What OU players Ella Parker, Kasidi Pickering and Sam Landry said after beating Tennessee
They call it Sooner Magic. And it was floating around Oklahoma City on Thursday.
The Oklahoma Sooners rallied to a 4-3 win over Tennessee in their first game of the Women's College World Series thanks to a two-out, three-run, walk-off home run by Ella Parker.
Parker, outfielder Kasidi Pickering, and pitcher Sam Landry took the dais with coach Patty Gasso after the game to field questions. Here's what the players had to say.
More: Everything Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said after Sooners beat Tennessee in WCWS
Parker on game-winner
"Just understanding just to keep passing the bat. I wasn't trying to make any moment too big. I thought all of our batters before that did a good job of staying loose in the moment and not letting the moment get too big. Honestly, I looked at Maya Bland and she said, 'God's got you.' He's our fourth man in the fire. I just stuck with it, ran with it, and we kept the faith until the end. "
Pickering on single that kept the inning alive
"Throughout my whole at-bat, I was just 'Pass the bat. Pass the bat. Don't go outside yourself. Ella will have you back.' That was just what got me into it. "
More: Social media reacts to Ella Parker's walk-off home run to fuel Oklahoma win
Landry on her defense
"We work on double plays all the time, so they're fun to turn in the game. They're definitely a momentum changer. Just having them there to change the momentum, keep it on our side. Basically, the whole game was kind of on their side. So when we could take those moments and get it back in our dugout, it was a win."
Parker on the feeling after the homer
"I honestly don't really remember the first pitch. I just remember rounding the bases with my team's arms wide open and starting to get teary-eyed and really emotional. It was just really, really cool to have them with us this whole time. We never got out of it. We kept the faith until the end. Just being able to run into them was, like, really, really, really awesome."
Landry on sticking with it when trailing
"Not every pitch is going to go my way, but this team is amazing in everything they do. I trust them. I was telling Nellie before the game - she's not in here - but I was just like 'I just have a feeling about this game. Something is going to happen.' Double plays. Ella's hit. Two home runs. Just something about it. I knew if I stayed locked in, they were going to come around. I just kept them where I could."
Parker on athletes who inspire her
"I just think it was really cool to have all those players I looked up to either in the dugout with me or right against the fence in the front row. I think I looked at Jocey that last at-bat. … Being able to finally be that, it makes me really passionate about what's to come for our future and being able to pass that to our future."
Parker on the personal difficulty of the season
"Just learning more to invest in my teammates. I know my teammates have my back and I know I have theirs. … Just being able to have them and know that they're my backbone is something I started to learn a lot more about."
Three players on Sooner Magic
Pickering: "We're just so invested in each other and just knowing you're never out. Like coach was saying, if there's one pitch left, just knowing we can take the game over. Even going to the seventh, Sam kept us in the game the whole time."
Parker: "It's just keeping the faith, like Kas said. Just knowing that we're never out of it until it's over."
Landry: "Sooner Magic travels. … I think a lot of the Sooner Magic comes from the people out there supporting us. We're able to keep that with our team and give the glory to God."
Parker on having her family in attendance
"My family is my No. 1 support system. I started playing because my older sister played and I wanted to be exactly like her. Being able to have that moment and share that moment with them is so awesome to me."
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