STILLWATER ― Kenny Gajewski isn’t one for long, silent pauses.
He’s a talker, after all.
But Tuesday afternoon when I asked the Oklahoma State softball coach if he had a sense of whether Bedlam would continue after OU leaves for the SEC, he started by saying he didn’t, then came a big ol’ pause.
After five seconds or so, he finally continued.
“I’ve tried to tell them that we want to play,” Gajewski said, seemingly exasperated, “but I don’t have very good luck getting responses.”
Wednesday afternoon, I asked OU coach Patty Gasso the same future-of-Bedlam question, and after mentioning she hadn’t yet solidified the 2024 schedule much less thought about 2025, which will be the Sooners’ first in the SEC, she seemingly refuted what Gajewski had said the day before without mentioning him.
“I’ve never been called and asked to play,” Gasso said. “It’s never been discussed.”
Who doesn’t like a little salt in their Bedlam?
More:Why did Grace Green stick with OU softball as playing time dwindled? Get to know Sooners' 'mom figure'
SEC softball schedule will affect OU's future in Bedlam
On the day the three-game series starts in Stillwater, we can be fairly sure this is the last Big 12 Bedlam softball at OSU. We don’t know how the Big 12 will structure next year’s schedule with the addition of UCF, BYU and Houston. While it’s hard to believe the conference would not include Bedlam, it’s almost as hard to fathom the league sending the Sooners back to the Cowgirl Corral next season.
So, will Bedlam softball ever be played again in Stillwater?
Despite their differences of opinion on what has been discussed about the future, Gasso and Gajewski are in agreement about what they hope happens.
“I wanna play,” Gajewski said.
Gasso said, “If it works right, we’re in. We’re in.”
For Gasso, that "if" is a big one.
Even though SEC members agreed last summer how softball scheduling will work once OU and Texas join the conference ― every team will play a three-game series against eight rotating opponents ― there's been no announcement on how those rotating opponents will be assigned. Will there be permanent opponents? Will the rotation be competitively balanced?
“It’s completely new to me,” Gasso said of playing an SEC schedule. “My whole life here, I’ve been begging people to play us, and now, it’s like I’ve got an army ready to come get us.”
More:Tramel's ScissorTales: With OU softball juggernaut in town, OSU 'thinking it’s just another weekend'
SEC softball deeper than Big 12 but not as tough at the top
The SEC has seven schools ranked 17th or higher in the latest national poll, almost double what any other conference has. Even though the Big 12 has three of the top six teams in the country, including OU and OSU, the rest of the league is meh. That means the Sooners will likely be in for more competitive series more often in the SEC.
Gasso wants to know what that SEC schedule might look like before she commits to more Bedlam.
“When there’s the right time for me to even think about it, I will,” she said. “No one’s afraid to play anyone else, anything like that. It’s really I have to understand the dynamics of what we’re walking into and what makes sense.
“First and foremost, I’m going to take care of our team and what’s best for us.”
The good news is, Gasso has long advocated for playing as tough a schedule as she can put together. She wants her teams to be challenged. Pushed. Tested. She believes so strongly in it that once upon a time, she advised a first-time head coach to load up the schedule the same way.
“Patty’s the one who told me from Day One, ‘Look, you gotta go play teams,’” said Gajewski, who took over at OSU eight years ago.
“I remember when we had that talk early on. We were just talking about scheduling, and it was already a plan of mine, but that just reinforced it, that we needed to play the best schedule.”
Regardless of OU’s SEC schedule, Gajewski believes the Sooners would benefit from playing the Cowgirls.
He knows his team would benefit, too, regardless of the format. It wouldn’t matter if Bedlam remained a three-game weekend series alternating annually between OU and OSU. Or it could alternate within the series and include the third game at a neutral site, such as USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
More:Oklahoma State softball's Kenny Gajewski tells team 'buckle up' for Bedlam showdown vs. OU
Gasso took the opportunity Wednesday to mention that used to be the format for Bedlam softball.
“And that was not changed by me,” she said, alluding to Gajewski’s push to have the series in Stillwater one season and Norman the next.
Salty Bedlam is the best Bedlam, isn’t it?
There’s also a chance future Bedlams could be played on a series of weeknights. OSU coach Josh Holliday has suggested continuing Bedlam baseball with a series of Tuesday games. Mid-week, non-conference showdowns.
Gajewski could be on board with a similar softball setup.
“We both have a hard time finding mid-week games,” he said. “There’s that opportunity.
“And if that’s all it is, great.”
He wants Bedlam to continue regardless.
He hopes Gasso sees things the same way.
“If you want to play, then you want to play; you’ll make it work,” Gajewski said. “We’re in control of our schedules except for the conference weekends, so there’s plenty of opportunity.”
More:Tramel: Why OU athletic director Joe Castiglione shows no signs of slowing down after 25 years with Sooners
Gasso isn’t saying no to Bedlam beyond next season, and even though she mentioned that OU athletic director Joe Castiglione will have a say in the matter, Sooner administrators have voiced an openness to continuing Bedlam in all sports.
OSU leaders, for their part, have largely put the kibosh on Bedlam football beyond next season, but they haven’t ruled it out in other sports.
Still, Gasso doesn’t believe she’s at a point to say yes to Bedlam.
“If I’m gonna be honest, it’s not even on my plate right now,” she said. “There’s so many other things to worry about, like going into the SEC. That’s a whole other animal that I’m looking forward to, but scheduling-wise … I’m just trying to work on 2024.”
But again, she isn’t saying no to Bedlam beyond that.
“There’s no, ‘Oh, gosh, we don’t want to,’” she said. “It’s just, does it make sense?”
Here's hoping it does make sense. Here's hoping this rivalry continues for many years to come. Here's hoping the only pause in Bedlam softball is the one Gajewski had the other day.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman.com. Like her at facebook.com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/jennicarlson_ok, and support her work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
How to watch Bedlam softball: OU vs. OSU
WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN2), 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN), 2 p.m. Sunday (ESPN+)
WHERE: Cowgirl Stadium in Stillwater
More:Secret weapon in Oklahoma State ace Kelly Maxwell's success? 'Super glue is her friend'
