STILLWATER, Okla. — The most unusual of circumstances took place in a 6-4 victory for the top-ranked Sooners in game two of the Bedlam Series. For the first time in a very long time, head coach Patty Gasso was ejected, when she objected to a call in the top of the sixth inning.
Center fielder Jayda Coleman reached with a single up the middle. She then raced first to third on pinch hitter Taylon Snow’s single, but was called out when Oklahoma State third baseman Sydney Pennington blatantly pushed her hand off the bag.
That sent Gasso into a rage, as she threw down her signal card, which brought over the other field umpire, who appeared to bump into Gasso. Eventually, that led to the Sooner head coach’s ejection.
Afterwards, she addressed that incident and the rest of the game, which ultimately ended as a positive. OUInsider.com presents all of her thoughts right here.
Opening statement: “Quite an intense game for sure. I was really proud of Shannon Saile. I thought she threw really well. The team clutched up when they needed to…Ultimately, we needed something like that, personally. So it was good to see the team respond the way they did.”
Where she went during the time after she got tossed: “It’s been quite awhile for me to even know what to do. So, I walked in the dugout, walked out the back door of the dugout and just kind of stood behind the dugout. And then their administrator came and kind of escorted me to the bus. I knew that’s probably where I had to end up, but I was not quite sure if someone was escorting me or [what]. I didn’t know. I didn’t know. I just did what I was led to do. So [there’s] not much to that.”
If she was able to watch the game on her phone: “To be honest, I’m loyal to Chris Plank, so I put him on the radio. I didn’t want to watch it. I just wanted to listen. And I’m glad I was listening to Plank.”
Who becomes the acting head coach when he leaves after an ejection: “It would be Jen Rocha. She’s the associate head coach.”
How well this atmosphere will prepare them for the postseason: “Oh, wonderfully. I mean, there’s a lot on the line obviously, and that is what postseason is like. There are times when your back is against the wall, and if you want to continue your season you’ve got to find a way to get it done. That’s really kind of our mentality that we had today, and I think early we came out really trying to get ahead and set the tone. I thought Shannon, like I said, threw really well tonight. I didn’t get to see it, but I heard Nicole May just really did a fantastic job closing it out for the win. It sounded like it got really hairy towards the end of that seventh inning.”
If she thinks it’s time softball adds instant replay: “I 100% do. I think that’s a great question, because the stakes are high, and I know umpires can’t see everything, and it’s a tough game to officiate. I know baseball has it, and if baseball has it, softball should have it.”
On Nicole Mendes’ home run: “Yeah, that’s our super senior. She’s trying to leave it all on the field and really set another tone for us, gave us some nice insurance going forward.”
