No. 1 Oklahoma Looks to Continue Recent Dominance of Texas

Patty Gasso's Sooners are still perfect, yet they are solely focused on toppling the Longhorns instead of chasing down history.

Oklahoma and Texas, a matchup circled on both teams’ calendars since the schedule was released, somehow feels that much bigger this year.

The No. 1-ranked Sooners roll into Austin again chasing history.

Patty Gasso’s team, a perfect 36-0, already owns the best start in the history of Division I softball. The all-time win streak at the highest level is 47 games, something which is in reach if the Sooners can take care of business against the Longhorns (30-10-1).

On top of the history riding on the 2022 version of the Sooners, OU also enters the weekend toting a 21-game win streak over Texas.

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Where, When, How to Watch:

• Game 1: Oklahoma at Texas, Thursday, 6 p.m., Longhorn Network

• Game 2: Oklahoma at Texas, Friday, 6 p.m., Longhorn Network

• Game 3: Oklahoma at Texas, Saturday, 1 p.m., Longhorn Network

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But yet again, Gasso’s team is intent on shutting down the outside noise surrounding this three-game series.

“No one, including myself, no one talks about the record,” Gasso said during a Zoom press conference on Tuesday. “All we try to do is get better.

“… We don’t play for records, we don’t play for notoriety. We play for rings. We play for National Championships.”

As she’s maintained all season, Gasso is just pushing her team to continually improve game-by-game, regardless of who is in the other dugout.

“I’m very demanding,” Gasso said. “I’m looking for excellence. I’m trying to push every player to the limit.

“… If we’re going to wear ‘Championship Mindset’ logos on everything we own, then we better know what it means. And that’s what it means, just sustaining your eyes on excellence and maintaining that effort at practice.”

The Sooners are going to need every bit of that focus Gasso demands against Texas.

On top of the already hostile atmosphere that greets any Oklahoma team in Austin, there will be a little extra juice.

The Longhorns are retiring the number of legendary pitcher Cat Osterman, just another spectacle that’s sure to add to the environment this weekend.

“We look forward to it,” Gasso said. “We need it. We need the push. We need the atmosphere against us.

“… I’m hoping, I’m trusting it’ll bring out the best in us.”

The Longhorns have had an up-and-down year, but Texas looks to have turned a corner as of late.

Mike White’s team has won 19 of their last 21 games, posting a 10-10 tie against Minnesota and losing 6-5 to Louisiana in extra innings over that span. On the year, the Longhorns have also posted wins over ranked opponents in Clemson, Louisiana and LSU, with the victories over LSU coming in a sweep in Austin.

“We have been looking at them and seeing that their offense has improved, without question,” Gasso said. “… They’ve got a really good pitching staff as well. And I know they’ve been hit a little bit, but it doesn’t seem to bother them because they came back.”

The Longhorns also enjoyed last weekend off, as Texas opted not to bring in another opponent during their off weekend from Big 12 play to prepare for the Sooners.

This year’s edition of the Red River Rivalry will get rolling at 6 p.m. on Thursday night, and the game will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network.

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