Patty Gasso and Oklahoma gave an SEC power a serious lesson on losing with class

Despite some time passing from Oklahoma and Patty Gasso seeing their season end in heartbreaking fashion, things still sting pretty dang bad for the OU faithful. A lot of Sooners feel like they've been robbed of seeing this team play in the Women's College World Series for the 10th straight tournament - we get it. However, the rough showing takes nothing away from Gasso and Co.

Patty Gasso gives heartbreaking quote after Oklahoma's season-ending loss

And truly, there's one aspect of the loss that we feel like isn't getting talked about enough. That'd be how Gasso handled things the way you'd expect her to: with class, and her players followed suit. Why should this be a talking point? Well, over at Florida, Tim Walton was ejected mid game and Florida players didn't shake hands after the loss to Texas Tech. This is something we never have to worry about with Oklahoma:

Tim Walton and Florida softball can learn quite a bit from Patty Gasso

"Can I first give glory to God for who we are and how we do things," Gasso said while fighting back tears after the loss. "And congratulate Mississippi State for a phenomenal week. They're going to do something at the World Series and I'm definitely going to be a fan of that. Sam Ricketts is one of my all-time favorites, so I'm really happy for her."

This is yet another reminder of how great of a coach Gasso is. Sure, we can talk about the eight World Series titles she has with Oklahoma and all the other history her players have made on the field, but you can't overlook how she runs things. Gasso teaches her group the importance of things off the field too, including losing with grace.

Again, the same can't be said about the Florida Gators, who are making countless headlines right now for all of the wrong reasons. Just take a look at the video below. Does anyone think this would ever happen under Gasso's watch? No chance.

Even the broadcast team could not believe that the Gators went back into the dugout immediately after the final out and did not shake hands. We understand that both teams were talking plenty of smack back and forth and there was a lot of drama throughout the series, but there's a certain way you need to act after a defeat, even if it does end your campaign.

The Gators unfortunately did not handle things well, while Oklahoma surely did. It makes a ton of sense as to why a part of Gasso was happy for the Bulldogs, as Ricketts was a two-time All-American playing for her. Ricketts is an Oklahoma softball legend and that's never going to change.

Obviously, Oklahoma would have loved to send her home instead, but that's just now how things went down, as the bats went cold in the Game 3 loss. Is this loss going to hurt for a long time this offseason? Absolutely it will. At the same time, Gasso and her squad have earned a ton of respect from a lot of people for how they went out. Sooner Nation can be proud of that too.

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