OU softball notebook: 'It's just going to be fun'

OKLAHOMA CITY – OU softball head coach Patty Gasso said the first meeting between Oklahoma and Florida State felt like a Super Regional.

The Sooners had to battle back in that one to win 5-4 in mid-March. It was a rare occasion when a top-five team like the Seminoles would come to Norman.

OU and FSU have now done one better. It’s not a Super Regional. Heck, it’s not even a matchup in the Women’s College World Series. It’s for everything. It’s the Sooners and Seminoles in the best-of-3 championship series that begins Wednesday night.

“They’re very similar to us,” Gasso said. “Am I surprised that we’re both here? No. But they’re very similar. But we’re a different team than we were in March, as are they. So we’re familiar with names and their style, but we’ve got to go back to the drawing board like we haven’t seen them before.”

OU and FSU felt like the two best teams entering the eight-team field. Nothing that occurred in the first five days has changed that opinion. Both went 3-0, no ‘if’ games necessary.

Both have the championship pedigree. OU is 59-1 overall and on a 51-game winning streak. But Gasso knows the Seminoles aren’t going to be intimidated.

“That’s why I think you’re going to see a really outstanding Championship Series,” Gasso said. “It will be truly a battle, and there’s a lot of things that are going to be at stake in the way of who can pitch better, who can get the timely hits, all those things.

“This is not run rule territory here. It’s just going to be fun. I tell you, these players love this stuff.”

OU finding its joy

You’d think it would be pretty easy to be happy and find the joy of the season when you’ve been the best for so long.

But as you listen to the OU players, this season has felt different in that regard. Fun has been the word of the season for the Sooners. Winning, for sure, makes it easier. But it’s a connection among the group that goes well beyond just the scoreboard.

“One thing about this season that I’ve really noticed is how much joy we have as a team,” junior Alyssa Brito said. “I know (Grace) Lyons touched on it a little bit, but this is honestly the most fun I’ve ever had.

“We have some of the craziest memories together. And it’s some of those things that you look back on later in life and you’re just so grateful. So I’m just so glad that this team was put together and all these great girls.

“Then when we get here on the field in the biggest stage, it’s just like it’s a party. And we’re just having so much fun together.”

Sandercock vs. Bahl

You can’t talk OU and FSU without mentioning the incredible pitching matchup that is going to take place between FSU’s Kathryn Sandercock and OU’s Jordy Bahl.

You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to know who is getting the call Wednesday night for both teams.

“She’s such a competitive pitcher,” said OU captain Grace Lyons about Sandercock. “I think we’ve seen a lot of competitive pitchers this year, but she has a really cool just way she pitches. She does a lot of different things and keeps hitters on edge.

“So I think we’re just excited to get her best and Florida State’s best because it’s going to take a complete team on both sides to win a series.”

Sandercock pitched two innings in Norman in March, and she’s faced the Sooners before in crucial moments.

She won’t be in awe. She won’t be afraid. It’s the type of attitude you would expect at this time of year.

“I think it’s just the coolest challenge as a pitcher to put yourself up against the best and see what you’ve got,” Sandercock said. “Really excited to face them, and I think it’s really cool to have some experience playing them before.

“They know me a little bit. I know them a little bit. Yeah, it should be just really fun softball this week.”