Sooner Softball in Full Stride with College World Series Spot Looming

No team in the Super Regional round of 16 has as much momentum going for it as the Oklahoma Sooner softball squad.

The Sooners, the No. 3 overall seed in the 2016 NCAA Division I Softball Championship, have not lost a game in nearly two months. Since suffering a 5-2 loss to Kansas back on April 2, Oklahoma has won 25 consecutive games and 32 of the last 33.

During the 25-game win streak, the longest active streak in the country, OU is 13-0 at home, 10-0 away from home and 2-0 on a neutral field. Ten of the 25 wins have been by shutout and six have ended early in a run-rule decision.

The Sooners play host to No. 14 seed Louisiana-Lafayette. Game one in the best two-out-of-three series is Thursday night at Marita Hynes Field in Norman. Game two and, if necessary, game three will be played on Saturday.

Oklahoma is making its 10th overall appearance in the softball Super Regionals and the seventh in as many seasons. This is the fifth time the Sooners have been at home for a Super Regional series, and the fourth time in the past five years, in the 12 seasons since the format was introduced.

While the odds are heavily in Oklahoma’s favor to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette, especially playing at home, and move on to the Women’s College World Series for the fifth time in the past five seasons and 10th appearance overall, the Ragin’ Cajuns have a better record than the Sooners in the 26 games between the two teams. OU trails Louisiana-Lafayette 11-15 in the all-time series.

The last time these two teams met was in 2014, when they played four times. The Ragin’ Cajuns took two of three in the regular season, and the two schools met again in the Women’s College World Series, where the Sooners’ came out on top, 3-1.

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In the 2016 season Oklahoma and Louisiana-Lafayette have played three common opponents: Baylor, Texas and Texas Tech. The Sooners were a perfect 9-0 against the three Big 12 teams, while the Ragin’ Cajuns were victorious in four of the five games, losing only to Baylor.

If Louisiana-Lafayette is going to pull off the upset against the Sooners the Ragin’ Cajuns are going to have to do it against one of the best pitchers in college softball. OU sophomore Paige Parker heads a pitching staff that over the last 25 games has recorded a remarkable 0.94 ERA. During that same time frame, Parker’s ERA is 0.86 with 130 strikeouts and an opponents’ batting average of .175. The two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year’s record this season is 31-3.

Supporting the Big 12’s best pitching staff is the best hitting attack in the conference and No. 2 in the nation. Every position in the Sooners’ lineup is hitting at least .325, led by outfielder Erin Miller at .398 through all games and freshman first baseman Shay Knighton at .395.

Something to watch in the Louisiana-Lafayette series is what happens in the opening two innings. That could well be a telltale sign of the games will go. Oklahoma is outscoring its opponents 135-15 in the first two innings. Moreover, in the last 27 games, the Sooners have not given up a run in the first or second inning.

This is Oklahoma’s 23rd consecutive postseason appearance in NCAA softball. Only Arizona has a longer active streak.