NORMAN — Patty Gasso and Patrick Murphy have seen each other plenty of times as opposing head coaches.

In fact, this weekend will just be the latest chapter in the OU-Alabama rivalry.

The 2-seed Sooners host 15-seed Alabama this weekend for a Super Regional at Love's Field. The Crimson Tide beat the Sooners twice in a three-game series earlier this season in Tuscaloosa.

But it won't be just a rematch. The two programs have faced each other 21 times since 1997, and 20 of those contests have come with Gasso as the Sooners' head coach and Murphy as Alabama's skipper. The Sooners have a 12-9 advantage in the all-time series record.

"I've known Pat Murphy for quite awhile," Gasso said Wednesday. "A long, long time actually. And he is really, really good at getting his team ready. And they're fast. They're aggressive. They have a good staff and he mixes them up really good, so you've gotta be ready to flip your script quickly as to who he brings in.

"They challenge you. They challenge you on base paths. If you bobble, they're gonna score. If you do anything bad and it's not clean, they will make you pay for it. But he is a master of motivation and getting his teams ready to be their best in this type of postseason setting."

Even though the two teams weren't in the same conference until this season, there have been plenty of high-level battles.

They've played each other 12 times in the NCAA Tournament, with both teams winning six of those games. The first postseason matchup came in 2003, when the Sooners beat them 6-3 at the Women's College World Series.

But the biggest matchup came in 2012, when the two teams clashed in the WCWS final. The Sooners won the first game before dropping the final two contests by a combined three runs. They also met in the 2019 WCWS semifinals, when the Sooners lost the first game before rallying to win 7-3 in the second game, punching a ticket to the WCWS final.

There has simply been no shortage of matchups between these two teams on the biggest stages. That's what comes to Gasso's mind.

"I think of big moments where either you're knocking us out or we're knocking you out," Gasso said of the rivalry with Alabama. "We've both kind of have done that through, whether it's a super regional or the World Series. (Former OU player) Shay Knighten has walked off (in a game) that I think knocked them out. We've had that kind of back and forth with each other."

All of that history will come to a head this weekend. The Super Regional begins at 4 p.m. Friday (ESPN2).

The Crimson Tide (40-21) are looking for their 16th WCWS appearance. The Sooners (48-7) are looking to punch their 18th bid to Oklahoma City, and they'll have to do it against a team that had their number earlier this season.

Gasso knows it'll be a battle.

"They know how to fight," Gasso said. "They're well-coached. They'll come in and they're not gonna be afraid coming in here. They're coming in for their lives, as we are. So it's gonna be a classic matchup and it's gonna be hard fought.

"At the end, it's gonna be a hug for Pat Murphy and vice versa because I think we’re old enough to know that we know how hard this is and appreciate getting better from each other and wish the other team well."

FRIDAY, GAME 1: 4 p.m. (ESPN2)

SATURDAY, GAME 2: 2 p.m. (ESPN)

SUNDAY, GAME 3: TV & Time TBD

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