Most programs in college softball would be thrilled to hold a 31-3 record through the end of March.
But Oklahoma is not most college softball programs. And coach Patty Gasso certainly isn’t most college softball coaches. She was blunt following her Sooners’ loss to Tennessee on Sunday, a loss that provided Oklahoma its first-ever Southeastern Conference series defeat.
“It’s humbling, but we know we’re not good enough,” Gasso said. “We’re winning, but we’re still not good enough.”
That’s how it goes for a team that has won four straight national titles. Gasso has won eight since becoming coach at OU in 1995. Her first came in 2000 and the Sooners have been in the national championship final series every year but one – discounting the 2020 season in which no Women’s College World Series was played – since 2016.
OU hadn’t lost a conference series at home since 2011 against Missouri during a time when only two games were played each set, instead of the more common three now. The Sooners entered the weekend against the Volunteers second in the nation in runs, averaging 8.68 per game. Against Tennessee, OU managed a grand total of nine over three games.
