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    OU Softball - Patty Gasso B12 Preview

    OU Softball: Oklahoma 'Amped' to Kick Off Postseason Play on Friday

    The top-ranked Sooners and the Iowa State Cyclones will meet for the fourth time this season on Friday afternoon in Oklahoma City.

    OKLAHOMA CITY — Finally, the postseason is here.

    The Oklahoma Sooners waltzed through the regular season, posting a 49-1 record, which included an 18-0 run in Big 12 play, and riding a 41-game winning streak.

    Patty Gasso’s team clinched its 11th straight Big 12 regular season title as well, but the Sooners want more.

    OU could become the first program to win three consecutive national titles in more than three decades, but first the Sooners will have a chance to add another trophy to their cabinet.

    Oklahoma didn’t capture the Big 12 Tournament Championship last year, dropping the title game to Oklahoma State.

    This season, the Sooners’ path begins with Iowa State. The 5-seeded Cyclones smacked Baylor 8-1 on Thursday to set up another date with OU.

    As they did with every team in the league, the Sooners swept the Cyclones in Ames back in March.

    Oklahoma won the first game 3-0 before run-ruling Iowa State 13-3 and 10-0, hitting eight combined home runs over the final two games to blow out the hosts.

    But the Cyclones just need to pull one upset to send OU home from Oklahoma City empty handed.

    READ MORE OU SOFTBALL COVERAGE:

    “You better play a good game or anybody can beat anybody,” Gasso said about the Big 12 as a whole on Wednesday. “And they showed it this season.”

    Already weather has made its mark on the tournament.

    All three of Wednesday’s opening round games were shifted up from the original schedule, and Oklahoma State and Kansas was postponed in the middle of the game due to severe weather.

    The conditions likely won’t be perfect, which could lend itself to an area of OU’s game that Gasso wants sharpened for postseason play.

    “I think the short game needs to be better,” she said. “I don’t use it a lot, but when I do it’s important.”

    Oklahoma has relied on overwhelming home run power the previous two seasons, but Gasso has always been a technician calling set plays and getting her runners moving on the base paths.

    “I don’t want to be a team that’s just long ball, long ball,” Gasso said. “Because we can’t live off of that, especially in Oklahoma the way the wind moves. … Your game plan can be changed completely due to the weather.

    “I like how we brought that to the table against Oklahoma State and I think it really energized the team.”

    As a team, OU hit just two home runs against the Cowgirls, with Cydney Sanders and Alyssa Brito each blasting deep shots in Friday’s series opener.

    Pitching quality improves the deeper a postseason run lasts, and Oklahoma knows it will need to be able to manufacture runs at times to power through to victory, even if Gasso sometimes has difficulty risking outs on the bases.

    “I think a little bit better base running, short game, more executing the calling card is something I want to see a little more of,” she said. “It’s just sometimes, I’m not brave enough to call it because I’m like, 'What am I doing if I get her thrown out and we hit a home run,' you know? I play those games in my head.”

    Iowa State is riding high, and ace Ellie Spelhaug was outstanding on Thursday against the Bears.

    She carried a no-hitter bid into the sixth inning, keeping a lid on a Baylor offense that fired on all cylinders last weekend to sweep the Texas Longhorns.

    Patience and execution in clutch moments will be key to notch a fourth win over the Cyclones and advance to Saturday’s title game.

    Though the ultimate goal is to be the last team standing at the end of the NCAA Tournament, Gasso knows her team is anxious to step on the field in Oklahoma City in tournament play.

    “They live for what’s coming,” Gasso said. “They can get through 50 games and lose one and just, ‘Alright.’ But they’re living for what’s coming.”

    OU’s bid to capture the Big 12 title is slated to get rolling at 1 p.m. on Friday, and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

    “They’ve had to wait a long time to get here,” Gasso said. “And their energy will be ready. I mean they’re amped. They love this time of the season.”

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