Gone could be the days of the Oklahoma State Cowgirls being an easy win for the Oklahoma Sooners on the softball field.
With the Sooners leaving the Big 12 for the SEC and putting the rivals in different conferences, we get just one Bedlam on the college softball schedule this season. No. 3 OU will play the No. 18 Cowgirls on Wednesday night at Devon Park in Oklahoma City for a neutral site midweek matchup.
There was a time this game could have been marked early as a win for the Sooners, but not now.
Oklahoma State narrowing margin between Oklahoma in softball
The Sooners still hold an astronomical 104-74 series lead over OSU that included times of straight dominance. Starting in 2012, OU had won 30 of 32 Bedlam meetings, but the tide quickly shifted once OSU coach and OU alum Kenny Gajewski got that monkey off his back in 2022.
The Cowgirls ended a six-game losing streak to OU with a 4-3 win in the Big 12 championship game in 2022. It was the first time in 10 years the Sooners didn't win the Big 12 regular-season and tournament title.
After three straight OU wins, the Cowgirls then took two of three in last year's Bedlam series. It was the first time the Sooners ever lost a three-game weekend series to OSU. OU did win Game 3, though, to avoid getting swept in Norman.
Since OSU's 2022 win, the Sooners are 4-3 against the Cowgirls, meaning a loss Wednesday night could deadlock things the past four seasons. The Sooners are 4-2 in Bedlam the last two seasons, which is the closest the rivalry has been during that span since 2010-11.
Even after dropping last season's Bedlam series, the Sooners still have ultimate bragging rights as four-time defending national champions. But as far as state bragging rights, the Cowgirls and Sooners now get just one shot, and it's no longer as easy as it used to be for OU.