Oklahoma softball has an average record of 58-4 over the past four seasons, along with four national championships. Yet the Sooners began this season as No. 3 in preseason rankings behind top-ranked Texas and No. 2 Florida.
That is about to change as the four-time defending national champions are likely to be back on the familiar top perch when the new rankings come out this week.
The No. 2 Sooners picked up four more wins over the extended weekend to improve to 14-0 this season. OU moved ahead of then-No. 2 Florida in last week's ESPN/USA Softball rankings after the Gators lost to Duke. And the Sooners are primed to assume the top spot following No. 1 Texas losing to Stanford over the weekend.
OU coach Patty Gasso has had to rework her starting lineup after losing five core position players who had been part of the Sooner squad through all four championship seasons. Although OU continues to recruit well and has brought in additional talent and experience via the transfer portal, Gasso wasn't exactly sure what this season would be like with all the new additions, especially in the early going.
Oklahoma might not be rolling over its early nonconference opponents by double-digit margins or with run-rule supremacy, although the Sooners had won four consecutive games in run-rule fashion heading into this past weekend. Gasso acknowledged she likes what she has seen so far.
"I'm loving them right now," Gasso said last week. "They are just very hard working, they are fearless, they hustle, they're strong, they play as a team, they're somewhat intimidating on the field, they're fast, they're clutch -- everything I'm looking for."
That's a scary proclamation if you are an Oklahoma opponent. It just about describes every national championship team Gasso has had at OU, and she has had eight of them since 2000.
The four-game Norman Tournament for Oklahoma's home opener this past weekend at Love's Field was pushed back to Saturday through Monday because of inclement weather in the Norman area.
The Sooners opened up the tournament on Saturday with a fifth-straight run-rule victory over Tulsa, 8-0. Four of OU's six hits in the contest were for extra bases, and sophomore Kiersten Deal pitched four innings of shutout ball, allowing just two hits and striking out four. The Sooners have won 30 consecutive home openers.
Oklahoma dispatched Wichita State 8-1 on Sunday behind another impressive start by pitcher Sam Landry. The Louisiana transfer gave up just one run on three hits in 5.1 innings and fanned 10 Wichita State batters. The right-hander struck out eight in her last outing, a 9-0 win over Loyola Marymount.
In the first game of a doubleheader on Monday, the Sooners encountered their toughest challenge of the tournament against 2-7 Bowling Green. The Falcons jumped on OU freshman starter Audrey Lowry for three first-inning runs.
Oklahoma erased the three-run deficit on a grand slam home run from senior Cydney Sanders in the bottom of the second. Bowling Green tied the game with a run in the sixth inning. The score was tied at the end of seven innings.
Kasidi Pickering ended it with a walk-off three-run homer in the eighth, her fourth of the season, to give the Sooners an 8-5 win.
In the second game on Monday afternoon, Oklahoma made short work of Abilene Christian in a 9-1 run-rule victory in five innings. The Sooners scored once in the fourth, sandwiched between a pair of four spots in the third and sixth innings. The combination of starter Paytn Monticelli and Isabella Smith allowed just one run and two hits while striking out seven.
Next up for Sooner softball is five games this weekend at Love's field with Marshall, Kansas and Kansas City. OU will play two games each against Marshall and Kansas, and a single game on Sunday with the Kansas City Roos.