Sooners softball ‘playing with a different swagger’ right now
When Oklahoma dropped Game 2 of their series against Oklahoma State last week, it may have felt like the world stopped spinning for some fans.
It felt like history had just been made, as Kenny Gajewski and the Cowgirls had finally cracked the code on what it took to beat the Sooners, not just once but twice. It was the second time in 2024 that OU had dropped a Big 12 series, something a Patty Gasso-led team hadn’t done once since 2011, when the Missouri Tigers were still members of the conference.
For many Sooner fans, that day seemed to represent a sad reality: the difficult task of winning a fourth consecutive national championship might be out of reach — even for the best senior class that college softball has ever seen.
The sun would rise on Sunday, though, and Oklahoma would, in fact, field a team for the third game of the Bedlam series. That version of the Sooners looked a lot more like the teams that OU has fielded in recent years — dominant in all aspects of the game.
OU would barrel their way to an 8-2 victory over Oklahoma State to avoid the sweep, relying on a darling performance from Karlie Keeney in the circle and big performances at the plate, including home runs from Kasidi Pickering, Ella Parker and Tiare Jennings.
The Sooners’ effort was a complete team effort, and Coach Gasso said it was something they could build on.
“I really think we can catapult off this last game Sunday,” Gasso said during Tuesday; availability. “Finals are going to be over. We’ve had long conversations about this is the last thing you’re going to do as a senior and what you want to remember the most. Don’t try too hard. When they have fun, that’s why we were late today. They were having so much fun on the field. They were competing in a way that I hadn’t seen them do in a while.
A few days later, it appears the heightened level at practice has paid off when the lights are on. An offense that had sputtered at times in recent weeks has now put up 31 runs in their last three games, including 23 runs in the Big 12 Tournament alone. Their pitching staff and defense have allowed just five runs over their last three games and just three total runs in games against Kansas and BYU this week.
After Friday’s 13-2 victory over BYU in the semifinals, Gasso reiterated her joy with the team’s current state.
“We’re always going to find a way to get something to click,” Gasso said, “somehow, some way, and we’re not going to stop until we figure it out. That’s always the mentality, but sure, this is a very talented team that has had a few valleys. But the valleys have been really important for us, I think. What you’re seeing right now is a response to some of that. It may be a little late, but we want to win National Championships.
“You can be the best of 12 in a conference, or you can be the best of 300. We’re always searching for trophies, trust me. We’re hunting them. It’s never too late, you know. It’s never too late. So I am really pumped that we’re moving the needle right now.”
A few moments later, sitting in the very same chair, BYU head coach Gordon Eakin reinforced what Gasso was seeing in her own team.
“We played [Oklahoma] in a three-game series a month ago,” Eakin said, “and they have a different swagger today than they did a month ago.”
If anybody would know, it’d be Eakin, who’s Cougars defeated the Sooners 9-4 in the second game of their series last month.
The Sooners will need that swagger if they hope to knock off No. 1 Texas on Saturday to win a Big 12 Tournament title. The Longhorns took down Baylor 14-3 on Friday evening behind five home runs and 13 hits from the nation’s hottest offense.
This Oklahoma team relishes the opportunity for a revenge game against Texas, and on Saturday, they’ll get it.
“I think this team is a team that likes the opportunity to get – whoever might have beaten them – they hope to see them again to make it right or revenge tour or whatever you want to call it…
“Really love the direction we’re going right now. They look to put it all together at the right time. The Big 12 Tournament, of course, we want to win it. But we want to see our steps going in the right direction. Ultimately, we’re after winning all of it.”
