Norman will either be the final stop before Oklahoma City or the final stop of the season for Oklahoma and Washington this weekend. The two softball stalwarts will square off at the NCAA Norman Super Regional after winning their respective regionals last weekend. The Sooners swept through Morgan State and Wichita State (Texas A&M never had a chance) to advance to the super regional round while the Huskies had a little bit of drama before advancing. Dropping their second game of the regional, a 2-1 decision against Michigan, Washington bounced back through the loser’s bracket to beat the Wolverines twice on Sunday in order to advance to this weekend.
Norman Super Regional Schedule & How To Watch
| Date | Time (CT) | Game | Network |
| Fri, May 28 | 2 p.m. | No. 16 Washington vs. No. 1 Oklahoma | ESPN2 |
| Sat, May 29 | 2 p.m. | No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 16 Washington | ABC |
| Sun, May 30 | 3 p.m. | Game 3 (If Necessary) | ESPN |
Dominating The Norman Regional
- Oklahoma set an NCAA Regional record with a combined 50 runs in the three games of the Norman Regional last weekend. They also set a single-game regional record with 24 runs in the final vs. Wichita State on Sunday.
- In Friday’s opener the Sooners beat Morgan State 19-0 for their 22nd shutout of the season. Redshirt Senior Nicole Mendes broke the OU program record for RBIs in a postseason game with seven in a two-home run (one being a grand slam) performance.
- Freshman Tiare Jennings set an NCAA regional program record with three doubles vs. Morgan State.
- Five different Sooners recorded four or more RBIs in a single game over the weekend.
- Oklahoma outscored its regional opponents 50-12 and outhit them 46-17.
- Sunday’s 24-7 win over WSU broke the NCAA record for highest-scoring postseason game with a combined 31 runs.
- The 31 combined hits between OU and WSU Sunday tied the NCAA postseason record for hits in a game.
The Washington Huskies
- The Huskies are 45-12 on the year and finished second in the PAC-12 with a 18-5 mark.
- Washington is paced by veterans Sis Bates and Gabbie Plain, among other Husky upperclassmen.
- Bates, a two-time All-American and three-time PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year, is renowned as one of the top shortstops in the game. She’s batting .385 in her super senior season with 32 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. She holds a .970 fielding percentage with 65 putouts and 97 assists from short.
- All-American Gabbie Plain has three seasons with 300+ strikeouts at UW and ranks second in the country in 2021 with 331 entering Supers. She holds a 1.23 ERA in 227.1 innings pitched with just 45 walks.
- Oklahoma and Washington have met four of the last five seasons, including three meetings in the Women’s College World Series. Washington holds the all-time record over the Sooners by a 14-12 margin. The Sooners beat the Huskies en route to its most recent national title in 2017, by a score of 3-1, before the Huskies ended the Sooners season in 2018 with two wins over OU in the Women’s College World Series. The last meeting between the two came at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in 2020, a 12-2 Washington victory.
The Records
- The Sooners broke the program record for home runs in their final series of the regular season, at Oklahoma State, hitting No. 116 in Stillwater and have since brought their season total to 142, blasting past the 2019 team’s previous record of 115. The 2021 squad hit the program mark in 23 less games.
- The Sooners are in second in NCAA history with their current mark of 142, just 16 shy of 2010 Hawaii’s NCAA record 158.
- The 2021 Oklahoma Softball team has set the program record for most run-rule victories in a season with 33, surpassing the 2019 and 2013 teams’ 25.
- They currently hold the single-season program record for runs scored (576) batting average (.424), on-base percentage (.509) and slugging (.814).
- Senior Jocelyn Alo (82 career HRs) is 13 homers shy of the program and NCAA record 95 that 2015 OU grad Lauren Chamberlain hit throughout her career.
- Alo (28 HRs) and freshman Tiare Jennings (25) are quickly approaching the single-season program record for home runs (30) set in 2018 by Alo herself and 2012 and 2013 by Lauren Chamberlain.
- Freshman Tiare Jennings is five home runs short of tying and six away from breaking the NCAA freshman single season home run record of 30, hit in 2012 by Chamberlain and 2018 by Alo.
- Oklahoma set an NCAA single-game home run record with 13 in the season opener versus UTEP, a 29-0 (5 inn.) run rule victory. The team tied the NCAA record for homers in an inning with five in the first and fifth innings of the game.
- Freshman Tiare Jennings and junior Grace Lyons tied the school record for home runs in a game with three a piece against the Miners in the season opener.
- 50 runs scored set an NCAA Regional record. The Sooners accomplished the feat in three games.
- 24 runs broke the NCAA Regional single-game record.
- Six home runs in last Sunday’s regional final tied the NCAA postseason record for single-game home runs.
- The fourth inning of OU’s game three vs. Texas Tech (4/25) marked the most runs scored in an inning in program history and tied for the second most in NCAA history, second only to College of Charleston’s 29 on Feb. 11, 2004 (2nd inn.) vs. Savannah State and sharing the mark with Canisius’ 18 mark on May 1, 1985 (2nd inn.) vs. Roberts Wesleyan.
- Oklahoma registered a program-best 28 hits in its 33-4 victory over New Mexico on Feb. 27 in Phoenix.
- Oklahoma holds the top two run single-game run totals of 2021 with 33 in its victory over New Mexico Feb. 27 and 29 in its season opener over UTEP.
Inside The Numbers
Oklahoma’s oense leads the country in every major oensive category:
• Home runs: 142 (39 better than 2nd-place Wichita State’s 103). The Sooners and Shockers are the only programs with 100+ HRs in 2021.
• Home runs per game: 2.84 avg.
• Batting average: .424
• On base percentage: .509
• Slugging percentage: .814
• Runs: 576 (11.52 per game avg.)
OU is outscoring opponents 576-92 on the season, scoring an average of 11.52 runs per game to opponents 1.84 clip.
Oklahoma has won by run rule in 33 of its 50 games.
OU has scored 10-plus runs in one inning seven times in 2021.
14 Sooners have hit a home run this season, with 11 players blasting at least two. Six Sooners have 10-plus homers on the year, a program best.
17 times on the season OU has had a player hit two-plus home runs in a game.
The Sooners hold four of the top 10 individual batting averages in the country out of players with at least 100 AB:
• 2nd – Tiare Jennings – .488
• 5th – Jayda Coleman – .478
• 6th – Jocelyn Alo – .477
• 8th – Kinzie Hansen – .455
Three of the top 10 home run hitters in the country reside in Norman, including the nation’s leader.
• 1st – Alo: 28
• T2nd – Jennings: 25
• T9th – Hansen: 20
As a team, OU has hit at least one home run in 48 of its 50 games this season and has hit at least two in 40 games. The Sooners have hit six HRs in a game four times on the year, only to be topped by 13 in the season opener.
Oklahoma has hit two-plus home runs in one inning 30 times this season, including three or more eight times and four-plus in one inning five times.
The Sooners have hit back-to-back home runs 14 times in 2021 and back-to-back-to-back blasts three times.
The Oklahoma defense ranks first in the country out of teams that have played at least five games with a .986 fielding percentage and has committed just 15 errors on the season.
OU’s pitching staff leads the country with 22 shutouts. They rank 15th with a 1.91 ERA.
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