Five years ago I watched the greatest colligate softball team win the Women's College World Series. Oklahoma University took the softball world by storm and people who missed it, missed out on a lot. The year before, in 2012, they made it all the way to the Series and heartbreakingly lost to Alabama. But the next year, they brought it.
Oklahoma was a totally different team in 2013 but made up of most of the same players. They were composed and confident, unlike the year before, where rain sent them hunkering in the dugout. Their main motivator was the monster tornado that ripped through the town of Moore on May, 20th. They played for the 24 people who lost their lives, they played for the town and they played for the state of Oklahoma. The team coined the phrase, "Oklahoma Strong" which was written on their helmets for the rest of the tournament.
Softball is such a dynamic game, it's a balance between traditionalism and modernism, gut reaction and composed prediction. Strategy, confidence, then skill create winning teams and that year Oklahoma perfected those qualities. In the sport, there is a common consensus of basic strategy and most coaches take that and vary it a little, but Patty Gasso, who has been the head coach of Oklahoma softball since 1995, flipped it on its head. I'm sure it has been done before, but that was the first time I saw it and I was blown away.
If one were to stick to the traditional strategy they would put their left-handed batters, quick runners and those with a high on-base percentage at the top of the batting order, then their power hitters, then their okay hitters at the end of the order, but Gasso did the opposite she put power hitters at the top then lefties at the bottom and it worked beautifully. That strategy and the humility she taught her players helped them take the Series at game one.
The Series versus Tenessee University was nail-biting to watch, Tenessee has smooth, controlled defense to combat Oklahoma's insane offensive skill. Game one lasted 11 innings before anyone scored and Tennessee broke the streak with an over-the-fence three-run home run. At the bottom of the 11th inning, Oklahoma answered by tacking on two runs to their score, then putting something else together and making it 3-3. Then Oklahoma's powerhouse was up, Lauren Chamberlain. Chamberlain's hitting ability took softball from a sport where lightning fast pitching is the reason people tune in, to a sport where powerful hitting is what sells. Tenessee pitched Chamberlain tight and high and she launched that pitch to left field hitting a walk-off home run for Oklahoma to win game one.
During the post-game press conference, Gasso mentioned how great that team was. This was just game one, I don't think she had any clue just how great the legacy that team would leave behind. Even now, in 2018, people remember that team and that game. They influenced a generation of young athletes. They are and will be the greatest team to touch the dirt.
