Oklahoma softball: Sooners know Tulsa will be tough opponent
By Chip Rouse
Tulsa is the next foe that stands in the way of Oklahoma softball’s postseason quest for a third consecutive national championship.
Like their in-state neighbor, the Golden Hurricane romped in their opening-round test, leveling an overmatched Missouri team 9-1 in a run-rule-shortened contest on Friday in the NCAA Norman Regional.
The Sooners also posted a run-rule victory, scoring eight runs in an explosive fourth inning that took all the air out of the balloon for Boston University and ended in a 9-0 victory in the late game at OU’s Marita Hynes Field.
Oklahoma and Tulsa will square off at approximately 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, with the winner moving on to the championship round on Sunday. The two teams have met 53 times all-time, with the Sooners winning 43 of those games. OU has an even better record against the Golden Hurricane when the game is in Norman, owning a 24-4 advantage.
Oklahoma has won nine of the last 10 games against Tulsa. The last two regular-season games between the two schools ended in 1-0 Oklahoma victories. OU also had to go through Tulsa twice last season in the Norman Regional championship round on its way to an eight consecutive regional title.
Tulsa senior pitcher Emily Watson has been in the circle in each of the last four games with the Sooners, and she will likely be there again on Saturday afternoon when the two Friday winners go toe to toe. Watson is 24-11 this season and 74-30 in her career, but she has never beaten the Sooners.
It is unsure if OU head coach Patty Gasso will come back with four-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Paige Parker against the Golden Hurricane or possibly go with sophomore Mariah Lopez, who has been equally brilliant this season, with a 14-0 record as a starter and a 1.49 ERA. Lopez combined with Sooner closer Paige Lowary on a no-hitter for one of her 14 victories in 2018.
This is the eighth consecutive year that the Sooners have hosted one of the NCAA Regionals in softball. They have come away as champions in the previous seven and are seeking to keep the string going.
Oklahoma, which has won eight consecutive Big 12 regular-season championships and last weekend won its sixth conference postseason championship, is one of four Big 12 schools that qualified for 2018 NCAA postseason play. Texas, Oklahoma State and Baylor are the others.