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Oklahoma softball: Fifteen things for fans to know about Sooners and Super Regionals

By Chip Rouse

Oklahoma poses for a photo with the Big 12 Champion trophy after a Bedlam softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls (OSU) at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Friday, May 6, 2022. Oklahoma won 6-0.Bedlam Softball
Oklahoma poses for a photo with the Big 12 Champion trophy after a Bedlam softball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Oklahoma State University Cowgirls (OSU) at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla., Friday, May 6, 2022. Oklahoma won 6-0.Bedlam Softball /
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Oklahoma softball carries its 52-2 season record and No. 1 overall seed into the Super Regionals of the 2022 NCAA Softball Championship.

As a top national seed among the remaining 16 teams in the championship, the Sooners will host the team from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in a best two-out-of-three series to earn one of the eight spots in this year’s Women’s College World Series.

For the last 31 years, the WCWS has been held at what is now USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, just a half-hour drive from the OU Norman campus. The Sooners have been to the WCWS 14 times, including each of the last five seasons the national championship tournament has been held.

Oklahoma has been the last team standing in NCAA Division I college softball four times since 2000, including three of the last five years. Most importantly, the Sooners are the reigning national champions. But to advance to the WCWS again this season they must first take care of business in the Norman Super Regional against 49-12 UCF.

The 16th-ranked UCF Lady Knights are making their first trip to the Super Regionals, unlike the top-seeded Sooners who are making their 15th Super Regional appearance. OU is 21-11 overall in Super Regional competition but is 10-0 in its last five trips to the Super Regionals.

Here are 15 things to know about Sooner softball and the NCAA Super Regional (Sweet 16) round

  • Oklahoma advanced to the 2022 NCAA Championship round of 16 (Super Regionals) with a 3-0 record in the Norman Regional the week before (defeated Prairie View A&M 14-0, Texas A&M 3-2 and 20-0).
  • UCF punched its ticket to the Norman Super Regional with wins over Villanova (6-0) and No. 24 Michigan (3-2 in 11 innings and 9-4) in the Orlando Regional.
  • UCF is 16-16 all-time in NCAA postseason appearances. By contrast, Oklahoma is 133-53 (a .715 winning percentage) in total NCAA appearances (21-11 in the regionals, 74-20 in the super regionals and 38-22 in the WCWS).
  • OU has advanced to the Super Regional round in each of the past 12 seasons.
  • Oklahoma has not lost in the Super Regionals for five consecutive seasons. The last time the Sooners lost in the Super Regionals was in 2015.
  • The Sooners’ 20-0 whitewashing of Texas A&M in the Norman Regional championship game last weekend came 24 hours after a 3-2 win over the same team the day before and was the largest margin of victory in NCAA softball postseason history.
  • Freshman All-American candidate Jordy Bahl has been sidelined through the Big 12 Championship and the NCAA Regional round with soreness in her arm. One of the top pitchers in the nation with a 21-1 record, an 0.95 ERA and an opponents’ batting average of .137, Bahl’s availability in the UCF Super Regional series is still uncertain.
  • This is what head coach Patty Gasso had to say this week about her star pitcher’s recovery: “The good news is Jordy’s been throwing a little bit in the bullpen. I don’t know exactly when, but we’re optimistic she’s going to be able to help this team.”
  • The Sooners have recorded a new NCAA-record 37 victories by run rule this season, including two in winning the Norman Regional last weekend.
  • Oklahoma also leads the nation in team batting average (.369), home runs (133), runs (500), scoring (9.09 per game), on-base percentage (.476), slugging percentage (.730), winning percentage (.964) and shutouts (31).
  • Three of the top-35 hitters in the country are Oklahoma Sooners: No. 2 Jocelyn Alo (.500), No. 21 Jayda Coleman (.425) and No. 35 Grace Lyons (.411).
  • Three of the top-25 home-run hitters this season in college softball are Sooners: No. 3 Joclyn Alo (27), No. 4 Tiare Jennings (24) and tied for 17th Grace Lyons (19).
  • Twenty-five times in 54 games, Oklahoma has hit three or more home runs in a game.
  • Three of the top six pitchers in college softball this season based on earned run average are from the OU staff: No. 1 Hope Trautwein (0.42), No. 5 Jordy Bahl (0.95) and No. 6 Nicole May (0.99).
  • Super senior Jocely Alo is one of three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. She is also the 2021 winner of that award. Similarly, Jordy Bahl is one of three finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year.
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