we came to a realization, you know, Giselle was one of the best pitchers in the country in 2019 and I think everyone knew that and then we had this injury,” Gasso said during a Zoom press conference on Wednesday. “It’s a different Giselle with a different route, but I think the hardest part was her pressing to be who she was and accepting that it’s just going to take a different road, and that’s what we’ve been figuring out.”
HOW TO WATCH:
- Friday, 7:30 p.m.: ESPN3
Battling through the injury rehab, Juarez has still been a bright spot for the Sooners. Posting a 2.53 ERA for the year, Juarez is 16-1 in her 21 starts in 2021.
But as the postseason approached, Gasso said she saw something different out of Juarez.
“I really have liked what she’s looked like in practice lately,” he said. “She’s changed some things mindset-wise that I think has really kind of got her mind a little more focused and closed off from thinking too much or playing the mind games or anything.
“I think she’s found a good place for herself.”
And the Sooners will need Juarez at her best if they hope to capture the program’s fifth National Championship in 2021.
Alongside Shannon Saile and Nicole May, Oklahoma brings a battle-tested pitching staff into the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in this weekend’s Norman Regional.
Hosting the Wichita State Shockers, Texas A&M Aggies and Morgan State Bears, the Sooners start postseason play on Friday night at Marita Hynes Field.
“We still have a very tough regional,” Gasso said. “We’re going to have to be good. We’re going to have to be good in all phases of our game.”
OU will open Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against Morgan State, who earned its bid to the tournament as the MEAC Champions. Should OU win, they will face the winner of the Shockers and the Aggies on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The opener against Morgan State will be streamed on ESPN3.
A 100 percent capacity crowd will be pulling for Oklahoma punch its ticket to next weekend’s Super Regionals. The top-seeded Sooners are the clear favorite as Texas A&M enters the NCAA Tournament on a seven-game losing streak, and OU has already run-ruled Wichita State 14-3 earlier this year.
Led by Jocelyn Alo, who was just named a top three finalist for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year, the Sooners feel they are ready for whatever lies ahead this weekend.
“I think we’re ready for whatever opportunity comes our way,” Alo said.