Oklahoma-OSU Bedlam softball: the present, the future?

It’s the third straight season that Bedlam softball between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State is going to feature a battle of top 10 teams.

The Sooners enter Stillwater this weekend as the No. 1-ranked team at 46-1 overall, 15-0 in Big 12 and riding a 38-game winning streak.

OU already clinched the Big 12 regular season conference championship last weekend, but it’s Bedlam. If you can’t get motivated for Bedlam, on the road? Yea, it shouldn’t be a problem.

It’s these types of environments that Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso wants her team to face and to persevere through in order to get ready for the postseason.

“There’s a lot of emotions in these games and all that. It’s good for us to feel,” Gasso said. “That’s what LSU was for, was to get us to understand what it feels like on the road in a hostile environment. So we’re looking forward to it.

“It’s always fun to play them. It’s fun to play tight games. It’s fun to play hard games. It’s fun to play in front of crowds whether they’re for you or against you. But ultimately, it’s going to make us better and prepare us for what’s next and that’s what this is about for us.”

The series lost a little bit of its luster in recent weeks. The Sooners have kept on rolling, dominating with great pitching, elite defense and timely hitting. But the Cowgirls have hit a skid and will certainly attempt to use this weekend as an opportunity to snap out of it.

OSU has lost seven of its last nine to go from 39-3 to 41-10 and now fighting to remain among the top eight national seeds. The Cowgirls are currently ranked No. 7 but also lost 5-1 at North Texas on Wednesday after the week’s rankings were released.

Gasso said their body of work speaks more about who they are than this recent funk.

“It’s almost like we’re playing ourselves,” Gasso said. “That’s what we feel like. It’s the way they run bases. I’m trying to set up practice like we’re playing ourselves. They’re good. They’re ranked high. This little skid that they have, to me, doesn’t dismiss how good they are. They should be in the top eight, without question.”

It doesn’t take long to realize how big this series has gotten. Game 1 will be 6 p.m. on ESPN2 on Friday. Saturday gets bumped up ESPN at 4 p.m., followed by an ESPN+ showdown 2 p.m. Sunday.

It’s still Bedlam. There are still those bragging rights.

“To showcase our state and good softball throughout our entire state, it’s something to be prideful for,” Gasso said. “So we want to represent that, as well. These are for bragging rights, so to speak, within our state, so it does mean something for us.”

Bedlam future?

It means something in another form as well because this will most likely be the final Bedlam series in Stillwater.

Nobody knows how the 2024 Big 12 softball schedule will shake out, but we all know the Sooners are departing for the SEC. Next season could be the last Bedlam for a while.

It doesn’t sound as though Gasso or OSU head coach Kenny Gajewski are bitter enemies or are trying to avoid each other. It just might happen that way.

“It’s really interesting because I haven’t even gotten halfway through my 2024 schedule, so it’s not on my mind whatsoever,” Gasso said. “I’m assuming that our athletic director will have some input on it. I’ve never been called and asked to play. It’s never even been discussed. So I’m not worried about it. When there’s the right time for me to even think about it, I will.

“No one’s afraid to play anyone else, anything like that. It’s really, I have to understand the dynamics of what we’re walking into and what makes sense. So first and foremost, I’m gonna take care of our team and what’s best for us.”

Gasso was asked about a 1-1-1 deal scenario of playing one game in Norman, one in Stillwater and one at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. That used to be the way it was. Gasso pointed out she’s not the one that changed the situation.

It’s not something she can go in-depth about at the moment, but she understands the passion and enthusiasm the fans have for their respective clubs.

There might, technically, be nothing on the line for Oklahoma this weekend, but it should still end up as something special anyway.