Led by Patty Gasso, the Oklahoma University softball team has a record of 59-3 for the 2022 season. Gasso has been coaching the team since 1995 and the team has come a long way since then. The team had some major losses during the 1995 season and after a 19-1 loss to the Arizona Wildcats, Gasso and assistant coaches decided the team needed a change.
Gasso wanted to start the team from the ground up and make the team a national contender. She faced many obstacles during this time. Gasso was hired after head coach, Jim Beitia, left to coach elsewhere. The team divided after Coach Beitia left due to the many players who joined the team to play under Coach Beitia. Gasso had to work hard to win them over. She received unwelcoming treatment and the loss of team members. The girls didn’t think a new coach could help win any titles. Coach Gasso worked to build the team's confidence, telling them they were going to win and had no reason to believe they would lose, even to big schools. After five seasons of Gasso’s coaching, the team lost their fear of the bigger powerhouse schools. The Oklahoma Sooners become untouchable, Gasso says, ”They had zero panic in them. They were afraid of no one.” In 2000, the Sooners won the Women's College World Series for the first time in program history. Since then, they have won five more World Series titles. Now, Oklahoma is the powerhouse school.
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