Oklahoma State University Athletics
Bedlam to Decide Big 12 Title For Third-Straight Year
May 02, 2019 | Cowgirl Softball
STILLWATER – "Bedlam will decide the winner of the Big 12 title" has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you say?
For the third-straight season, the winner of the Big 12 regular season title will come down to a three-game set between the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 12 Oklahoma State softball team.
An already intense rivalry has had its stakes raised in recent years with the Cowgirls' reemergence as one of college softball's premier programs. That holds true especially so during the 2019 season, as Friday's series opener in Stillwater will mark the first time both teams are ranked in the top 15 for Bedlam since 2010, when the Pokes were ranked No. 11 and the Sooners a spot behind them.
In each of the past two seasons, OSU has needed to sweep all three games against its Bedlam rival to claim the program's 10th conference championship. That's the case again this year, but coach Kenny Gajewski and his team have the appearance of a group more conditioned to tackle the test put before them this week.
"This team is just resilient, tough, mature," Gajewski said earlier this week. "They do the right things, and care about the right things. When you're fully invested in the thing that you're trying to do, and staying in the moment, anything is possible… It's a big mountain to climb, but this team is not afraid of that. We're all in."
From the outside, the deck seems to be stacked against the Cowgirls.
They haven't beaten their Bedlam foe since 2011, and Oklahoma enters the weekend on a 35-game winning streak – the longest in its history – while also having won 40 consecutive games against Big 12 opposition, which is a league record.
OU's last conference loss was to Baylor in Norman on April 23, 2017. The last time the Sooners lost three consecutive Big 12 games, and were swept in a league series, came back in April 2011, when they were swept in a two-game set against then-No. 14 Missouri and lost the opener against Texas A&M the next weekend.
There may be a bit of magic in the air, however.
The 2019 Cowgirls currently sit at 37-11 through 48 games, the same record that the 2011 team held at this point in the season. That 2011 team was, as mentioned, the last to win a Bedlam contest and the most recent OSU squad to compete in the Women's College World Series.
While it's a tall task to tackle the Sooners thrice in a weekend, OSU is focused on taking this series one game at a time. Friday night in Stillwater has their full, undivided attention.
So far in 2019, Oklahoma State has defeated teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the national polls 19 times in 25 such matchups. Seven of those wins came over top-15 opponents, highlighted by a pair of wins over No. 9 Texas back in March.
The Cowgirls are 5-22 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. A look at the Cowgirls' successes against top-ranked programs:
- 1-0 at Florida (May 21, 2017 - NCAA Regionals)
- 1-0 vs. Georgia (Feb. 24, 2011 - Cathedral City Classic)
- 1-0 (13 innings) vs. UCLA (May 29, 1993 - Women's College World Series)
- 6-0 vs. Arizona (March 28, 1993 - Pony Tournament [Fullerton, Calif.])
- 2-0 vs. Fresno State (March 26, 1989 - Pony Tournament [Fullerton, Calif.])
The eyes of the softball world will narrow in on the state of Oklahoma this weekend, as Bedlam takes center stage to decide a Big 12 title. The odds may not seem to be in the Cowgirls' favor, but this year's team has already shown that it can overcome any obstacle put in its path.
For the third-straight season, the winner of the Big 12 regular season title will come down to a three-game set between the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 12 Oklahoma State softball team.
An already intense rivalry has had its stakes raised in recent years with the Cowgirls' reemergence as one of college softball's premier programs. That holds true especially so during the 2019 season, as Friday's series opener in Stillwater will mark the first time both teams are ranked in the top 15 for Bedlam since 2010, when the Pokes were ranked No. 11 and the Sooners a spot behind them.
In each of the past two seasons, OSU has needed to sweep all three games against its Bedlam rival to claim the program's 10th conference championship. That's the case again this year, but coach Kenny Gajewski and his team have the appearance of a group more conditioned to tackle the test put before them this week.
"This team is just resilient, tough, mature," Gajewski said earlier this week. "They do the right things, and care about the right things. When you're fully invested in the thing that you're trying to do, and staying in the moment, anything is possible… It's a big mountain to climb, but this team is not afraid of that. We're all in."
From the outside, the deck seems to be stacked against the Cowgirls.
They haven't beaten their Bedlam foe since 2011, and Oklahoma enters the weekend on a 35-game winning streak – the longest in its history – while also having won 40 consecutive games against Big 12 opposition, which is a league record.
OU's last conference loss was to Baylor in Norman on April 23, 2017. The last time the Sooners lost three consecutive Big 12 games, and were swept in a league series, came back in April 2011, when they were swept in a two-game set against then-No. 14 Missouri and lost the opener against Texas A&M the next weekend.
There may be a bit of magic in the air, however.
The 2019 Cowgirls currently sit at 37-11 through 48 games, the same record that the 2011 team held at this point in the season. That 2011 team was, as mentioned, the last to win a Bedlam contest and the most recent OSU squad to compete in the Women's College World Series.
While it's a tall task to tackle the Sooners thrice in a weekend, OSU is focused on taking this series one game at a time. Friday night in Stillwater has their full, undivided attention.
So far in 2019, Oklahoma State has defeated teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the national polls 19 times in 25 such matchups. Seven of those wins came over top-15 opponents, highlighted by a pair of wins over No. 9 Texas back in March.
The Cowgirls are 5-22 all-time against teams ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. A look at the Cowgirls' successes against top-ranked programs:
- 1-0 at Florida (May 21, 2017 - NCAA Regionals)
- 1-0 vs. Georgia (Feb. 24, 2011 - Cathedral City Classic)
- 1-0 (13 innings) vs. UCLA (May 29, 1993 - Women's College World Series)
- 6-0 vs. Arizona (March 28, 1993 - Pony Tournament [Fullerton, Calif.])
- 2-0 vs. Fresno State (March 26, 1989 - Pony Tournament [Fullerton, Calif.])
The eyes of the softball world will narrow in on the state of Oklahoma this weekend, as Bedlam takes center stage to decide a Big 12 title. The odds may not seem to be in the Cowgirls' favor, but this year's team has already shown that it can overcome any obstacle put in its path.
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