As she said it out loud, Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso knew it wasn't normal. Something positive came out of a loss. She can describe the silver lining of Monday's 3-7 loss to UCLA.
She explained that having her team's goal of winning back-to-back Women's College World Series titles threatened for the first time all season was enlightening.
Gasso said that it was important for the team to say "We're not going home".
During the first game of the twin bill, Oklahoma's bats fell silent. As the game's tying run in the fifth, home run queen Jocelyn Alo stepped to the plate, but instead of doing what she does, she struck out swinging. The crowd was shocked by the team's third loss of the season.
They spent 30 minutes waiting to take the field again after the games and there was no panic. The only thing they needed was to hit reset, Alo said, and by the end of the game, she was correct. It was the largest margin of victory in the history of the tournament.
Gasso told a group of reporters that losing a game was a "blessing" because of the offensive fireworks. It proved something to her and her team that Hope Trautwein, who last year pitched a perfect game in which she struck out 21 of 21 batters, is the real deal.
A month ago, the Sooners' march to the Women's College World Series -- a wire-to-wire run as the No. 1 team in softball and the top batting average in the game -- was almost derailed when ace pitcher Jordy Bahl felt something pop in her right arm Immediately, she shut it down and didn't start a game again until this week as she works her way back.
It might be enough to make Bill James question the validity of statistics, since a pitcher with an average of 0.17 is the best in Division I. Is that really happening? They were talking about how Trautwein only gave up two earned runs through the middle of May.
How realistic was it? The Big 12 Pitcher of the Year was Bahl. Even if Bahl was the best pitcher in the country, she was not the team's second baseman. Would she be the same pitcher as when she stepped into her shoes?
Prior to the start of the NCAA tournament, Gasso was careful as she talked about Trautwein's eye-catching stat line. Gasso said that she was a good pitcher, but that she probably had thrown less time on the mound.
The reason sounded odd, as if Gasso was talking about the positive effect of the UCLA game. Gasso wasn't sure what that meant. She had never experienced something like that before. Her back-of-the-napkin math said that their pitchers had lost over 60 hours of work.
Gasso said in May that he was not taking anything away from her because she had earned it. It's not the same world as we are used to.
Going up against All-American hitters like Alo and Lyons may be all the preparation a pitcher needs, and Trautwein can handle the pressure. She said that it was the reason she chose to transfer from North Texas.
Oklahoma was in need of her. In a statement announcing her addition a year ago this month, Gasso talked about the importance of the young staff coming in and returning. She said that she was a perfect fit because of her Conference USA Pitcher of the Year awards.
She wouldn't know how perfect. She wouldn't have another 21 strikeouts, but she wouldn't hit a ball.
She had an impressive outing against UCLA on Monday, where she hit two hits. Since the start of the Big 12 tournament, she's thrown a team-high 40innings and a 1.40 earned run average. She's a perfect 5 during the tournament.
Her confidence has grown each time she has started. An aura that fits right in at Oklahoma is what Trautwein has.
If you met her off the field, you would think she was the sweetest soul. There's no way she could be that good. She makes me better every day.
Gasso went into last Saturday's game against Texas expecting to use a mix of pitchers against the Longhorns' dangerous lineup. Gasso didn't have a reason to make a change after Trautwein got the start and allowed two runs in the complete-game effort. Gasso said it was clear that Trautwein had found her comfort spot. She said that hope is on fire.
Her development on the game's biggest stage is a matter of fact. She said she was told by Elam to look at the crowd once and not look at them again.
She has followed a simple rule of thumb throughout the playoffs.
She said she's gotten more used to the environment. It's hard to play here when you have a lot of things going on and I have locked into my routine. It's getting easier when I know my team has my back.
For someone who has become the go-to pitcher on a team two wins away from a national championship, a.58 is still more than adequate.
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