WCWS semis doubleheaders threaten player safety, coaches say

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Oklahoma bounced back from losing a Women’s College World Series semifinal to UCLA on Monday, dominating the Bruins in a game that started 30 minutes after the first one.

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said the turnaround should not have been so quick.

The Sooners handled it fine, but Gasso still called it a player safety issue. She likes that the NCAA’s Division I Competition Oversight Committee added a day between the semifinals and finals, one of several popular changes made before the season. But she would give it up for time between the semifinal games.

"The last time we played a doubleheader was in March, and we are in the final four and we’re playing a doubleheader 30 minutes after -- I mean, you’re playing two games with a 30-minute break to decide who is going to play for a national championship," she said. "I didn’t like that."

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Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso, second from right, talks with her team during the fourth first inning of an NCAA softball Women's College World Series game against UCLA on Monday, June 6, 2022, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

In a schedule quirk last year, a rain delay pushed back the start times for the first semifinal games, so the NCAA moved the second semifinal games to the next day. Gasso believes that kind of arrangement should be permanent.

Texas made the most of the new format, beating Oklahoma State twice on Monday night to qualify for the best-of-three championship series. But even Longhorns coach Mike White isn’t sure that part of it is ideal.

"Winning that first game for us was huge, but not having the ability to come back and regroup can