Patty Gasso On OU Baseball: Elite Focus Meets Freedom In CWS Run

Even though Oklahoma Softball didn’t make it to the Women’s College World Series this year, Patty Gasso is still getting her championship run fix, thanks to Skip Johnson’s baseball team.

The legendary OU softball coach sat down with Tulsa World’s Eric Bailey recently and had nothing but high praise for what she’s watching from the baseball Sooners as they play in the Men’s College World Series final.

"You know when you see a team play with so much joy and so much freedom and not afraid of the moment - and that's what I'm witnessing," Gasso told Bailey. "I wish our team had finished the way they are right now. But I'm on the other side watching it, and it's an elite level of focus yet freedom. And that's the key to win championships."

That’s high praise coming from a coach who has won eight national titles. Gasso knows exactly what championship DNA looks like, and she sees it all over this baseball team.

It’s been a weird spring for Oklahoma fans, who are used to packing up and heading to Devon Park to support Patty’s squad in OKC.

This year, that didn’t happen after the softball team got bounced in Super Regionals. But baseball has more than picked up the slack. What started as an under-the-radar team with no real expectations has turned into a legitimate national title contender.

They’ve already taken down No. 2 Georgia Tech at home and No. 15 Kansas on the road, as well as taking down No. 7 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia twice, and now they’re in the final.

Gasso hasn’t been able to make the trip to Omaha yet because she’s back in Norman grinding on the recruiting trail, trying to make sure next year’s softball team is right back in the mix.

She did make a quick trip to Tulsa this week to support her son DJ, who was just named the new head coach at Tulsa.

But even from a distance, she’s locked in on what Skip Johnson’s group is doing. You can tell she’s a little envious that she’s not experiencing it in person, but she’s genuinely happy for the baseball program.

The crossover support has been awesome to see, with coaches like Brent Venables, Porter Moser, and legends like Bob Stoops, and Barry Switzer showing up and rallying behind the baseball team.

This run has all the ingredients Gasso knows lead to titles: joy, freedom, and fearlessness in big moments. That’s exactly how her best teams played.

Now Skip Johnson’s squad gets its shot on the biggest stage.

It will be interested to see how many Sooners fans make the trip to Omaha. Games against North Carolina start this weekend, and having that crimson crowd rocking Charles Schwab Field could make a real difference.

Patty Gasso gets it. She knows what these moments feel like. And right now, she’s seeing that same championship mentality in Skip Johnson’s team.

This is a special run for OU Baseball. Whether they finish it off with a title or not, they’ve already given the fanbase something to be proud of.