OU softball on the cusp of making some SEC history

Nobody is ever going to say that OU head coach Patty Gasso doesn’t have the pulse of her team. But she has to admit she was a little bit wrong about the 2025 group.

Go back to fall ball, preseason. Gasso was adamant the story was going to be the speed. She thought it would be a whole lot of small ball and taking free bases with the quickness.

It just hasn’t had to be that way. Because the Sooners power numbers have come through. And it’s not just one player. Between Kasidi Pickering, Gabbie Garcia, Nelly McEnroe-Marinas, take your pick.

Oh, and Ella Parker is starting to be herself again.

And just like that, OU is a weekend away from doing what not many thought possible. Go to the SEC and win the initial regular season championship.

But if OU wins two of three in Gainesville against Florida? That’s exactly what will happen. And if it does, you can expect some power to lead the way.

“When you say that, I don’t even believe you. I’m like, ‘That’s not true.’ I just don’t — I guess I see them, but there’s a lot of them that hit them versus just three or four,” Gasso said. “I mean, they’re hitting them throughout the lineup, and Gabbie’s up there, Nelly’s up there, Pickering. I mean, there’s a lot of our athletes throughout the lineup that can hit it out at any time, but I just still think of us as being, I got to get over this, I guess, I think of us as still being young, and maybe we’re not strong enough, but I look at the numbers, like, how are we doing? We’re really doing this.

“I have to even count them up, like what I’m looking at is not adding up right, which is ridiculous, but I’m just seeing strength come from them, but also they put a lot of work in, like this one right here is in the indoor hitting every day, extra. They’re putting in the work, and what you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it, bottom line in anything that you do, and so some of them live that way, and that’s why these numbers are turning for us.” 

Three-game set begins 5 p.m. Thursday on SEC Network.

Scouting Florida

The Gators have been an interesting team to follow this season. Think most assumed Tim Walton’s club was going to be ranked in the top three the whole season.

Hasn’t exactly worked out that way. And Florida is coming off losing two of three at LSU just a few days ago.

But OU fans remember the semifinals in last year’s Women’s College World Series. And you know Gasso is there to remind them, just in case.

“They’re good. Real good. Power. Speed. They’re just good in every facet of the game,” Gasso said. “So it’s definitely going to be a tough one for sure, and I know they’ll bring the fans out. I can’t remember the last time we played there.

“It was a long, long time ago. So I think it’ll be just a wonderful environment. And he’s got players that our players are familiar with, and our players have played travel ball with their team, so we know each other pretty well. It’s gonna be some fun softball to watch.”

Final word

“The first day we kind of set the tone as to this is why we win, this is how we win. I’m hoping that people watch us and go, ‘They like each other, they’re having fun together, and I can see that.’ We’ve done some things that’ve been kind of personal and shared some really deep, heavy stories with each other and when you do that, you have this, like, a confidant. I heard you and now I know a lot about you and I can relate to you because I’m dealing with the same thing.

“So there were some big moments where there was some stories — maybe hard childhood stories or sometimes I’m sharing my story. We really know each other pretty good. I would hope that they would say this staff is hard-working. We work them hard but we also have fun. It can be almost over the top sometimes where I have to remember to bring ourselves back. So we do have a lot of fun together but when it’s time to work, that’s how they have fun. Anybody that plays softball or any game, I would expect you would want to win and that is … they do it together, they have fun doing it.” – Gasso on building team chemistry