Best of Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso: Bedlam week

The No. 1-ranked Oklahoma softball team concludes its regular season this weekend with a three-game set at No. 7 Oklahoma State for Bedlam.

Head coach Patty Gasso had an 18-minute press conference Wednesday afternoon to preview the series and a whole lot more.

The Sooners (46-1 overall, 15-0 Big 12) have already clinched the Big 12 regular season championship but this weekend is still incredibly important.

Here are some of the best questions and answers from Gasso.

It’s Bedlam week. What do you see as the key to a weekend like this?

We really want to have a clean game, clean weekend. Pitchers have been great. Our defense has been outstanding. Offensively, this is gonna be a challenge for us and we know it. It’s a lot of work. There’s a lot of emotions in these games and all that. It’s good for us to feel. That’s what LSU was for, was to get us to understand what it feels like on the road in a hostile environment. So we’re looking forward to it. It’s always fun to play them. It’s fun to play tight games. It’s fun to play hard games. It’s fun to play in front of crowds whether they’re for you or against you. But ultimately, it’s going to make us better and prepare us for what’s next and that’s what this is about for us.

Bedlam isn’t just big for the Big 12, but what’s it been like seeing it become a national spotlight series?

ESPN’s there, so that means something. To showcase our state and good softball throughout our entire state, it’s something to be prideful for. So we want to represent that, as well. These are for bragging rights, so to speak, within our state, so it does mean something for us. We’re not walking around holding trophies. We’re not even talking about that right now. We just want to get through the rest of Big 12 and then celebrate after that. But these guys won’t do much celebrating if they’re not gonna go out there and play well and play to win. That’s what we’re trying to do.

You were already heading to Stillwater this weekend, so why was it important to still play at Tulsa on Tuesday?

For a lot of reasons. I think it’s important to play in state. We have a lot of fans up there. Our team likes to play a game better than practice. So, let’s all travel together. I know I’ve changed my approach in a lot of ways. I want to help Tulsa. I want to help their program. If we can help them sell out and they get profits from ticket sales that can get them a restroom in their dugout, on the visitors side as well? I want to help that cause. It truly is. It’s not really even a joke. It’s just really trying to help them – that they can make some extra money to help their stadium or whatever else they need.

We’re spoiled. We are spoiled. You’re sitting in this clubhouse thinking really? You’re spoiled? We’re about to be really spoiled. I’ve seen it at programs that just don’t have the money or have what we have to do what we do. And if it’s encouragement or opportunity that they get that they normally don’t get. I think what was cool is it was their last home game and they got to play in front of a sellout crowd. I thought that was cool for their seniors. It helped us. We learn something every time we play. We walked away learning some valuable lessons as well.

Have you thought about if or how Bedlam softball could continue once OU moves to the SEC?

It’s really interesting because I haven’t even gotten halfway through my 2024 schedule, so it’s not on my mind whatsoever. I’m assuming that our athletic director will have some input on it. I’ve never been called and asked to play. It’s never even been discussed. So I’m not worried about it. When there’s the right time for me to even think about it, I will. No one’s afraid to play anyone else, anything like that. It’s really, I have to understand the dynamics of what we’re walking into and what makes sense. So first and foremost, I’m gonna take care of our team and what’s best for us. But our athletic director maybe having something else on his mind. I don’t know. But we’ll come to that road when it’s time. But it’s certainly not even close to being time for me to even discuss.

Consider the possibility of a split series with one game in Norman, Stillwater and Oklahoma City?

I really haven’t (thought about it). I mean there was a time when we were doing a home, Hall of Fame and home. And that was not changed by me. So that made a lot of sense. But I don’t know. I really – if I’m going to be honest, it’s not even on my plate right now. There are so many other things I’m going to worry about like going into the SEC. Yeah, that’s a whole ‘nother animal that I’m looking forward to. But it’s scheduling-wise, I’m just trying to work on 2024. But if it works right, we’re in. We’re in. There’s no, ‘oh gosh we don’t want to.’ It’s just sense, does it make sense?