Sophomore DeRenzo makes play of the game for Sooners

Almost 30 years ago, Sandy Ochoa Brazil and Lorie Fausett Rittman walked through the Hall of Fame Stadium gates with the Oklahoma softball team for the first time.

It was the first time, in fact, that anyone had walked into the new $2 million stadium, nestled in between I-35 and Grand Boulevard.

The Sooners left a couple hours later on the afternoon of Sept. 26, 1987, with the first-ever win at the stadium. OU took down Oklahoma City University 7-0 in the fall ball tournament that also featured Oklahoma State and Central State.

In the 30 years since Ochoa Brazil crushed a three-run triple in that win, the stadium has turned into the mecca of college softball, filled with screaming fans decked in school colors every year for a week in early June.

Thursday afternoon, Ochoa Brazil sat in the stands for the opening games of the Women’s College World Series with her sister, Zina, who won the 1987 national championship at Texas A&M.

The pair, along with some of Zina’s old teammates, marveled at just how far the stadium and the sport had come since Ochoa Brazil and Fausett Rittman won the fall exhibition game in front of a handful of fans — most of them players’ parents.

“When we were walking up there, my heart was just beating fast. My daughter looked at me and was like, ‘Mom, you played here,’” she said, tearing up at the memories.

The stadium isn’t the only thing that’s transformed in the last three decades — the Oklahoma softball program has also made a huge leap under the leadership of head coach Patty Gasso, who was coaching at Long Beach City College in California before becoming a Sooner.

Before Gasso arrived in 1995, Ochoa Brazil, a Putnam City West product, recalls playing in Reaves Park — better known as Rock Park to the players who dragged the field before every practice or game.

Without a locker room, the team changed in restrooms at the park, donning simple uniforms. It was the 1980s, and the Oklahoma softball team was just a shadow of the powerhouse program that it is today.

Fausett Rittman, a California native who played third base in 1985-89, can’t remember any of OU’s season records during her time, but she knows that they weren’t great.

As the Oklahoma coaching tenures of Michelle Thomas-Grost and Jim Beitia came to an end in 1994, the athletic department formed a steering committee with former players to help find the next OU softball coach. Ochoa Brazil, who played in 1987-1991, was in that group and instantly recognized that Gasso was the breath of fresh air needed.

“I knew that she just had a charisma about her that she was ready to grow and develop people and she was very ethical,” Ochoa Brazil said.

Shortly after Gasso arrived, the Sooners made the move from Reaves Park to what is now Marita Hynes Field. OU also moved up in the college softball ranks as Gasso began bringing in blue chip prospects and molding other hardworking recruits into top-notch players.

Five years into Gasso’s tenure at OU, the Sooners won their first national championship in program history, building on the foundation that the earlier teams had laid.

Since then, the Sooners have continued to evolve and grow along with the entire sport. And along the way, Gasso has always reminded her current players of the ones who came before them.

“It brings me a lot of pride, mainly because Patty, team and staff, they give us a lot of kudos for making the path for these girls,” Ochoa Brazil said. “We played good old fashioned softball . ... I think it’s wonderful and a huge testament to what Patty Gasso has done for the softball program at OU.”

And though the program was a lot different when they donned the crimson and cream, both Ochoa Brazil and Fausett Rittman are quick to say they were Sooners.

“I’m proud to say I’m an Oklahoma softball player,” Fausett Rittman said. “It’s funny people will always say, ‘Oh, did you play for Patty Gasso?’ I say, ‘No, I just missed her by a few years!’

“I was thankful for the opportunity to play at a great school. The camaraderie of the whole softball program is great, and it’s great to be able to go back and say that I was a part of that and maybe laid the foundation for the future.”

LOUISVILLE, KY. — With Xavier throwing a lefthander Friday, Oklahoma coach Pete Hughes opted to install Domenic DeRenzo in the lineup for left-handed hitter Ben Hollas.

It turned out to be a wise move as the sophomore made the play of the game, according to his coach.

Still trailing 2-0, DeRenzo tripled with one out in the seventh. Kyle Mendenhall followed with nine-pitch at bat off Xavier starter Zac Lowther. Lowther got the second baseman swinging on strikes, but his catcher dropped the ball. As Mendenhall ran to first, DeRenzo took a couple steps toward home.

“It was just a shot in the dark, but I was trying to make something happen,” he said.

Xavier catcher Nate Soria double-pumped a throw to first, and first baseman Ethan Schmidt jumped off the bag prematurely. Before Schmidt could retouch the bag, Mendenhall reached safely.

Soria was charged with an error on the play, one of three by a Xavier team that committed just 46 in 57 games. However, Xavier coach Scott Googin said the error was just as much a mental one as they were willing to concede the first run.

“It hurts because again that’s how big innings usually” begin, Googin said.

Instead of just a runner at third and two out, OU got runners on the corners with one out. From there, the Sooners would score seven times to pull out the victory.

Jake Irwin will start Saturday night, Hughes said. Against teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament, the right-hander posted a 3.41 earned run average, and hitters posted just a .216 average against him.

The sophomore started the opening game of the last five Big 12 series, but Hughes said Friday that he wanted Devon Perez to throw against Xavier because he felt it was a better matchup. Perez walked just 10 batters in 57 1/3 innings this year. He gave up just one to Xavier Friday.

“We lost our last four coming in,” Hughes said. “Strike throwers usually get you off to a good start.”

Once the Sooners took the lead, Hughes said the plan was to put closer JB Olson in to get the last six outs. However, once the Sooners scored seven, the plan changed. He wanted to see if setup man Vincenzo Aiello could get some outs.

Aiello, though, never threw a strike. Six pitches into his outing, with a 2-0 count against Xavier’s leadoff hitter Chris Givin, Hughes opted to pull Aiello. Olson allowed three hits, but no runs as he got the final outs.

“I wasn’t messing around,” Hughes said. “I don’t make the move that quick if it’s on a Tuesday night in Blacksburg playing VMI. But Game 1 in a regional ... just because it’s so pivotal to get the win.”