Sooners, Cowgirls planning Bedlam series at Hall of Fame Stadium in 2025

Patty Gasso has led her Sooners into battle against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls a total of 69 times, and she's been utterly dominant in the series.

She holds an all-time record of 56-13 against the Cowgirls since taking over the Sooners' program in 1995 and has gone 43-5 against the Pokes dating back to 2000.

In every one of those games, the Sooners and Cowgirls have shared a conference emblem. Be it Big 8 or Big 12, the two programs have been intertwined from the beginning.

That will no longer be the case starting in 2025, as Gasso and the Sooners transition into life in the SEC and Kenny Gajewski's Cowgirls become the team to beat in the Big 12.

If it weren't for the most dominant era in collegiate sports history, Gajewski's program would be heralded as the standard in college softball. Since he took over in 2016, Oklahoma State has a record of 358-145 (.712), and the program hasn't missed an NCAA Tournament. Then, after establishing his program in the first few seasons, Oklahoma State grew into the nation's second-best softball program.

Since 2019, the Cowgirls have gone 249-72 (.776) and haven't missed a Women's College World Series.

Yet, he holds a record of 2-23 against Gasso's Sooners.

This weekend, Gasso and Gajewski will do battle for the final time as regular season Big 12 foes, which the Sooners' head coach says she's trying not to see as anything other than business.

"I’m not really looking at it like that," Gasso said when addressing the last Bedlam in Big 12 history. "I mean, I’m readily admitting that I am a coach of the Big 12, and I will be because I’m not going to be coaching for another 30 years. I just want to be alive in 30 years, I don’t know that that will even happen. I’ve left everything I could on this field, as has our program to the Big 12. We’re ready to march into the SEC the best we can.

"There’s no sentimental anything quite yet because it’s still very much business. And if you play, you coach, or you think with too much emotion, you’re going to get lost. So we’re staying in the moment. We’re staying locked into every pitch, every inning, every at-bat. So that’s all we can do this weekend, so I’m just really not thinking about the meaning of it. I probably won’t until after it’s all over."

While it will be the final Big 12 series between the two programs, softball fans in the Sooner State will have at least another season's worth of Bedlam to look forward to.

When asked about the plausibility of a Bedlam series in 2025, Gasso seemed to suggest that something is in the works.

"We reached out to [Oklahoma State]," Gasso said. "Our sports administrator reached out to theirs. We came up with a mutual date; I don’t know what it is. But the plan is to play at the Hall of Fame Stadium. There have been rumblings that I don’t know about, except I do know that we reached out to them, and it sounds like it’s happening."

Bedlam softball remaining a fixture of the sport is in the best interest of everyone involved. There won't be a series in softball that features better programs than the two that reside in Oklahoma, and an annual meeting at Hall of Fame Stadium makes a ton of sense.

But there's no time to look ahead to future matchups, as a Big 12 Championship is on the line this weekend. Heading into the final weekend of the year, Oklahoma has a one-game lead on Texas in the Big 12 race.

With a sweep this weekend, the Sooners would be Big 12 champs for the 12th consecutive season. However, one loss would open the door for Texas to take home the crown. The Longhorns are at Texas Tech this weekend and can win a Big 12 title with a sweep of the Red Raiders and one loss from the Sooners.

Oklahoma State could also win the crown if it can take down the Sooners in Norman. A sweep of Oklahoma combined with one loss from Texas would give the Pokes a Big 12 Trophy.

Everything is on the line for the Sooners this weekend, and even if it's not the final Bedlam series we see between these two teams, it certainly won't feel the same.

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