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Best of OU head coach Patty Gasso: Family reunion weekend

Bob Przybyloby:Bob Przybylo•about 11 hours•

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Patty Gasso17
OU HC Patty Gasso. (Bryan Terry - Imagn Images)

It’s going to be a Gasso family reunion this weekend with OU and Arkansas softball. It will also mark the initial SEC road conference series for the undefeated Sooners.

OU, coming off a 10-2 run-rule victory at Tulsa on Wednesday, heads to Fayetteville. And here comes the Gasso family.

OU head coach Patty Gasso and hitting guru, JT Gasso in one dugout. Patty’s son, D.J., the hitting coach for Arkansas in the other.

The best of the best as the softball world gets ready for Gasso Bowl.

Going against your son, D.J. Gasso?

“I’m proud of him. He does a good job. This is something that is always uncomfortable for our family. We’ve met him before when he was at Utah. There’s a little banter back and forth – not between me – but between the brothers because they both do the same job. It’s kind of more of a celebration, honestly. I remember when these guys were little and I was like ‘I’m doing a horrible job, being a mom, being a coach, I’m not taking care of them.’ Never in a million years thought they would end up being – maybe coaches, but not softball coaches. The fact that they are both doing it, to me it’s like celebration of wow. To them, it’s something different. For me, it’s something fun and exciting.”

Nelly McEnroe-Marinas coming along?

“Nelly has really matured quite a bit and has a good understanding of how this program works and has a good understanding of being a good leader through example. I’ve been really happy with her production at the plate. She’s out there right now and she’s late coming in because she wants more ground balls. That’s really a true example of the professionalism that she takes in what she does.”

The ’Gasso Way’ of hitting?

The offensive philosophy really was designed by JT. And JT was kind of a GA with us and then he went off and kind of created his own hitting style and then I hired him back and that’s when he implemented it and it’s just been growing and growing and growing through new technology and new science and things that are really changing the way our team is swinging and DJ is jumping on board.

At first, he was like, ‘JT, tell me,’ and JT’s like, ‘No, figure it out yourself.’ That’s how they were doing things. I think DJ has really done … They’re good hitters, they’re strong and he’s done a good job with them. I don’t know if they’re talking the same language because they don’t … They tell me they don’t talk a lot but I think that they talk hitting some, but then they go so far and then they stop. They won’t go too far. So I don’t ask. I’m over, I’m done with those two fighting. I just want sweet little grandkids. I don’t want to deal with those guys but they’re good, they’re both really, really good at what they do.

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