Big 12 Softball Preview: Oklahoma State Heads to Clearwater Invitational
The second week of the 2023 college softball season is upon us and some incredibly entertaining games are just around the corner.
Oklahoma State highlights the weekend as they are in Florida for the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational, one of the best annual tournaments of the year. There, they will face some great competition that they will likely see again at some point in the NCAA Softball Tournament this summer.
Oklahoma will head to Waco for the Getterman Classic, and will face Baylor in a nonconference early matchup. Texas will host the Texas Classic in Austin whole Kansas is in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in the second weekend of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. Meanwhile, Texas Tech will head to the UTEP Tournament and Iowa State will head to Fresno, California, for the Fresno State Kickoff Challenge.
Here’s a look at what each team’s schedule looks like heading into second weekend of action.
#1 OKLAHOMA (5-0)
Oklahoma got off to a solid start in its first weekend with three ranked wins and a win over a scrappy Liberty team that will likely win the ASUN Conference. This week, the competition isn’t as stiff, but Longwood is coming off a weekend in which it upset No. 6 Florida State and Baylor will play the Sooners tough to finish the weekend on Sunday.
| OPPONENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longwood | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 12:30 p.m. CT | Waco, TX | N/A |
| Stephen F. Austin | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 12:30 p.m. CT | Waco, TX | N/A |
| Army | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 5:30 p.m. CT | Waco, TX | N/A |
| (RV) Baylor | Feb. 19 (Sun) | 12:00 p.m. CT | Waco, TX | ESPN+ |
#5 OKLAHOMA STATE (3-1)
Oklahoma State will play a second straight weekend against stiff competition with four of its five opponents either ranked or receiving votes. The game against Virginia Tech on Friday morning might be the best matchup of a packed weekend at the Clearwater Invitational. Oklahoma State’s bats will need to warm up in Florida if they don’t want to come out of this tournament battered and bruised.
| OPPONENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M | Feb. 16 (Thu) | 9:00 a.m. CT | Clearwater, FL | ESPNU |
| (RV) Nebraska | Feb. 16 (Thu) | 3:00 p.m. CT | Clearwater, FL | ESPN+ |
| (8) Virginia Tech | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 9:00 a.m. CT | Clearwater, FL | ESPNU |
| (RV) Lousiana | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 9:30 a.m. CT | Clearwater, FL | ESPN+ |
| (25) Michigan | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 12:30 p.m. CT | Clearwater, FL | ESPN+ |
(RV) BAYLOR (4-1)
Last weekend went as expected for the Bears, and their fight against Arkansas caught several’s attention. This weekend, the Bears have three manageable games and a shot at the Sooners at home. We will get to know a little more about Glenn Moore’s squad at the Getterman Classic this weekend and see what they are capable of against the Sooners.
| OPPONENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen F. Austin | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 3:00 p.m. CT | Waco, TX | N/A |
| Longwood | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 3:00 p.m. CT | Waco, TX | ESPN+ |
| (1) Oklahoma | Feb. 19 (Sun) | 12:00 p.m. CT | Waco, TX | ESPN+ |
| Army | Feb. 19 (Sun) | 2:00 p.m. CT | Waco, TX | ESPN+ |
#9 TEXAS 2-1-1
After a tough first weekend, the Longhorns get something of a tune-up week to get back on track. Lamar comes to Austin on Wednesday night ahead of the Texas Classic where UT has four very manageable games. Omaha did beat Iowa State last weekend, but I’m afraid that has more to do with Iowa State and less to do with the Mavericks.
| OPPONENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamar | Feb. 15 (Wed) | 6:00 p.m. CT | Austin, TX | LHN |
| Loyola Chicago | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 3:00 p.m. CT | Austin, TX | LHN |
| Omaha | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 5:30 p.m. CT | Austin, TX | LHN |
| Omaha | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 3:00 p.m. CT | Austin, TX | LHN |
| Loyola Chicago | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 5:30 p.m. CT | Austin, TX | N/A |
TEXAS TECH 3-2
This is the kind of tournament that Texas Tech needs to dominate if it is going to climb out of the bottom half of the Big 12 standings. The Red Raiders have a whopping six games over the next four days and have an opportunity to jump out to a 9-2 record after the first two weekends.
| OPPONENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | Feb. 16 (Thu) | 2:00 p.m. CT | El Paso, TX | N/A |
| Santa Clara | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 2:00 p.m. CT | El Paso, TX | N/A |
| UTEP | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 4:00 p.m. CT | El Paso, TX | N/A |
| New Mexico | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 2:00 p.m. CT | El Paso, TX | N/A |
| UTEP | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 8:00 p.m. CT | El Paso, TX | N/A |
| Santa Clara | Feb. 19 (Sun) | 10:00 a.m. CT | El Paso, TX | N/A |
KANSAS 3-3
Kansas took a trip to the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge this weekend and already dropped game one two Southern Illinois on Wednesday, 5-2. The will need to pick themselves back up and get ready for some stiffer competition at the end of the weekend as Liberty and Ole Miss are tougher opponents than the likes of SIU and Sacramento State.
| OPPONENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Illinois | Feb. 15 (Wed) | 12:00 p.m. CT | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | FloSoftball |
| Cal State Fullerton | Feb. 16 (Thu) | 10:00 a.m. CT | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | FloSoftball |
| Sacramento State | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 3:00 p.m. CT | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | FloSoftball |
| (RV) Liberty | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 6:00 p.m. CT | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | FloSoftball |
| (RV) Ole Miss | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 8:30 p.m. CT | Puerto Vallarta, Mexico | FloSoftball |
IOWA STATE 2-3
Well, I went into last weekend expecting Iowa State to come out with at least four wins, and they were only able to escape with two. This is another manageable weekend and Iowa State had better take advantage of it because things get more difficult next week at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic withgames against Utah and Oregon on the board.
| OPPONENT | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | NETWORK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UIC | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 12:00 p.m. CT | Fresno, CA | MW Network |
| Fresno State | Feb. 17 (Fri) | 6:00 p.m. CT | Fresno, CA | MW Network |
| Seattle | Feb. 18 (Sat) | 6:00 p.m. CT | Fresno, CA | MW Network |
| Seattle | Feb. 19 (Sun) | 11:00 a.m. CT | Fresno, CA | MW Network |
| Idaho State | Feb. 19 (Sun) | 1:30 p.m. CT | Fresno, CA | MW Network |
