If there’s any time the Oklahoma softball team could relax, it’s this weekend.
The No. 1-ranked Sooners travel to Oklahoma State for their final games of the regular season, having already clinched the Big 12 regular season title. With the Sooners already locking up the No. 1 seed for next week’s conference tournament, it’d be easy for the team to look ahead.
That’s not the way Patty Gasso operates. She knows there’s a lot the Sooners can gain from a matchup with their in-state rival.
“(They have a) good offense, for sure,” Gasso said during Wednesday’s media availability. “You can see their walk-to-strikeout ratio is very close to each other. So they find ways to get on base, their on-base percentage is good. Good bullpen, solid defense. It's almost like we're playing ourselves, that's what we feel like. It's the way they run bases. I'm trying to set up practice like we're playing ourselves. They're good. They're ranked high.”
The No. 6-ranked Cowgirls (41-10, 10-5 Big 12) have been one of the best teams in the country this season. They rank 15th nationally in runs per game (6.36) and 12th in earned run average (1.91). However, the Cowgirls have stumbled a bit in recent weeks, losing seven of their last nine games.
The Sooners, however, are playing as consistently as ever. They’ve surrendered just two runs in their previous two conference series, beating Kansas and Texas Tech by a combined score of 43-2. They also picked up a 6-0 win in their last outing at Tulsa on Tuesday.
But Gasso and the Sooners aren’t overlooking the Cowgirls.
“We really want to have a clean game, clean weekend,” Gasso said. “(Our) pitchers have been great. Our defense has been outstanding. Offensively, this is gonna be a challenge for us and we know it. It’s a lot of work. There’s a lot of emotions in these games and all that. It’s good for us to feel. That’s what LSU was for, was to get us to understood what it feels like on the road in a hostile environment.
“So we’re looking forward to it. It’s always fun to play them. It's fun to play tight games. It’s fun to play hard games. It’s fun to play in front of crowds whether they’re for you or against you. But ultimately it’s going to make us better and prepare us for what’s next and that’s what this is about for us.”
There’s a couple of other things that make this a big weekend, too.
The future of the Bedlam rivalry is unclear with the Sooners’ impending move to the Southeastern Conference in 2024. Gasso said there hasn’t been much discussion about the future of the series as the program adjusts to scheduling changes in the SEC.
Also, the rivalry has seen more of a national spotlight with both teams becoming premiere programs in college softball. Both teams have made the Women’s College World Series every season since 2019, and both are in a good position to return this season.
With the Sooners in prime position to make a run at a third consecutive championship, she knows road games like these are important for the team’s growth.
“ESPN’s (going to be) there, so that means something,” Gasso said. “To showcase our state and good softball throughout our entire state, it’s something to be prideful for. So we want to represent that, as well. These are for bragging rights, so to speak, within our state, so it does mean something for us. We’re not walking around holding trophies. We’re not even talking about that right now. We just want to get through the rest of Big 12 and then celebrate after that.
“But these guys won’t do much celebrating if they’re not gonna go out there and play well and play to win. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The series is set for 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN2), 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN) and 2 p.m. Sunday (ESPN+) at Cowgirl Stadium in Stillwater.
