Oklahoma
Oklahoma Pitching Coach Jennifer Rocha ‘Forever Grateful’ to Karlie Keeney
NORMAN — Karlie Keeney was in a difficult position.
Less than two years after her college career ended, Keeney found herself not only taking over as an interim pitching coach but doing it at Oklahoma, where she’d be taking over the Jennifer Rocha — one of the most well-respected pitching coaches around.
The Sooners had a staff with little experience pitching for OU, with transfers Sydney Berzon and Miali Guachino, freshmen Allyssa Parker and Berkley Zache playing roles.
Only Kierston Deal and Audrey Lowry had pitched at all for the Sooners entering this season.
It wasn’t a great start to the season pitching-wise for Oklahoma but the Sooners had clearly taken a turn in recent weeks under Keeney.
They’d moved into the top 25 nationally in team ERA.
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Now that Rocha is back, having been declared cancer-free after a cervical-cancer diagnosis led to her stepping away from the team for the first seven weeks of the season, Sooners coach Patty Gasso continued to heap praise on Keeney.
“She really allowed this team to stay together,” Gasso said.
Before Rocha’s return, Gasso praised Keeney’s growth as a pitching coach.
“I think she has really improved on her pitch-calling as we’ve gone along,” Gasso said. “She does a really good job of communicating with pitchers, asking them, ‘What do you want here?’, ‘What kind of combos are you looking for?’, what have you. So she’s gotten better and I’ve gotten better.
“We’ve gotten better together as we’ve gone along.”
OU allowed just five runs during its three-game sweep of Kentucky, which wrapped up with a 12-2 five-inning win Saturday.
“I’m happy that she was available,” Rocha said of Keeney after Tuesday’s 12-3 win over Wichita State, Rocha’s first home game since returning March 27 against LSU. “I don’t know, only God knows why her name was the first one that was thrown out, but she certainly stepped in and was readily available. She’s done, really, an amazing job under the circumstances. To bring a former player one year out to come in and just take over a top Division-I softball program, it’s hard for anybody to do. And so I commend Karlie on the job that she’s done with our pitching staff. It’s a young pitching staff, and she really did her best to manage it, and she got us to this point. So I’m just forever grateful for what she’s done.”
Even though Rocha has returned, Keeney will remain part of the staff for the remainder of the season, serving as a bullpen coach.
“Just having someone that was here only two years ago so getting her point of view and then also having Coach Rocha’s, who has been doing this forever, so it’s like just having them two is great for my mentality,” Guachino said of her relationship with both Keeney and Rocha.
Oklahoma
Fire damages apartment complex in northwest Oklahoma town
GUYMON, Okla. (KSNW) – Fire crews were busy Monday battling an apartment fire in Guymon, Oklahoma.
It happened at the Apache Trace Apartments on East 5th South Street and Morgan Avenue, according to Texas County Emergency Management.
There is no word on exactly how much damage the fire caused, but the sheriff’s office confirms that people living in the apartment were displaced.
Texas County crews worked the scene overnight and will provide an update later this morning.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma City police officers placed on leave over April Fools’ Day 911 call to dispatchers
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Police Department has placed officers on leave after reports of an April Fools’ Day prank that sent squad cars in pursuit of a baby being thrown out of a car before the call was revealed as a hoax.
Oklahoma City Police Capt. Valerie Littlejohn confirmed Monday that an internal investigation was ongoing but would not say how many officers were placed on administrative leave or provide details of the accusations.
“We are aware of a reported pursuit involving some of our officers that included serious claims, which has since been determined to be false,” Littlejohn said in a statement. “We take this situation seriously and are committed to ensuring a thorough review is conducted.”
The investigation followed published police radio audio from the night of April 1, reported by Oklahoma City television station KFOR and other stations, in which a dispatcher says that the “city just advised that the suspect threw a baby out the window.”
“The police officer that’s in pursuit does not have a radio. He’s just messaging his location,” the dispatcher says.
After a number of officers responded to the report, a dispatcher can later be heard saying: “It was an April Fools’ prank.”
Another dispatcher says: “Not funny.”
A message left Monday with the president of Oklahoma City police union president seeking comment on the incident was not immediately returned.
Oklahoma law makes it misdemeanor crime to report “knowingly false information which could result in the dispatch of emergency services from any public agency.” Punishment is a fine of up to $500 and an assessment for any costs associated with dispatching emergency personnel.
Oklahoma
Los Angeles faces Oklahoma City, looks for 11th straight home win
Oklahoma City Thunder (62-16, first in the Western Conference) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (50-28, third in the Western Conference)
Los Angeles; Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Thunder -13; over/under is 226.5
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles will try to keep its 10-game home win streak alive when the Lakers take on Oklahoma City.
The Lakers are 30-18 in conference matchups. Los Angeles ranks ninth in the Western Conference with 31.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Luka Doncic averaging 7.1.
The Thunder are 39-9 in Western Conference play. Oklahoma City averages 12.0 turnovers per game and is 50-10 when winning the turnover battle.
The Lakers make 50.1% of their shots from the field this season, which is 6.7 percentage points higher than the Thunder have allowed to their opponents (43.4%). The Thunder average 119.2 points per game, 3.9 more than the 115.3 the Lakers allow to opponents.
The two teams match up for the fourth time this season. The Thunder defeated the Lakers 139-96 in their last matchup on April 3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 28 points, and Austin Reaves led the Lakers with 15 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: LeBron James is scoring 20.8 points per game with 6.1 rebounds and 7.1 assists for the Lakers. Jaxson Hayes is averaging 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds while shooting 79.2% over the past 10 games.
Chet Holmgren is scoring 17.0 points per game and averaging 8.8 rebounds for the Thunder. Isaiah Joe is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Lakers: 7-3, averaging 119.7 points, 42.2 rebounds, 25.8 assists, 8.5 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 52.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.5 points per game.
Thunder: 9-1, averaging 123.9 points, 47.1 rebounds, 26.5 assists, 9.1 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 50.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.3 points.
INJURIES: Lakers: Austin Reaves: out (rib), Marcus Smart: out (ankle), Luka Doncic: out (hamstring).
Thunder: Alex Caruso: day to day (illness), Luguentz Dort: day to day (undisclosed), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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