Sooners Earn 11 Seed in Softball Tournament
NORMAN -- Winner of four straight Big 12 championships, the Oklahoma softball team (45-7, 14-2 Big 12) has earned the No. 11 overall seed in the 2015 NCAA Division I Softball Championship and will host an NCAA Regional in Norman beginning Friday.
The four-team, three-day event will feature Texas A&M (38-18, 12-12 SEC) facing Lehigh (39-7, 16-2 Patriot League) in a first round game at 12:30 p.m. Friday on the SEC Network, before Oklahoma takes on Central Arkansas (35-19, 16-8 Southland) at 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon on ESPN3.
Friday's winners will square off in Saturday's first of three games, while Friday's two losers will face off in an elimination game later that night. The loser of Saturday's first game will take on the winner of the day's second game in an elimination game later Saturday night. The winner of Saturday's final game will take on the winner of the day's first game on Sunday with an if necessary rematch scheduled for later on Sunday.
Oklahoma, which claimed its 12th Big 12 title this season, owns an 8-0 all-time record against Central Arkansas, including a 12-6 win in Norman on March 31st earlier this year. OU is 3-0 all-time against Lehigh, most recently meeting the Mountain Hawks in the 2012 Norman Regional. This marks the third straight season OU and Texas A&M could potentially meet in the postseason. Last season, Oklahoma, which is 47-30 all-time in the series, swept both games in the Norman Regional, while two years ago it was the Sooners who took both games in the Norman Super Regional.
The winner of this weekend's regional will advance to the NCAA Super Regional round against the winner of the Tuscaloosa Regional the following weekend with an ultimate goal of reaching the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma has made the NCAA tournament in every each of head coach Patty Gasso's 21 seasons at the helm of the program and 22 straight. Last season Oklahoma reached the Women's College World Series for the fourth straight year and ninth time overall.
