Oklahoma Softball: Sooners Ready to Run Like ‘Well-Oiled Machine’ at the Big 12 Tournament

Oklahoma’s highway is ready.

The No. 1-ranked Sooners will open their Huge 12 Match protection on Friday afternoon towards the 4-seeded Iowa State Cyclones.

After sweeping Bedlam final weekend, OU (48-1 general, 17-1 Huge 12) was the one workforce handed a bye on this weekend’s event.

The Cyclones (28-26, 6-12) topped Baylor 2-1 to advance to play Oklahoma, although Iowa State misplaced by a mixed rating of 24-4 in three video games in late April.

The place, When, How one can Watch:

• Huge 12 Semifinals: Oklahoma vs. Iowa State, Corridor of Fame Stadium, 1 p.m., ESPNU

Although they’ve been dominant, the journey for the Sooners this season has been removed from easy.

Coming off this system’s fifth Nationwide Championship final June, Oklahoma needed to cope with huge exceptions, each on and off the sphere, in 2022.

“I’ve been actually proud with how they’ve gone in regards to the season,” OU head coach Patty Gasso mentioned throughout her weekly Zoom press convention on Wednesday. “There’s been loads of stress on us. I really feel that… And fairly truthfully it’s been exhausting.

“There’s been loads of requests for this workforce, for all of us. And it’s been onerous. It’s been completely different than every other yr I’ve ever been part of. Individuals need entry to us greater than ever.”

Gasso mentioned she’s additionally been happy with how the workforce has dealt with the abundance of requests.

Whether or not it’s been media requests from all around the nation or simply the drive to ship Oklahoma followers house completely happy every weekend, Gasso mentioned her workforce goals to please and serve these round them.

“It’s been a distraction for positive,” Gasso mentioned. “So I’ve been actually proud as a result of it’s onerous for us to say no to them, you recognize? If this program and it builds our sport as a result of ESPN is monitoring us and following us, how do you say no to that? You don’t. You don’t. You simply do it, and that’s form of it.

“… They usually don’t decline something that we ask… They’re very real.”

Getting into postseason play, all the different distractions will fall to the wayside.

The workforce must proceed their profitable methods, no matter if it’s a one-run win or a blowout by way of run rule, and Gasso mentioned the main focus from the teaching workers has been to push the gamers to lift their recreation one other stage.

“I really feel like we’ve been a bit bit lax as a result of we’ve had these run guidelines and it seems very straightforward,” Gasso mentioned. “Then we get a bit lack of focus within the dugout when that occurs… We’ve bought to high-quality tune our instruments right here as we go into postseason, and that’s been the main focus of the teaching workers.

“We want it to be operating like a well-oiled machine versus simply, we form of put it on cruise management. And also you’ll by no means know. In the event you’re out right here within the stands, you don’t know that. However we’ve bought to get the cruise management off, fully out of our equation.”

Oklahoma will get its likelihood to start out the 2022 postseason off on the correct foot at 1 p.m. Friday, and the competition from Corridor of Fame Stadium shall be broadcast on ESPNU.

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