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Oklahoma softball: It’s Bedlam all over again, this time for Big 12 Tournament title

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma's Grace Lyons (3) throws back to first over Oklahoma State's Chelsea Alexander (55) to complete a double play in the seventh inning of a Bedlam softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls (OSU) at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Saturday, May 7, 2022. Oklahoma won 5-3.Bedlam Softball
Oklahoma's Grace Lyons (3) throws back to first over Oklahoma State's Chelsea Alexander (55) to complete a double play in the seventh inning of a Bedlam softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls (OSU) at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Saturday, May 7, 2022. Oklahoma won 5-3.Bedlam Softball /
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No. 1-ranked Oklahoma softball beat Oklahoma State three times in the Bedlam series last weekend to win the regular-season Big 12 crown.

Can the Sooners do it once more in a winner-take-all game on Saturday for the postseason Big 12 Softball Tournament championship?

In less than 18 hours, we’ll have the answer to that question, as the Sooners and Cowgirls meet once again with another conference trophy at stake.

Oklahoma defeated Iowa State 5-0 in one semifinal game on Friday at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, while 8th-ranked Oklahoma State, the No. 2 team in the regular-season Big 12 standings, eliminated Texas 6-1 in the other semifinal. That sets up a highly anticipated all-Oklahoma final for the tournament championship in the state’s capital city.

The Cowgirls showed last weekend that they are more than capable of playing the Sooners tough. In the series finale last Sunday in Norman, with senior pitcher Kelly Maxwell in the circle for Oklahoma State, the Cowgirls led OU 2-1 going into the bottom of the fifth inning, when a grand slam by NCAA softball home run queen Jocelyn Alo drove one out of the park with the bases loaded to put the Sooners up 5-2 and change the course of the game.

Maxwell is likely to be in the circle again on Saturday, probably against Nicole May, who was the Sooner starter last Sunday when the two teams faced each other.

On paper, the Sooners are clearly the best team in this matchup. Oklahoma is 49-1 this season; Oklahoma State enters the Big 12 Tournament championship game with an overall mark this season of 40-12. Four OU players rank in the top four of Big 12 hitters, all with batting averages above .400 and seven of the top-10.

OU’s team batting average of .371 is almost 80 points higher than Oklahoma States, and the Sooner staff ERA is over a run lower than the Cowgirls.

The other factor that weighs heavily in Oklahoma’s favor in its Bedlam showdown with Oklahoma State on Saturday is the Sooners recent dominance over their in-state rivals. OU has won 29 of its last 30 game against the Cowgirls.

The Sooners will be seeking their eighth championship in the postseason Big 12 Championship and fourth in a row. Oklahoma State has never won a regular season or Big 12 Tournament championship in softball.

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