Kristin Vesely, a former Oklahoma Softball star, is in her eighth season as the head coach of the Houston Cougars, following an outstanding career at OU where she set the record for all-time hits with 293 and hit .440 or better in her last two years. Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso, speaking after OU’s win over Tulsa, expressed her admiration for Vesely and her pride in seeing her former players enter coaching roles. Gasso remarked, “There’s pride from my side to see any of those guys go into coaching,” indicating her support and excitement for Vesely’s coaching success.
Patty Gasso mentioned that playing against the Houston team, which includes some o her former players, presents a unique challenge. She acknowledged the connections and history with these players but stressed that her team is focused on the game. Gasso respects the Houston team’s skills but is primarily concerned with preparing her team to play their best. She emphasized that although it’s interesting to face familiar faces, the goal remains to win.
Houston, with a record of 23-20 overall and 3-15 in the Big 12, isn’t among the leading teams in the conference. However, this upcoming series against them is still crucial for the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma, currently at 39-4 and holding a 15-3 record in the Big 12, is entering its seventh week of conference play with a 1-game lead over Texas, and 2 games ahead of Oklahoma State in third place. Kansas sits in fourth place, 4 games behind the Sooners.
While Oklahoma plays host to last-place Houston this weekend, Oklahoma State welcomes Texas Tech to Stillwater, and Texas is set to visit Kansas. This series has significant implications for the Sooners as they aim to maintain their lead in the conference standings.
Houston has an offense,” Gasso said. “They can swing. They’ve been trained very well, they beat Texas and beat them legitimately. They’ve had a little bit of injury in their pitching department, so that’s where a little bit of their struggle is right now. But they’re capable, like any team in the Big 12. We’re all learning that anyone can beat anybody at any time. So we have to go into this game catapulting this game into the weekend and start to trend upwards. I thought tonight was a good chance to do that.”
Houston has an offense,” Gasso said. “They can swing. They’ve been trained very well, they beat Texas and beat them legitimately. They’ve had a little bit of injury in their pitching department, so that’s where a little bit of their struggle is right now. But they’re capable, like any team in the Big 12. We’re all learning that anyone can beat anybody at any time. So we have to go into this game catapulting this game into the weekend and start to trend upwards. I thought tonight was a good chance to do that.”
The Sooners slid back to No. 2 in the NFCA coaches poll this week, earning eight first-place votes, snapping their 21-week reign at the top of the poll. OU was held at No. 2 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
The Houston series was also supposed to be the weekend where Gasso’s longly awaited statue unveiling was supposed to take place. However, with anticipated inclement weather, OU is dedicated to pushing it to a later time.
“Saturday’s 6 p.m. OU home softball game against Houston will continue as originally scheduled,” OU wrote in a press release, “however, a morning statue unveiling of head coach Patty Gasso at Love’s Field has been postponed due to likely inclement weather. Information on a new date for the ceremony will be communicated when finalized.”
Oklahoma and Houston meet for the first time as conference opponents this weekend. The Sooners hold a 14-1 advantage in the all-time series, winners of 13 straight meetings following a 2-1 loss in Houston on March 6, 2004. OU is 2-0 against the Cougars in Norman.
Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT with a 6 p.m. start Saturday and a 1 p.m. Sunday finale. The series will be broadcast on ESPN+ with radio coverage on 1560 AM/103.3 FM The Franchise 2 and 107.7 FM The Franchise.