Oklahoma Avoiding 'Chaos', Taking Full Advantage of Rest Days at the WCWS

OKLAHOMA CITY — Suddenly, Oklahoma has some extra time on its hands.

After exacting a bit of revenge on the Texas Longhorns Saturday, the Sooners get to enjoy their second off day of the Women’s College World Series.

In year’s past, teams in the winners’ bracket reveled at the chance to take a breather on “Elimination Saturday”, kicking back to relax as the rest of the WCWS field fought to keep their respective seasons alive.

Losing early not only put you within a game of heading home for the rest of the season, but it put a strain on the entire staff’s game preparation process.

“If you lose,” OU head coach Patty Gasso said on Thursday, “you have got to go back and get your scouts and everything ready to turn around, to play another game the next day. It's difficult.”

This season, the NCAA added two days to softball’s biggest spectacle.

The schedule changes have not only ensured games won’t start too late into the night, but it’s kept teams well rested.

By way of their 2-0 start in the WCWS, the Sooners have benefitted.

Oklahoma enjoyed an off day on Friday, and won’t have to return to Hall of Fame Stadium until Monday morning.

“We just had a short little dance party in the locker room because we have another day off,” Gasso said after the win over Texas on Saturday. “I don't even know what to do, 'cause having been here, it's just like chaos. It's get to your hotel, okay, get your stuff, let's get ready, look at video, eat fast, eat fast. It's like that.

“So for us to — now I'm like, What are we supposed to do? Lay around the hotel? What are we going to do here?”

The extra rest has been especially beneficial for OU’s pitching staff.

Oklahoma entered the WCWS with Hope Trautwein, Jordy Bahl and Nicole May all ranking in the top five in the country in earned run average.

Friday’s day off allowed Gasso to roll Trautwein out again against Texas after shutting down Northwestern on Thursday, a move that paid dividends for the Sooners.

The right-hander only gave up two runs, giving the OU offense plenty of time to dial in on Texas’ Hailey Dolcini.

“I think Hope is kind of on fire right now,” Gasso said. “She's really found her comfort zone. I think the matchup was better for us with Hope.

“But we had a plan to bring all kinds of different looks at different times (against Texas), including Jordy. Everybody was all hands on deck.”

As a result of Trautwein’s excellence, May has yet to throw a pitch in the WCWS, and Bahl has only been called upon to record one out.

Now the Sooners are sitting pretty, as either UCLA or Florida will have to beat the defending champs twice on Monday to knock OU out of the tournament.

While the Bruins and the Gators battle it out for a chance to play the Sooners, and the work being done behind the scenes to keep Oklahoma fresh.

“One thing that my coaching staff and my training staff has done a great job with is recovery and hydration and mobility,” Gasso said Saturday, “and all of those things are really paying off for this team right now.”

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