OU Softball: Oklahoma's Patty Gasso Praises Fans for Raucous Love's Field Atmosphere

NORMAN — Moments after Oklahoma beat Texas 7-6 on Friday, Patty Gasso had her mind on one group of people.

"I have to start with just a wonderful, heartfelt shout out to our fans,” Gasso said. “That was amazing. We had a blast. They were loud. They were into it.

“… We were very proud that they were there, that they were standing tall throughout the entire game. Through all the twists and turns there were. They never let go. So, really grateful for that.”

The fans packed out Love’s Field for the series opener between No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Oklahoma, setting the stadium attendance record at 4,587.

Whichever team emerges with the weekend’s series victory will have a real chance to hunt down the SEC Regular Season Championship next weekend, but there don’t need to be massive stakes to make OU-Texas special.

Gasso’s Sooners got to Longhorn ace Teagan Kavan early. Ailana Agbayani’s third inning grand slam pushed the lead to 6-0 in the third, which sent the stadium into delirium.

“We're able to just radiate our energy to them and they're radiating their energy back to us,” Agbayani said, “and I think that the other team can really feel it so it's really nice to have that support.”

It took the Longhorns four innings to grow into the game, something that OU pitcher Sam Landry felt in the circle.

“It definitely helps with momentum because even if Texas is coming out and getting hits, we still have our fans on our side,” Landry said. “So I think they brought a lot of momentum to the game and kept us in it even more than we could've been in the first place.”

Texas was able to fight its way back into the game, eventually bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the seventh inning, but the Oklahoma fans still latched onto any success late — or simply booed Longhorn coach Mike White for good measure.

“There were some really tough mistakes that hurt us,” Gasso said. “That was very uncomfortable. Things that we know better. Again, here we are. We keep learning. We've gotta keep learning. So all of us had something, somewhere. And it's OK. That's part of the game.”

Gasso knows nothing will ever come easy in a series against a top five team — especially Texas — but the road through conference play will prepare her team for the postseason.

“They did a good job of pulling the fans in as well from the dugout. So it was a really team effort today,” Gasso said. “If we could score one or two runs in every inning, it would be glorious. But it's just not realistic because we are in the SEC. And that, it's a different level, man. It is a different level than just having been in the Big 12 as long as I have.

“But this creates champions. This is how you win championships. You go through this, and you learn, and you come out of it, and you keep going. So I think we are just, we are learning, but we are being tested every single inning of every single game.”

Oklahoma and Texas will resume the series on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. after a schedule change altered the start time at Love’s Field.