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OU, Texas softball with chance to make THE statement in SEC

Bob Przybyloby:Bob Przybylo•04/21/25•

BPrzybylo

Nelly McEnroeMarinas2
OU RS freshman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas. (Bryan Terry - Imagn Images).

Ever since Love’s Field has been around, think all OU softball fans have circled this series. When is Texas going to come to Norman?

It wasn’t in 2024, as OU headed to Austin. But the weekend is here. It’s not No. 1 vs. No. 2, but it’s still a legitimate top-five matchup in Norman for the three-game set.

OU comes in ranked No. 5 in the latest Softball America poll, with the Longhorns checking in at No. 3.

“Our destiny is literally in our own hands, and we know that,” head coach Patty Gasso said. “The nice thing is we’re playing at home against Texas, but they’re a very good team top to bottom. Good pitching staff. Very explosive, dynamic, quick lineup. Good defense. We need fans. We need that Bedlam feel behind this from our fans. That’s the beauty of getting this opportunity to play at home.

“So I do think it’s gonna be a wild weekend. I think the energy’s gonna be up and I think it can feed us quite a bit. So we’re looking forward to that. I think our team knows what’s at stake. And then heading to Florida’s gonna be another very tough, tough weekend. But that’s what this conference is, is just over and over and over again. It’s just really, really tough. It’s exhausting.”

OU got back on track with a three-game sweep of Mississippi State over the weekend. Texas is only 3-3 its last six SEC games, all of them coming in Austin. Tennessee took two of three from the Horns, while Texas just finished taking two of three vs. LSU.

Red River time

Now it’s OU and Texas. The two are locked at 13-5 in the conference race. Winning this series could get you a No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. It should be, will be one incredibly electric series in Norman this weekend.

So what’s the SEC race look like with just two weekends left?

SEC Rankings

No. 1 Tennessee (37-9 overall, 12-6 SEC)

Go to Austin and win that series and follow that with a sweep of Auburn? The Vols are on an absolute roll here in the last month.

No. 2 Texas (41-6, 13-5)

The Longhorns have all the pieces to make the championship run. Being able to win in Norman would do wonders for their confidence against Gasso and company.

No. 3 OU (39-5, 13-5)

Back to winning an SEC series. Will OU find a consistent No. 2 pitcher? Or is every big game going to have be decided by Sam Landry the rest of the way?

No. 4 Texas A&M (39-6, 13-4)
No. 5 Florida (39-10, 11-7)
No. 6 Arkansas (34-9, 10-8)
No. 7 LSU (36-10, 9-9)
No. 8 South Carolina (34-11, 9-8)

Best of the Rest

Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Georgia
Kentucky
Missouri
Auburn

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