After 'bittersweet' OU-Oregon regional, Melyssa Lombardi rooting for Sooners softball to four-peat as champions (2024)

NORMAN — The OU softball team always circles up with its opponents to pray after games.

It’s far more rare to see the coaching staffs huddle up, too.

But that’s the scene that provided a curtain call to Oklahoma and Oregon’s game on Sunday, which the Sooners won to capture the NCAA Norman Regional title and move on to a super regional, simultaneously ending the Ducks’ season.

OU head coach Patty Gasso and Oregon coach Melyssa Lombardi brought their staffs together near home plate at Love’s Field in an emotional postgame gathering of Sooners for life.

Gasso was glad to have former Oklahoma player and assistant coach Lombardi back in Norman this week, with fellow former Sooners Sydney Romero and Sam Marder in tow as the Ducks’ assistant coaches.

Gasso gave the group a tour of OU’s sterling new 4,200-seat stadium on Wednesday night before the teams clashed on the diamond Saturday and Sunday, with the Sooners emerging victorious, 6-3 and 3-2. It was a bittersweet weekend for everyone involved.

“It was joyful, and it was bittersweet, too, because if I am going to root for anybody other than the Sooners, it’s going to be the Ducks or the Razorbacks,” Gasso said. “It’s hard to see (Lombardi) and I going against each other. We haven’t done it since she moved on.

“This was a big moment for her. She made a mention of the crowd being so grateful and loving toward her and (Romero). ‘You were here for 20 years, you know, here for ¾ of my time here.’

“I’m just happy we were able to do this in a really heartfelt, wonderful way. It wasn’t ugly. It was intense, but we handled it both really well. That’s just the respect we have for each other. My respect for that team. I’ve never seen them in person against us. Just a mad respect for their efforts.”

Circling up her staff with Patty Gasso and her son and associate head coach JT Gasso, plus OU pitching coach Jennifer Rocha and assistant coach Falepolima Steele, was special.

Lombardi later stopped to hug Jim Gasso, Patty Gasso’s husband, before stepping into her postgame press conference.

“It meant a lot,” Lombardi said of the postgame prayer meeting. “We are all family. Our families have been together for a long time. We’ve been together for marriages. We’ve been together for deaths. We’ve been together for babies, we’ve been together for championships.

“We’ve been together for life. We have done life together for a long time. So I thought it was a really special moment.”

Oregon’s season ended sooner than it would’ve liked on Sunday, but the Ducks were still grateful for the chance to play at Love’s Field, which has become the new standard for college softball stadiums and continues to help grow the game.

“I mean, it was so special to get to play here,” said Oregon outfielder Ariel Carlson. “Especially against Oklahoma (because of) everything they’ve done for the sport of softball. I have so much respect for that program.

“And to see this stadium, it was amazing, and to see the amount of people that came out to watch us was unbelievable. So I’m just very thankful and proud of where the direction of the sport is going.”

With Oregon’s season over, is it safe to say Lombardi will be rooting for OU to win the Women’s College World Series for the first national championship four-peat in college softball history?

“Absolutely,” she said.<&rule>

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