Patty Gasso on start to postseason: We had a bold presence

Oklahoma romped through its regional in the NCAA softball tournament as the Sooners run-ruled all three opponents they faced. Reflecting back after the weekend, Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso shared that the emphasis from the team was to be “bold.”

Gasso feels like her team delivered on that challenge, bringing an intimidating energy to the ballpark. And from that mindset flowed confidence and quality play, Gasso said.

“The word we talked about was bold. And I felt that they had a very bold presence. A very suffocating approach. I felt it. If I was an opponent, I would feel OU, just almost unstoppable. Felt every part of our game was on point. I’m very happy with what it looked like this weekend,” Gasso said.

Oklahoma’s competition in the super regional, No. 16 seed Clemson, might be right to feel some level of intimidation factor.

In the regional, Oklahoma didn’t allow a run until the third game, a 16-3 smothering of Cal in five innings. The previous two games, the Sooners posted a pair of 11-0 shutouts in games last five and six innings, respectively.

It was yet another weekend of domination for Oklahoma, something the Sooners are accustomed to. Oklahoma is the reigning back-to-back national champions and are 54-1 following the regional weekend. Including this year, the Sooners have lost eight games in the past three seasons.

“Yeah, I think everything is really on point. And they’re making it look very easy, which is a sign of a lot of confidence. Practices have been good, they’ve been working hard at practice. Running out of things to work on, but I always find something. That’s why I’m 15 minutes late,” Gasso said. “But they just look confident and look ready to play.”

Gasso discussed what keys Oklahoma in the postseason amid their regional romp

Gasso spoke on why her teams have a ton of success in the postseason, saying it’s Oklahoma’s favorite time of the year. They might be tired from playing in a long regular season and ready to relax a little bit. But not without lifting a trophy in Oklahoma City first — a day everyone in Norman is looking forward to.

“They love this time of year,” Gasso said. “They work their way, they play 50 games and they are exhausted. They know how many are left in order to win it all and it’s almost like a countdown because they’re exhausted and ready to go on vacation. But they want to have a trophy as they go off to the Bahamas or wherever they’re going. That’s all I would say.”