Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma softball: Sooners can clinch Big 12 crown this week

By Chip Rouse

OWINGS, MD - APRIL 27: Kierstie Schaefer #2 of the Northern Patriots catches a fly ball during a game with the O'Connell Knights, at Northern High School April 27, 2013 in Owings, Maryland. The nationally ranked number one Patriots now have a 66 game winning streak after beating (3-0) the number two ranked Knights of Bishop O'Connell in Arlington, VA. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
OWINGS, MD - APRIL 27: Kierstie Schaefer #2 of the Northern Patriots catches a fly ball during a game with the O'Connell Knights, at Northern High School April 27, 2013 in Owings, Maryland. The nationally ranked number one Patriots now have a 66 game winning streak after beating (3-0) the number two ranked Knights of Bishop O'Connell in Arlington, VA. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) /
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With one more win, the Oklahoma softball team can clinch its seventh consecutive Big 12 championship and 10th overall.

Related Story: There's no stopping OU in Big 12 softball

That victory could come as early as Wednesday night, as the nation’s third-ranked softball team hosts Oklahoma State in game one of the Bedlam, softball series. The 22nd-ranked Cowgirls trail the Sooners by three full games in the conference standings.

OU has only lost three games all season and sports a perfect 15-0 record in the Big 12. Nevertheless, were Oklahoma State to take all three games in the Bedlam series, there would be co-champions this season, with the Sooners and Cowgirls sharing the league crown. That would also snap Oklahoma’s string of winning six straight Big 12 championships outright.

Wednesday night’s game is in Norman. The teams will have a day off on Thursday, and the series will resume on Friday with a night game in Stillwater. Then it’s back to Marita Hynes Field in Norman for the series and regular-season finale on Saturday.

Aside from a seventh straight conference championship, the Sooners are just three wins away from becoming the second team in Big 12 history to go undefeated in conference play (Nebraska was the other team to do it, in 1998).

A series sweep would also give Oklahoma its best conference record in the Big 12 era. The Sooners previous best mark in the conference was 17-1, which they have done three times (2000, 2016 and 2017). In all three of those years, OU went on to win the national championship.

With an overall record of 44-3, Oklahoma has matched its best season start through 47 games in Sooner softball history. The 2013 OU softball team had the identical record after 47 games and finished he season 57-4.

Oklahoma leads the all-time series with its in-state rival 87-70. The Sooners are 39-21 against Oklahoma State in games played in Norman, while the Cowgirls own the advantage in Stillwater, 33-30. Last season, OU won all four games between the two schools, including a 2-0, four-hit shutout in the Big 12 Championship final.

The Sooners lead the Big 12 in hitting and pitching, and Oklahoma State is the second-place team in both categories. Both teams are strong offensively. The Sooners are hitting .325 as a team and Oklahoma State’s team batting average is just three points lower (.325). Both teams have scored nearly 100 more runs than every other Big 12 team this season.

Oklahoma State senior Vanessa Shippy leads the conference in hitting (..462 batting average), runs scored (63) and on-base percentage (.616). On the Oklahoma side, freshman Jocelyn Alo is having a career year in her very first season. She not only leads the Big 12, but also NCAA Division 1, with 23 home runs. She is tied with OSU junior Madi Sue Montgomery for the Big 12 lead in RBI (58).

Where Oklahoma has the advantage is pitching. The Sooner staff, led by seniors Paige Parker and Paige Lowary and sophomore Mariah Lopez, has a Big 12-best ERA of 1.11. That is over a run better than the Oklahoma State staff. Parker, Lowary and Lopez rank one, two and three in the conference, with a combined ERA of 0.95.

The Sooners are also a much better team defensively than the Cowgirls. Oklahoma has committed just 11 errors this season, compared with 44 by Oklahoma State.

The Big 12 Championship begins next Friday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, the same venue as the Women’s College World Series. In addition to its nine Big 12 regular-season championships, Oklahoma has won the Big 12 Tournament championship five times, and will be going after number six this season.

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