Oklahoma dashed Texas‘ dreams on the softball diamond this week when they won their fourth straight national championship, this time against the rival Longhorns in the final series.
After the game, some of the Texas players spoke to media, where they were asked what the difference is between their team and the program that just won its fourth straight title. Kayden Henry was first to answer, explaining how OU’s experience is such a plus.
“For me being a freshman, I would say just how much veterans they have to play in this environment. They’ve been in this position before and they know how to conduct themselves in big moments, big games. They’ve done it four times in a row. They know how to conduct themselves when it comes to a championship series.
She also believes the home-field advantage of playing in Oklahoma City in front of a bunch of OU fans certainly helps.
“I know on our end, it’s loud, it’s a lot of noise. It can seem like a hostile environment. For them, they have a lot of momentum and fans on their side.”
Viviana Martinez was next to answer, and she was pretty optimistic about the future of Texas softball.
“We’re still growing as a team. They do have a lot of veterans. We’re pretty young, still learning and growing. We’ve proved a lot this year, so I think we’re still coming up. It’s a bright future for us.”
Another underclassman, Citaly Gutierrez, also commented on Texas’ youth compared to the older team in Oklahoma.
“OU had quite a few veterans. They left the program to a high standard. I think we left our program to a high standard as well, with our four seniors leaving,” she commented. Gutierrez then agreed with Martinez that this iteration of the Longhorns still has a very bright future right in front of them.
“We’re right where we need to be. Last year when we lost in supers, I said this team is going to be special in the coming years. I 100% agree to that. We have a lot of our returners coming back next year.”
Surprisingly, Texas reached the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament with a roster that’s certainly on the younger side compared to the rest of the country. So, as long as the portal doesn’t take too big a bite out of Texas, they ought to be right back in the mix for the next couple of seasons.
The post Texas players describe the gap between them, Oklahoma appeared first on On3.