Errors plague Sooners in postseason

Female coaches fill softball’s final four

After rarely committing errors in the regular season, the Sooners struggled to replicate the same crisp defense in the Women’s College World Series.

OU committed three errors in four WCWS games, committing one in each Washington loss and one in the win against Arizona State.

The Huskies capitalized on the error Sunday, scoring on an unearned run in the first as singled through the left side to plate from third.

Bates advanced to third thanks to a throwing error by OU catcher earlier in DePonte’s at-bat. As Bates started to steal second, Wodach attempted to pick her off. But

couldn’t handle Wodach’s errant throw, and the ball got behind her. It allowed Bates to reach third.

Through the first 49 games of the season, the Sooners committed just 11 errors, but they committed 11 in the final 13 games.

Brooke Pryor

For the first time since the Women’s College World Series in 1990, the final four teams were led by female head coaches.

The last four coaches to do it were Oklahoma State’s

UCLA’s Florida State’s and Fresno State’s Now, 28 years later, Oklahoma’s UCLA’s Florida State’s semifinals.

“I just feel very prideful in just proving to our women that women can lead,” Tarr said. Washington’s and led their teams to Sunday’s

When the ball careened off in the stadium knew it was gone.

Sherrill, a freshman second baseman on Florida State’s softball team, began trotting to first base and eventually found herself back at home plate. She smashed a threerun shot to right-center field, her second home run of the WCWS, this one giving the Seminoles a five-run lead in their eventual 12-6 victory against UCLA to help them advance to the championship series against Washington, which begins at 6 p.m. Monday.

The Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year and The Oklahoman’s Big All-City Player of the Year in 2017, Sherrill, from Southmoore High School, relishes the opportunity to make big plays for her team.

She drilled a solo home run in the seventh inning of a victory against top-seeded Oregon on Saturday that knocked the Ducks out of the tournament. Sherrill also leads Division I with 28 doubles, and she hit a three-RBI double in the Seminoles’ opening game Thursday.

Sherrill said playing at Hall of Fame Stadium is much different than in high school.

“It’s definitely a lot different,” Sherrill said. “I mean, looking up in the stands and just seeing tons and tons of people, but then also looking and seeing like my whole family, my whole town, it’s so cool. It’s overwhelming, so I know I have to kind of bring it down. I just get so happy when I think about it, but I go back to playing my game. I think that helps.” bat, everyone

was forced to quit softball after being diagnosed with a condition where one side of her body grows longer than the other.

But on the biggest stage of softball, Dellolio stepped into the circle to pitch.

The official Twitter account of NCAA Softball asked fans to tell their story, and if chosen, the fan would throw out the first pitch before one of the games.

Dellolio’s friend, Meg, saw the post and immediately showed it to her. Dellolio had already planned on coming to the WCWS — a 22-hour drive from her home in Philadelphia — but now she had a chance to step on the field that her condition forced her off of.

Dellolio was diagnosed with hemihyperplasia, which causes her body to produce too many cells. This can lead to hip dysplasia, which is the brunt of her problems.

“It’s not like I did something wrong, or made a wrong turn,” Dellolio said. “It’s just something I was born with.”

Eventually, Dellolio received the call she was waiting for. She was going to throw the first pitch.

Before Oklahoma faced Washington on Sunday, Dellolio walked onto OGE Energy Field with a softball in hand. As the announcer of the stadium started telling her story, the crowd stood, then burst into applause when she threw the ball over the plate.

Dellolio awaits surgery on June 12, which aims to fix her hip problems. She has another 22-hour trip back home on Tuesday, but for Dellolio, it’s something she doesn’t mind.

“It’s definitely been worth it,” she said.