We are one day away from the start of the 2024 softball season. The Oklahoma Sooners are in Puerto Vallarta for their first set of games.
But this year’s Oklahoma team has a big position to fill in their infield. Gone is [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag], who was a staple and leader for the team at shortstop for the past five seasons.
There had been some speculation about who would be taking that spot. Would it possibly be [autotag]Alyssa Brito[/autotag]? Head Coach Patty Gasso shot that down, saying she was too good at third base to move. So Gasso announced at her press conference earlier in the week it would be [autotag]Tiare Jennings[/autotag] moving to short.
Jennings had started the past three seasons at second base. Brito spoke about the change of having Jennings closer to her in the field something she’s familiar with. “I played third next to her in travel ball,” Brito said. “It’s kind of just going back to the old days. We already have a good feel together. She constantly talks to me, and we’re on the same page at all times. So it’s been really fun again to be right next to her. But defense is really fun for both of us. Just communicating a lot and just experiencing so many years of us playing together, we’ve just got it down.”
The Sooners hope that familiarity means no drop-off with the loss of Lyons as they strive for their fourth straight national title.
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