I actually thought our primary breakdown last night was more mental than effort-based, at least in the beginning. We started pressing early at the plate and in the field, and then it snowballed, and after that, mentally and emotionally, it was over. There's no coming back against OU unless it's a run or two - their offense is just too good.
Take the first inning. OU pitcher is struggling with command and has walked several batters. Smith comes up and swings at the first thing she sees - it's up in the zone and she pops out to end the inning - that's pressing and not playing smart. You gotta work the count there. Then, in the bottom frame, Dolcini was not doing that badly. She had several batters in favorable 2 strike counts, but those girls can hit and they guessed and executed perfectly. Take the first baserunner for example. I recall Dolcini had her 0-2. My call would have been a screwball off the plate to see if she would chase. Hailey did exactly that and threw a great pitch - it was off the plate and the batter chased . . . she just made a great swing (probably looking for that pitch) and ripped it for a double. Sometimes you just have to tip the cap to a great piece of hitting. Even the HR to Alo wasn't a bad pitch - it was in up on the hands, but Alo is a monster. Ok, 2-1, game not over. Then we started pressing in the field, not taking the easy outs. That's when it snowballed, and Dolcini starting losing it - the 2nd HR was a meatball. After that, the game was effectively over. There's no coming back from 5-1 against this OU team. OSU, yes. Not OU.
The key is you have to play them close early and make them press - they are not used to that. Easier said than done tho.