Patty Gasso calls on Oklahoma to 'play our game,' not worry about 'defending the crown'

As Oklahoma continues its quest for an unprecedented four-peat, Patty Gasso told ESPN’s Holly Rowe “heavy is the head who wears the crown” ahead of Wednesday’s Women’s College World Series championship opener. The Sooners and rival Texas will gear up in a rematch of the 2022 championship series with a title once again on the line.

When it comes to pulling off the first-ever four-peat, Gasso said her team needs to stick to what it does best. She’s not worried about holding on to that “crown,” and the goal is for the Sooners to keep the high energy this week.

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“The goal here is to just play free,” Gasso told Rowe ahead of first pitch Wednesday night. “You can’t think that way, we don’t have to ‘defend the crown.’ We have to play our game. We’ve got to work very hard today. The goal is to get the first game under your belt.

“We talked about non-negotiables, and energy is an absolute non-negotiable. You must be here, ready to play with all you have. Leave everything on the field.”

Patty Gasso: ‘Pour everything you can’ in to Game 1

Oklahoma knocked off Florida in an elimination game Tuesday afternoon, meaning it was a quick turnaround before Wednesday’s first game of the championship series. But OU is once again turning to Kelly Maxwell, who got the win over the Gators on Tuesday and go in a rare back-to-back.

Gasso knows she’s asking a lot of Maxwell, but said the former Oklahoma State transfer has been preparing for this moment for a long time. However, the staff will try to make sure Maxwell isn’t working too hard since there’s at least one more game to go in the Best of 3 series.

“Again, I say you really want to try to get the first game, so pour everything you can into it,” Gasso said. “Because then, you can have a lot of lee-way afterwards. Right now, we’re leaning to Kelly. She’s waited her whole life to get here.

“I’m gonna throw 800 pitches if I have to. But at the same time, we’ve got to listen to her because she’s very valuable as we’re going forward.”

The Women’s College World Series began with a double-elimination format, but the championship series moves to a Best of 3 series. Game 1 is Wednesday night with Game 2 to follow on Thursday. A Game 3 would await Friday in Oklahoma City if necessary.