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Oklahoma softball: How do Sooners’ power, pitching stats compare to last year?

By Chip Rouse

Jun 10, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners infielder Jana Johns (20) throws the ball to first base against the Florida State Seminoles during the first inning during game three of the NCAA Womens College World Series Championship Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 10, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners infielder Jana Johns (20) throws the ball to first base against the Florida State Seminoles during the first inning during game three of the NCAA Womens College World Series Championship Series at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports /
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I challenge anybody to show me a college program that has been more dominant in its respective sport over the last five seasons than the Oklahoma softball team.

OK, possibly the Alabama Crimson Tide in college football, but even the great Nick Saban’s winning percentage at Alabama over the past five seasons isn’t as good as what Patty Gasso has done with Sooner softball.

For the record, Gasso’ OU teams have won 165 games, going down to defeat just 14 times since the 1918 season, a .921 winning percentage.

Saban’s teams are an impressive 64-6 in the past five years, a .914 win percentage. Alabama has won two national championships and finished second two more times in the past five seasons. OU softball has one national title (2021) and a runner-up finish since the 2018 season. That does not include this season or the 2020 season, the second half of which was cancelled by the COVID pandemic.

The No. 1-ranked Sooners are the reigning national champions in college softball, having defeated Florida State in the 2021 Women’s College World Series. They have been crowned national champs four times in their history and are the prohibitive favorites in Las Vegas to add a fifth national championship trophy this season.

Oklahoma is currently riding a 32-game winning streak in 2022 and have won 34 consecutive games dating back to the WCWS last season. The Sooners are 32-0, just one win away from the way they started the 2021 season. OU started out 33-0 a year ago before falling 7-6 at No. 21 Georgia in the first game of a doubleheader. OU bounced back in the second game, posting a 12-3 run-rule victory.

The Sooners would lose just one more time in the regular season and once in the WCWS before reaching the championship series, where they won two of three from Florida State to win it all.

Last year’s Oklahoma team not only finished the season ranked No. 1 in the country but led all of NCAA Division I softball in a number of statistical categories. The Sooners’ scored 10.63 runs per game over a 60-game schedule in 2021 and were the nation’s most prolific offensive team with No. 1 rankings in five major offensive categories, as well as top rankings in fielding, shutouts pitched and overall win percentage.

Just a couple of games past the midway point of the season, we thought it would be interesting to compare how Oklahoma is doing in nine major statistical categories this season as compared with its national championship season a year ago.

Here’s the tale of the tape, comparing 2022 to 2021, with the national rank in parentheses:

2022            2021

Scoring                                         9.44 (1)       10.63 (1)

Batting average                        .383 (1)        .405 (1)

Home runs per game               2.59 (1)        2.68 (1)

On-base percentage               .499 (1)        .490 (1)

Slugging percentage               .783 (1)        .778 (1)

Staff ERA                                   .67 (1)           1.94 (17)

Shutouts                                    17 (3)            23 (1) (16  through first 32 games)

Fielding percentage               .967 (69)      .982 (6) (23 errors so far in 2022 vs. 25 errors in all of ’21)

Win percentage                      1.000 (1)      .933 (1) (56-4 in 2021)

There’s still quite a way to go in the 2022 season, but it is striking how similar most of the statistical comparisons and national rankings are between the two years, although the 2022 numbers represent just half a season. Given the fact that the starting lineup has remained virtually the same with the exception of one player, I wouldn’t expect much drop off offensively.

It appears the pitching has gotten stronger than a year ago with the addition of starter Jordy Bahl, the former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2022 class, and North Texas transfer Hope Trautwein. Those two additions join returning starter Nicole May. This may be the best starting rotation in Division I softball this season.

The bottom line, the 2022 edition of Oklahoma Sooner softball is extremely talented offensively and has actually strengthened its pitching staff. It would be a major surprise if the Sooners don’t make it back to Oklahoma City in June for what would be their ninth appearance in last 10 Women’s College World Series.

Once there, the Sooners would have an excellent chance to repeat as back-to-back national champions. If that were to happen, it would be OU’s fourth national title in the last six years the WCWS has been played

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