Oklahoma Softball Hoping High NCAA Seed Is a Championship Omen

Oklahoma softball has been in postseason play in all 22 seasons Patty Gasso has been the head coach.

The Sooners have made 10 all-time appearances in the Women’s College World Series, which since 1990 has been conveniently held at ASA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City every season but one (1996), and have been crowned national champions twice (2000 and 2013).

The No. 3 seed is the highest in the postseason for the Sooners since they were the overall No. 1 seed in 2013. Oklahoma has been a national seed (in the top 16 nationally) for the past 10 seasons.

The Sooners were seeded No. 1 the year they won their second national title in 2013. OU swept No. 7 Tennessee that year in the championship round behind two-time National Player of the Year Keilani Ricketts.

Oklahoma finished the season in 2000, its first national championship season, with a record of 66-8; the Sooners were 57-4 and ranked No. 1 in 2013. This season, they begin NCAA Tournament play on Friday with an overall record of 47-7 and 17-1 in the Big 12. The 17 conference wins is the most in OU softball history, surpassing the 16-2 season in 2008.

The Lady Sooners will begin NCAA Tournament play as the regional host in a four-team field that includes Wichita State (35-19, 18-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference), Tulsa (35-19, 9-9 in the American Conference  and Ole Miss (39-20, 11-13 in the Southeastern Conference).

Oklahoma will face Wichita State in the second game of the Norman Regional on Friday night. The winner of that game will go up against the winner of the opening game between Tulsa and Ole Miss on Saturday in the double-elimination opening weekend of the NCAA Championship.

The Sooners and Wichita State have played once already this season, with Oklahoma winning 10-1 in a five-inning game. OU has won 35 consecutive games over the Wheatshockers and owns a 45-7 mark in the all-time series. Oklahoma is currently riding a 22-game win streak, the longest active streak in the nation, and has won 29 of its last 30 games.

Oklahoma also beat Tulsa earlier this year and is 39-10 all-time in games with the Golden Hurricane. The Sooners and Ole Miss have met just three previous times in history, with OU winning all three.

The winner of the Norman Regional will go on to play the winner of the Lafayette Regional, which features host Louisiana-Lafayette, the No. 14 national seed, Texas out of the Big 12, Texas A&M and Boston University.

Because the Sooners are a top-four national seed, they would host one of the four Super Regionals next weekend should they prevail as regional champs this weekend.