OU Softball: How Oklahoma Creates 'Momentum' to Blow Past Opponents in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY — Twenty-three pitches.

That’s all it took for Oklahoma to completely change the complexion of Thursday’s Women’s College World Series contest against Duke.

Starting pitcher Cassidy Curd was pulled from the game and replaced by the Blue Devil’s All-American, Jala Wright, with a 1-0 lead on the three-time defending champs.

Twenty-three pitches later, the Sooners had bashed a pair of two-run bombs and Devon Park was rocking, fueled by the horde of crimson-clad fans cheering on the local outfit.

Big moments change games. That applies to any team playing any sport across the world.

But the Sooners don’t have to have big moments. They can seize on any glimpse of good fortune to bury an opponent.

“Momentum is a really big thing,” OU second baseman Alynah Torres, who hit the second home run off Wright on Thursday, said. “When you're on deck, seeing the way (your teammate is) taking their hacks, it kind of gives you confidence and gives everybody in the dugout confidence.”

Jayda Coleman started the party in the third inning with a single, prompting the pitching change from Duke.

Tiare Jennings and Ella Parker both struck out, but Parker’s at-bat gained crucial information for Kinzie Hansen before OU’s star catcher stepped into the box.

“I noticed the at-bats before me, (Wright) was kind of trying to pound the zone early with really what's just a good strike,” Hansen said. “We were taking it the first couple at-bats.

“… In my mind I just went up thinking 70, she's got to come early for a strike at-bat. I loaded early and saw the ball kind of middle, just went for it. That's really the adjustment.”

Hansen belted a two-run shot to put the Sooners on top.

Then Alyssa Brito walked.

Then Torres made it 4-1 with a bomb of her own.

It doesn’t have to be an offensive play to get OU going, either.

Coleman made another highlight play in the outfield to rob Duke of at least two runs in the third inning.

Cydney Sanders prevented a baserunner from going from first to third with a nice defensive play at first in the fifth inning.

Avery Hodge overcame a tough bounce to start a double-play in the sixth inning.

And once the Sooners steal momentum — especially in Oklahoma City — they rarely give it back.

“Momentum is like anything,” Sanders said after the game. “A pitch that gets called for a strike, a hard swing.

“… We can create momentum off of any little thing. It's not like hitting or fielding. It's kind of both, everything.”

Oklahoma went on to run-rule Duke, a 9-1 victory after six innings, setting up a glamorous matchup with UCLA on Saturday.

The Sooners and the Bruins have yet to meet in 2024, but the two teams are plenty familiar with each other.

Oklahoma played UCLA in the 2021 WCWS, both the regular season and at the WCWS in 2022 and in last year’s Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in the early stages of the 2023 season.

Taylor Tinsley, UCLA’s bright young ace, will have her hands full with OU’s veteran lineup.

And every team that steps onto the field with the Sooners is well aware of how quickly games can turn on them at Devon Park.

“We're all in it, all 21 of us are in every single pitch,” Torres said. “Knowing we can pass the bat and not putting too much pressure on ourselves is probably key to why our team is so good.”

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