Some days, the opposition just gets the better of your best players. That’s sort of what happened on Saturday in Oklahoma City when the Oklahoma Sooners took on the Texas Longhorns in the Big 12 title game.
Texas held [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag], [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag], [autotag]Cydney Sanders[/autotag], and [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag] to an 0-12 day combined. The difference in the 6-1 win was the play of Haley Lee, Kinzie Hansen, Rylie Boone, Nicole May, and Jordy Bahl.
So when I say “sort of,” what I mean is the Sooners have a lot of “best players.”
Their lineup is littered with some of the best players in the country. Players that would be the best player on 99% of teams in the country. And Oklahoma needed them to come through.
Haley Lee got the scoring going with a home run and scored a few innings later. Hansen, Boone, and Brito had RBIs as well. Bahl showed off her skills in the circle, at the plate, and on the base paths helping keep the Texas bats at bay and scoring a pair of runs with elite baserunning.
We know of Bahl’s pitching ability, but because she’s an exceptional athlete, she impacts the game in every facet.
And that’s why Oklahoma is so difficult to beat. Texas held Coleman and Jennings to zero hits. They are two of the best players in the nation and National Player of the Year Finalists. And it didn’t matter because Patty Gasso has assembled a roster that can beat you up and down the order.
Hansen’s been one of the best players on the roster this year. Her ability at the plate has given Oklahoma another hitter that can change a game with one swing of the bat. Her work behind the player has been instrumental in helping the Sooners nation-best team ERA.
Rylie Boone could be the leadoff hitter for 99% of teams across the country, and she helps set the table for Coleman and Jennings at the back of the order. Her hitting ability and speed threaten teams every time she comes to the plate.
And then there’s Alyssa Brito, a Big 12 all-conference team snub. She’s continued to be a big-time player for the Sooners and came through in a big moment with her RBI double.
Haley Lee hadn’t had a multi-hit game since April 8 and with her two-hit performance against Texas, she’s now had a pair of hits in back-to-back games for the first time since March 10.
The Oklahoma Sooners are an incredibly difficult team to beat because they have a dangerous lineup 1-9, and their bench can come through in a pinch as well. It matters that they have some of the best players in the game, but it also matters that this team has the best depth in the game.
And it’s that depth that’s going to help them in their pursuit of a third-straight national title.