NORMAN — It might be fall softball, but Friday's game between Oklahoma and Mid-America Christian University had a different feeling to it.

The biggest reason? It was the first official clash between OU softball head coach Patty Gasso and her husband, Jim, the head coach of the Evangels. Their son, JT Gasso, is the Sooners' hitting coach, making it something of a "Gasso Bowl" at Love's Field.

There was definitely some friendly ribbing between the spouses leading up to the game.

"It has not been fun at home," Patty joked after the game. "It’s been weird, just weird. We’d talk about it, then we don’t. Friends will call, and he’ll put it on speaker phone. And they’re like, ‘You can get them, Jim! This will be the greatest win.’ I’m like, really? So I’m like yelling on the other side, like, ‘You’re dead to me,' to the friends on the other side of the phone. ‘I’m not talking to you.’ I think we were both a little bit nervous.

"But at the same time, what a glorious opportunity to have three Gassos in one game."

Patty's team got the last laugh, as the Sooners secured a 17-0 win in nine innings over MACU.

Despite that pregame ribbing, things were pretty lighthearted between the two teams. Jim made sure to set the tone at the home-plate meeting before the game, as he dressed up in a lion costume.

From there, it was all dominance from the Sooners. Nelly McEnroe-Marinas got things started in the second inning with a home run, Abby Dayton followed that up with a solo home run, and then Maya Bland hit a three-run bomb in the sixth inning to push things ahead for the Sooners.

"If you were here for the start of the game you would have saw a very handsome lion coming out to home plate which was, I had no idea that was happening. This was the first time I’ve ever seen Jim Gasso coach. I’ve seen him coach when he was a young coach. It was like an assistant coach in football. I’ve never seen him coach a softball game. And I was really impressed. He has done a really great job with that program. So I think that is a great victory. I think MACU walked away feeling pretty good. I thought they played hard.

— Here was the Sooners’ starting lineup for the game.

Outfield: Kasidi Pickering, Hannah Coor, Abby Dayton

Infield: Nelly McEnroe-Marinas (third base), Sydney Barker (second base), Ailana Adbyani (short stop), Cydney Sanders (first base)

Catcher: Isabella Emerling

Pitcher: Audrey Lowry

— Lowry was perfect in her three innings, throwing four strikeouts while not allowing a hit or walk.

Patty had some high praise for the true freshman.

"She's very unassuming," Patty said. "You go out, you might look at her and go, 'Oh, what a cute little pitcher.' And she's used to that. She's very quiet, she's kind of shy, but she's very crafty. Kelly Maxwell has a little bit of that, kind of shyness in her, but I see her looking to be someone like a Kelly Maxwell in the future. Kelly didn't start that way. Kelly Maxwell took a couple of years to develop that. Audrey can mix her pitches up. She throws a lot of strikes.

"I'm really excited about her future, and I really am excited where her progress with (OU pitching coach Jennifer Rocha) is right now."

— In addition to Lowry, Paytn Monticelli (1.0 IP, 3Ks) and Sam Landry (6Ks, 2.2IP) were standouts in the circle.

The Sooners are having to retool their pitching staff with the departures of Nicole May, Karlie Keeney and Maxwell. And while it's a definite work in progress, Patty believes that's been the strength of the team this fall.

"The pitchers have been the highlight of this season to me," Patty said. "I mean, we're not striking out 15 a game, but we're getting outs. We're going to make this defense the best you've seen. We're really going to make them good, because we have to. Because they're going to be very important for the pitcher's success. So that is something that I'm counting on.

"But the pitchers threw well. They did a good job. We got out of some big innings. We had bases loaded with nobody out and held on to the shutout. We haven't allowed a run all fall with the exception of the battle series. But I like what the pitchers are doing. I really do."

— The Sooners utilized true freshman Tia Milloy purely as a pinch runner, and she was running the bases early and often. Similar to Mia Bland last season, that appears to be a role Milloy could occupy in 2025.

— Speaking of Bland, the second-year player is showing some real flashes at the plate this fall. That was an area of her game that was slow to develop last season, but there's been growth over the last few weeks.

Bland went two for three at the plate with three runs, three RBIs and one stolen base.

"She has changed a lot. She was definitely a freshman last year and it could be frustrating for both of us at times but I've really seen her elevate and say, 'OK, I get it. I want in.' The way she's swinging right now is legit. There are times when she takes chances when they don't make sense and that's what frustrates me so if I can pull back the reins and get her to understand where we are in the game, how many outs, who's coming up, what the situation is, you've got to think that fast and their brains aren't working that way or Maya's brain is working, 'I can do it. I'm doing it. I can do it' and then you get thrown out at third and you're like 'C'mon.' That was the Maya (of last year).

" We're changing that Maya because Maya can really help this team win. I know it."

— Ailana Agbayani continues to be a standout for the Sooners both offensively and defensively. She went three for five at the plate against MACU, connecting on hits on her first three at bats.

— Ella Parker is now batting .654 for the fall. She was batting .800 coming into the game.

— McEnroe-Marinas has arguably been the biggest story of the fall. After missing all of last season with an injury, the redshirt freshman has been one of the team's most consistent hitters.

"Nelly, first of all, is really really working hard," Patty said. "She's probably one of our hardest workers and she's really doing a great job in all areas of the game so I'm really happy for her and she's become a leader for us."

— Next up: The Sooners conclude the fall with a battle series on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.