Key for OU freshman Kendall Wells? Keep it simple

If there is one thing OU softball head coach Patty Gasso has tried to preach during this record-breaking season, keep it simple.

Don’t think about the home run. When you start doing that, that’s when you start missing. Well, freshman Kendall Wells? She does not miss.

It took one pitch Friday. That’s it. The first pitch Wells saw, she smashed 230 feet and set two records at once.

It was home run No. 35 for Wells to set the OU single-season record. And, at the time, it was No. 162 for the team to set an NCAA single-season record.

The Sooners would hit three more en route to a 10-2 run-rule (6 innings) victory against visiting Georgia at Love’s Field.

“That was super fun. I will definitely remember it,” Wells said. “I love my teammates and just feeling their love when I stepped on home plate was super cool. Good to see all of our hard work pay off because we do a lot of work behind the scenes that no one sees. Seeing it pay off is great.”

Everybody knew Wells was going to be good, but this good? Seems kinda crazy. But there has been a method to the madness, or greatness for a better term.

One bomb after another, and she was itching closer to the record. She simply was able to block out the noise. Stay true to her process and keep rolling.

“I think it’s gotten maybe a little difficult,” Wells told SoonerScoop. “But I try to keep it super simple. Like coach says, we don’t talk about it a lot. We like to keep things simple. My process is to hit strikes. We don’t talk about home runs, but it’s nice to get them. We’re just trying to get a hard hit and put the bat on the ball.”

Gasso cares about the record(s), make no mistake about it, but that is never the No. 1 goal at a program like OU.

There will be a real time to celebrate it all. Right now, though? Just happy to see a complete performance against a very good Georgia squad.

“You’re witnessing greatness right now,” Gasso said. “I don’t say this to the team. We don’t really celebrate it. We’ve got to stay humble, we’ve got to stay hard-working, there’s going to be a time where we celebrate all this.

“I wasn’t expecting all the fireworks and things like that, it was kinda nice, I guess. I just was wanting to keep playing and keep our group going. But it’s an amazing accomplishment, the fact that this team, which is still very young, is doing this now is something we’ll always remember.”

Wells now has 35 home runs and 77 RBIs. All you can do is tip your hat if you’re the opposing coach.

“Kendall and a bunch of their gals, they don’t have many holes in their swings, right? They’re pretty good,” Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin said. “They’re exceptional at being on time, picking the pitches to be on time with. They don’t expand a lot. So you’ve really got to be fine in your execution. Kendall certainly came in and has adopted what Oklahoma does at a really high rate. I mean, it’s impressive.

“JT (Gasso) and I have been friends for a long time, and he’s as good as anybody out there. I think what makes him so good is he’s exceptionally smart, and he makes it so that they don’t have to try and be smart. He simplifies the game for them because of his intelligence. So I think that’s their secret. Now, Kendall has all the physical tools that you could want, right? That wasn’t hard to see at a pretty young age. And she does a really good job behind the plate. And again, for a freshman, her strike zone awareness is really good, her timing is really good. She’s a tough out, just like all of them.”