Jeff Johncox
The biggest games for Oklahoma this weekend may not even be in Lawrence, Kan., where the Sooners play the Jayhawks today and Sunday.
The biggest games may be down in Waco, Texas, where Baylor and Missouri meet for a two-game series.
The Sooners, Bears and Tigers are in a virtual tie for first place in the Big 12 standings.
OU is 13-3 in the conference, while Baylor and Missouri are both 11-2. The Sooners split their series with the Tigers, and own a tiebreaker with the Bears after sweeping them at Marita Hynes Field last week.
So, there’s a good chance OU coach Patty Gasso and her team will be doing some scoreboard watching up in Lawrence, even if Gasso won’t really admit it.
“We can’t really worry about what other teams are doing,” Gasso said earlier this week. “We need to concentrate on our own games.
“But we know we could use some help from some other teams.”
The Sooners (48-5) have to win at Kansas (31-18-1, 6-8 Big 12), though. They can’t afford another loss if they want to compete for the conference title.
Players and coaches in crimson and cream have said all year that winning the Big 12 regular-season title is one of their primary goals. It would be the first conference title since 2001, so no player on the current team knows what it’s like to be Big 12 champs.
Winning games like Wednesday’s Bedlam contest are nice, but the seniors are looking for something more.
“Bedlam is a big deal for the state, and it’s important,” senior outfielder Jamie Fox said after Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over Oklahoma State. “But we have bigger goals. We have a lot we want to accomplish. We know we have to win up in Kansas if we want to win a Big 12 title. Winning the conference is something we seniors have talked about as one of the main things we want to accomplish.”
And there’s a bit of a recent rivalry between the Jayhawks and Sooners, too.
Last year, OU looked poised to win the Big 12 tournament championship after Cat Osterman and Texas were knocked out. D.J. Mathis and Nicole Denes were pitching their best ball of the season, and the offense was swinging well.
But the Sooners met the Jayhawks in the championship game at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, and Kansas was able to come away with the 4-2 victory and the championship trophy.
“We really need to win at Kansas this weekend,” Gasso said. “And I think there may be a bit of revenge involved after we lost the Big 12 championship to them last year. We’d like to make up for that.”
OU and Kansas have first pitch at 2 p.m. today and at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Sooners close out their regular season with Senior Night at Marita Hynes Field next Thursday against Oklahoma City University.
Jeff Johncox
366-3535
jjohncox@normantranscript.com
