OU can put away the suitcases, time for a long stretch at Love's Field

It’s February, and OU softball is home? Yep, the Sooners are home. Head coach Patty Gasso has never done this in her career, but here we are. Three straight weekends for OU at Love’s Field.

Obviously, this one was thrown a curveball with the severe weather. Originally supposed to be Thursday-Sunday, everyone has made it work.

OU schedule

Saturday, Feb. 22 (All Games at Love’s Field)
Bowling Green vs. Wichita State – 12:30 p.m.
Tulsa vs. Oklahoma – 3 p.m.
Abilene Christian vs. Bowling Green – 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 23 (All Games at Love’s Field)
Bowling Green vs. Tulsa – 10:30 a.m.
Abilene Christian vs. Tulsa – 1 p.m.
Wichita State vs. Oklahoma – 3:30 p.m.
Wichita State vs. Abilene Christian – 6 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 24
Abilene Christian vs. Wichita State – Marita Hynes – 11 a.m.
Bowling Green vs. Oklahoma – Love’s Field – 11 a.m.
Tulsa vs. Bowling Green – Marita Hynes – 2 p.m.
Abilene Christian vs. Oklahoma – Love’s Field – 2 p.m.

Gasso and players admitted the pressure of playing at Love’s Field last season. Opening it up, OU had its biggest struggles, arguably, in its new home.

The hope is that is now a thing of the past. Settle in, have fun and get to work.

“We were playing in front of a maximum 1,500 and that felt kind of surreal at a time,” Gasso said. “When we brought in Love’s and there’s 4,500 people here, it sounded as loud as the College World Series. It was just deafening to the ears. The sounds. It was fun, but we were playing very scared and nervous and tight, but we have gotten used to it.

“I hope this new team will feel it and get used to it quickly. But it’s so enjoyable to play in front of a crowd who appreciates what we do on the field. And they’re great fans. Sometimes they don’t appreciate a few things we do on the field and they let us know it. But most fans do that to all sports. So I’ve been thrilled with the fans that are falling in love with this team and their energy and their effort and their blue-collar approach.”

Not sure it will help or hurt, but it just is what it is. With only eight returning players, so many freshmen and transfers are going to get their first taste over the weekend.

You have to get adjusted to the environment eventually, so why not now?

“Being a freshman, it’s a lot different than anything I’ve ever played in front of,” freshman Sydney Barker said. “I think it’s awesome. It’s so cool to see that we have such a large fan base that’s so invested in every game that we have and that even follow us. We saw some familiar faces in California and Texas. So it’s really, really cool to see.

“But on the other side, on the field, I think it’s more of an aspect of being able to block out that outside noise and having the ability to kind of stay within our circle, stay within ourselves and not let the moment get too big. So I think it’s awesome, honestly, that all the fans come out and it’s a really cool feeling knowing the support.”

And a couple of those transfers do know the Love’s atmosphere. It was just from the other side, obviously. Sam Landry (Louisiana) and Ailana Agbayani (BYU) both played in Norman and both teams actually won against the Sooners.

Landry remembers it well but is excited to be on the OU side of things the rest of the way.

“I got to experience Love’s last year on the other end. And I will say that it is a crazy atmosphere to be in a sell-out crowd at Oklahoma University,” Landry said. “I feel like anywhere we go, there’s just so many people that are still rooting for Oklahoma. So it’s just an amazing thing to have and to be able to see. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Scouting the weekend

“Wichita State always poses a problem to us. They are very, very well coached. They usually have just really outstanding hitters and they’ll usually have one good pitcher that can keep us off balance. So this is going to be a big challenge. 

“Tulsa last year, we had some problems with their pitchers. They had a really good pitching staff, and we always have tight games with them as well. They’re scrappy and tough.

“Bowling Green, I’ve known their coach for a long time and her son is one of our GA’s and a lefty BP pitcher, so I know it’s a homecoming for him to get to see his mom. But they’re relatively new. They’re playing tough schedules. She’s new to the program, so I don’t know a lot about them yet, but yeah, this is going to be tough. It’s going to be a good, good tournament to watch.” – Gasso on the rest of the field in Norman