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Oklahoma softball: Sooners in familiar territory at Women’s College World Series

By Chip Rouse

OMAHA, NE - JUNE 25: Three young women run on the field during the eighth inning as the UCLA Bruins play the Mississippi State Bulldogs during game two of the College World Series Finals on June 25, 2013 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. UCLA won 8-0 to take the series two games to none and win the College World Series Championship. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
OMAHA, NE - JUNE 25: Three young women run on the field during the eighth inning as the UCLA Bruins play the Mississippi State Bulldogs during game two of the College World Series Finals on June 25, 2013 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. UCLA won 8-0 to take the series two games to none and win the College World Series Championship. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) /
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The Women’s College World Series gets underway on Thursday, with Oklahoma softball in quest of a third consecutive national championship.

The Sooners are familiar faces at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, site of the WCWS. That’s not just because of their geographical proximity to the venue. That certainly is part of it, but the truth is Oklahoma has appeared in the WCWS in seven of the past eight seasons.

Since 2011, the Sooners have made the most WCWS appearances of any school, and three of those trips up I-35 to Oklahoma City during that period have resulted in national championships.

Counting this season, Oklahoma has appeared in the Women’s College World Series a dozen times in program history. The Sooners’ four national championships  in softball are tied with Arizona State for third most all-time. Only UCLA (12) and Arizona (8) have won more.

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No. 4-seeded Oklahoma (55-3) will open up with No. 5 Washington (49-8) in game two of the WCWS on Thursday afternoon (2:30 CT on ESPN). The two teams feature the top pitching staffs in NCAA Division I softball. They share the No, 1 spot with identical staff ERAs of 1.12 through all games this season.

The quality and depth of the two pitching staffs would indicate that runs might be at a premium when the Sooners and Huskies square off in Thursday’s opening round in the double-elimination WCWS. That being the case, you have to like Oklahoma’s chances in a tight pitching battle.

OU leads the nation in scoring. on-base percentage and slugging percentage and boasts the home-run leader in freshman Jocelyn Alo, who this week was named Freshman of the Year in college softball.

Washington held down the top spot in the national rankings for a period of time this season.

Oklahoma and Washington have split the 24 games all-time between the two teams. The two teams have met nine tines in the postseason, with the Sooners holding a 6-3 advantage. Four of the postseason matchups have been in the WCWS, where OU is 3-1 against the Huskies.

There are six seniors on the Oklahoma roster. In their four seasons, the Sooners have compiled a remarkable softball record of 222-29. The OU seniors have experienced six Big 12 championships (four regular-season titles and two postseason conference championships) and two national championships.

If Oklahoma wins its opening World Series game with Washington, the Sooners will play the winner of No. 1 Oregon (52-8) and No. 8 Arizona State (48-11) on Friday. If the Sooners lose to Washington, they will play next on Saturday, facing the loser of the Oregon-Arizona State game.

One of Oklahoma’s three losses this season was at Oregon, where the then-No. 3-ranked Ducks blanked the Sooners 5-0 in mid-April. OU avenged one of its other 2018 losses, beating Boston University two weeks ago  in the Norman Regional. The Sooners would like nothing better than another shot at Oregon, especially in the WCWS, where the stakes are sky high.

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