NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma’s elite softball program has outdone itself this time. The Sooners, who have won two of the past three national titles, have matched the Division I record for consecutive wins in a season with 38 (South Carolina, 1997). They can set a new mark Friday if they win a Big 12 Tournament game against Texas Tech in Oklahoma City. Arizona won 47 straight spanning the 1996 and 1997 seasons. 2019 NCAA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT: Bracket, schedule, teams The business-like Sooners (48-2) got this far, in part, because they don’t worry about the numbers. “To be honest with you, our team doesn’t even focus on that at all,” senior infielder Sydney Romero said. “I couldn’t even tell you the number of the streak is, and I don’t think anyone here can. We’re aware of it. It’s something that we take game by game. We don’t come out thinking, ‘Oh, let’s make our streak go on.’ We want to win. We play to win. That’s our mentality.” Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso, who has led the Sooners to four national titles, said this group stands out. “There’s a special type of thing going on,” she said. “When they’re on the field, they’re just so unified. It’s enjoyable for them, they are very confident. It’s a team that does things pretty easy.” Oklahoma has done it with balance. The Sooners lead the nation in batting average (.366), earned run average (1.17) and fielding percentage (.987). “On some days our pitching will be there,” said Caleigh Clifton, a senior infielder. “On other days, our hitting will pick us up. Any time there’s someone we need to pick up, someone’s always there to pick us up. Even if all three cylinders aren’t clicking, two of them are, and it’s good enough to buy us time.” NFCA POLL TAKEAWAYS: Oklahoma gets unanimous No. 1, top teams shuffle Romero leads the Big 12 in hitting (.431) and home runs (17). Clifton, Jocelyn Alo and freshman Grace Green all have double-digit homers and rank among the top five in the conference in that category. In the circle, Arizona State transfer Giselle “G″ Juarez is 21-0 and has held opponents to a Big 12-low .144 batting average. Mariah Lopez ranks third in the league with 17 wins. Shannon Saile has a 10-1 record with four saves and ranks second nationally with 11.19 strikeouts per game. G Juarez is the 2019 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year! 🙌 The junior was undefeated in conference play, including one perfect game. #ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/l09dIOeRWM — Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) May 8, 2019 “Our pitching staff is very connected,” Gasso said. “There’s no jealousy. It’s a small little sisterhood. They pass the torch to each other, so it’s really an ideal situation where they’re all working well together.” Juarez, a member of Puerto Rico’s national program, helped Arizona State reach the Women’s College World Series last year, then transferred before this season. “As soon as she walked on campus, we just opened up our arms and we welcomed her,” Clifton said. “She’s a perfect piece that fits right in with us.” CONFERENCE PLAY: These softball teams are looking to prove themselves in conference tournaments The Sooners haven’t lost since Feb. 22, in part because they have embraced the grind. “I just think it’s just a matter of us continuing to put in the work,” Romero said. “It’s showing, and I think that’s really important as a team. This team is huge on team and not individual, and I think if we stay focused on that, it’ll keep going for us.” And if more records fall, the Sooners will appreciate it. “The win streak is not something that we ever think about,” Clifton said. “That’s not what we’re playing for or anything like that. But once someone brings it up to us, it’s like, ‘Wow! We did that!’”<doc-sep>Happy Friday, friends and fans! Patty Gasso and the Oklahoma Sooners softball team are in Oklahoma City today for the Big 12 Tournament. Top-seeded OU is seeking its fourth consecutive conference tourney title all while building on a program-best 38-game winning streak. It’s a #Big12SB Championship GAME DAY! No. 15/18 Texas Tech & Kansas ⏰ 2 & 7:30 p.m. CT USA Hall of Fame Stadium Fox College Sports @OUontheAir #ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/Bcq5PDZ4VE — Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) May 10, 2019 Each team in the tournament will play two games on Friday, and one more on Saturday. Oklahoma’s first opponent is Texas Tech at 2:00 p.m. CT, then at approximately 7:30 p.m. CT, the Sooners will take on Kansas. Both games will be televised on Fox College Sports. The Big 12 Tournament is played at USA Hall of Fame Stadium, which is the same venue where the Women’s College World Series is held. It should be an exciting month on the diamond as the Sooners’ postseason officially begins where it will hopefully end in OKC! Now for this week’s Friday edition of Hot Links! Kyler Murray inks a deal with Arizona, there’s Bedlam Baseball in Tulsa, Aaron Judge likes Arya Stark almost as much as Gendry does and more! OU Links The OU Board of Regents met on Friday, and — as expected — alcohol sales and advertising have been approved for football games and other athletic events. This will also continue for other sporting events like men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball. Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals have made it official. The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $35.1M deal on Thursday, according to Ian Rapoport. Whoever created this graphic wanted to twist the dagger in the Oakland Athletics’ side a little bit more. Still, it’s further proof that the NFL was the right choice for Murray from a financial point of view. That's a big difference pic.twitter.com/iBrcA6JK6Y — NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) May 10, 2019 Former Sooners OT Bobby Evans was interviewed recently about how his life has changed and what he’s looking forward to most since being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. “Wherever Coach Kromer puts me, I’m gonna give it my best and give it my all.”@BobbyEvans44 joins the studio before coming out to LA next week! pic.twitter.com/E3IAHJTJ8B — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) May 9, 2019 We’ve got Bedlam baseball beginning today in Tulsa. Oklahoma looks to put an end to its eight-game losing streak to Oklahoma State. The last time the Sooners defeated the Cowboys was in 2016 in T-town, so perhaps this is the time and place for OU to get back into the win column. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. OU Daily’s George Stoia put together this in-depth, inside look at how head injuries have affected the lives of a few former Oklahoma football players, including the great safety Rickey Dixon. The three-part series also features AD Joe Castiglione, who shared his thoughts on the future of America’s flagship sport. Around the Sports World Last night’s fracas between Will Barton and Seth Curry is a skirmish nobody asked for, but it does make Game 7 a little bit more interesting. Seth Curry and Will Barton got into a scuffle in the 4th quarter. pic.twitter.com/rvV3A2s7pQ — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 10, 2019 The Houston Rockets host the Golden State Warriors tonight in a do-or-die Game 6 situation, and it will be the first game in the series not featuring Kevin Durant. So how exactly does his absence change things up? Brazilian soccer star Neymar has been suspended three games after he got into an altercation with a fan following PSG’s defeat in the French Cup Final. An NFL season only lasts about five months, so for more than half the year players are either using their time to prepare for the next season or to get away from the game altogether. Here’s what a typical offseason schedule looks like for today’s generation of players. The caption on this tweet and the shirt Aaron Judge is wearing is the reason I get out of bed every morning. Gold star. A Gurley has no name. pic.twitter.com/qMqgSu8BJQ — MLB (@MLB) May 9, 2019 Stick to Sports! A fourth installation to the Matrix film franchise could be in the works, according to John Wick 3 director Chad Stahelski. The original movies were directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski, while Stahelski was actor Keanu Reeves’ stunt double back then. Now those two are making box office hits with the Wick series. I know I’d like to see them all team up again if another Matrix is in fact on the way. Follow Crimson & Cream Machine on Twitter!<doc-sep>The 2019 NCAA Division I softball tournament kicks off Thursday with the first regional games. Here’s everything you need to know about the 64 teams competing for a spot in Oklahoma City. 2019 BRACKET: Oklahoma claims No. 1 seed in regionals | View the 2019 bracket The tournament will run as double-elimination for the first round of games hosted by the 16 seeded teams. The winners of each region will advance to the Super Regionals, where teams will play a best-of-three series with the hopes of booking a ticket to the Women’s College World Series. Oklahoma holds the top seed in the tournament and will host UMBC, Wisconsin and Notre Dame in Norman with the goal of moving on to win the program’s fifth national title. Here’s how each of the initial regional games break down: Norman Region: No. 1 Oklahoma vs. UMBC, Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame Putting together an impressive resume. 📝 Ready to build on it as regionals get underway this weekend! 💪#ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/6DaJhwJZN8 — Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) May 15, 2019 The Sooners are the favorites, both in this region and in this tournament. Ranked No. 1 in the NFCA poll for the last five weeks, Oklahoma has racked up a 49-2 record and remained dominant throughout its competitive schedule. Weather ended the Big 12 conference tournament early, but Oklahoma didn’t even need all of the tourney games to extend its win streak (currently the second-longest in NCAA history) as the Sooners racked up their 39th straight W against Texas Tech on May 10. Oklahoma will play unranked UMBC in its first game of the tournament, a team the Sooners have not yet faced this season. The UMBC fan base is already buzzing about another potential upset from the famous underdog school, but the Retrievers will need an all-time performance to stop the top batting average team in the country. Unranked Wisconsin and Notre Dame will also play in this region with the winner of that game facing the winner of Oklahoma-UMBC. Oklahoma played Notre Dame on Feb. 14 and beat them 6-2. The Sooners have not yet played Wisconsin or UMBC this year. UMBC has not played Wisconsin or Notre Dame this year, and Notre Dame has not played Wisconsin. Evanston Region: No. 16 Northwestern vs. Detroit Mercy, Southern Illinois vs. Louisville 🎙 | “It speaks to the commitment that our team has made. And it also speaks to the history of our program.” Hear from Kate Drohan and the #B1GCats on what it means to be hosting an NCAA Regional. pic.twitter.com/DaTRSlkwL6 — Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) May 13, 2019 The path to Oklahoma City is not easy for the winner of the Evanston region, but this could still be one of the more interesting set of games in this first round. Northwestern, the top seed in the region and the host of up to seven games in this region, enters with a 43-10 record and will face the 31-26 Horizon League Champions, Detroit Mercy. Seeded No. 2 in its conference, the Titans took down UIC to earn a tournament berth, but they’ll need a huge upset win to avoid an early NCAA tournament exit. The other game in this region involves a battle between Louisville and Southern Illinois, two teams that lost in the first game of their respective conference tournaments and will be looking for redemption. Louisville holds a 33-21 record, and while Southern Illinois has the same number of wins, the Salukis have played eight fewer games. They’ll work to extend their season even a few more with a win over Louisville in the opening round of the tournament. POSTSEASON: Breaking down the toughest regions in the DI softball championship Austin Region: No. 9 Texas vs. Sam Houston State University, Texas A&M vs. Houston As Texas softball preps to venture into NCAA play this weekend, let's take a quick look back at some of the memorable moments from our 2019 regular season! #ANewEra pic.twitter.com/aFUyRBVsm1 — Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) May 15, 2019 The Texas Longhorns have cruised through the regular season and secured a ranked spot after finishing in the Top 25 in every NFCA poll this season. Ranked as high as eighth nationally, the Longhorns have established themselves as one of the best teams in the country, and they should have a reasonably easy time breaking through to the Super Regionals. Sam Houston State, a 34-21 Southland conference team, is playing with the momentum of a conference championship win last weekend, but they’ll need another level to take down Texas. Less than two hours from the site of the regional tournament, the Texas A&M Aggies should be thrilled to find themselves in this position. After finishing 28-25 and losing in the first round of the SEC tournament, the Aggies earned an at-large bid to lengthen their season and take on Houston. The Cougars defeated Texas A&M once already this season back in February, but all eyes will be on this Austin game to see if the Aggies can reserve this outcome when it matters most. Tuscaloosa Region: No. 8 Alabama vs. Alabama State, Lipscomb vs. Arizona State As is the case in many of these first regional games, the unranked pairing could be the more interesting of the two games in this region. Alabama looks like a team that could easily push past Alabama State after a stellar season and an SEC regular season title to boast. The Lipscomb vs. Arizona State battle, though, offers much more intrigue. Arizona State had some big wins and some tough losses, but after picking up three consecutive wins against Oregon leading into the tournament, the Sun Devils are on a hot streak and will be a fun test for Lipscomb. The Lady Bison quietly cruised to an ASUN conference title with an 8-2 win over North Florida, and they’ll hope to bring some ASUN conference representation into a second game against the winner of Alabama and Alabama State. Gainesville Region: No. 5 Florida vs. Boston University, Boise State vs. Stanford<doc-sep>Check out the amazing catches in this week's softball top plays Check out the amazing catches in this week's softball top plays The 2019 NCAA softball tournament will have 64 teams playing for a national championship. Of the 64 teams, 32 qualify automatically. Stay here for updated all week during conference tournaments. Four AQs will be awarded to the regular-season champions of the Big West, Mountain West, Pac-12 and West Coast. The rest will be tournament champions. In the table below, click on the conference to find the bracket from the most recently completed day of games. 2019 NCAA Softball: Conference tournament brackets, automatic qualifiers *The Big 12, A-10 and AAC softball tournaments were canceled due to inclement weather and field conditions. The Big 12's auto-bid to the NCAA tournament was awarded to Oklahoma, the regular season champs. The AAC auto-bid goes to USF, the highest remaining seed in the conference tournament. Fordham gets the A-10's auto-bid after winning the regular season championship. SHOP SOFTBALL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GEAR FROM FANATICS NCAA Softball Tournament: Schedule Selection Show Sunday, May 12: The 64-team bracket will be revealed Regionals Friday, May 17 through Sunday, May 19: 16 campus sites will have a four-team, double-elimination tournament. View the 2019 interactive bracket Super Regionals Thursday, May 23 through Sunday, May 26: Eight campus sites will have two teams play in a best-of-3 series. Women's College World Series Thursday, May 30 through Wednesday, June 5: Eight teams will play in a double-elimination bracket, with the final two teams playing a best-of-3 championship series. Games at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium - OGE Energy Field in Oklahoma City. Buy tickets and schedule your trip to the 2019 Women's College World Series NCAA Softball: Champions, Women's College World Series winners YEAR CHAMPION (RECORD) COACH SCORE RUNNER-UP SITE 2018 *Florida State (58-12) Lonni Alameda 8-3 Washington Oklahoma City 2017 *Oklahoma (61-9) Patty Gasso 5-4 Florida Oklahoma City 2016 Oklahoma (57-8) Patty Gasso 2-1 Auburn Oklahoma City 2015 Florida (60-7) Tim Walton 4-1 Michigan Oklahoma City 2014 *Florida (55-12) Tim Walton 6-3 Alabama Oklahoma City 2013 *Oklahoma (57-4) Patty Gasso 4-0 Tennessee Oklahoma City 2012 Alabama (60-8) Patrick Murphy 5-4 Oklahoma Oklahoma City 2011 *Arizona State (60-6) Clint Myers 7-2 Florida Oklahoma City 2010 *UCLA (50-11) Kelly Inouye-Perez 15-9 Arizona Oklahoma City 2009 Washington (51-12) Heather Tarr 3-2 Florida Oklahoma City 2008 *Arizona State (66-5) Clint Myers 11-0 Texas A&M Oklahoma City 2007 Arizona (50-14-1) Mike Candrea 5-0 Tennessee Oklahoma City 2006 Arizona (54-11) Mike Candrea 5-0 Northwestern Oklahoma City 2005 Michigan (65-7) Carol Hutchins 4-1 UCLA Oklahoma City 2004 UCLA (47-9) Sue Enquist 3-1 California Oklahoma City 2003 UCLA (54-7) Sue Enquist 1-0 California Oklahoma City 2002 California (56-19) Diane Ninemire 6-0 Arizona Oklahoma City 2001 *Arizona (65-4) Mike Candrea 1-0 UCLA Oklahoma City 2000 *Oklahoma (66-8) Patty Gasso 3-1 UCLA Oklahoma City 1999 *UCLA (63-6) Sue Enquist 3-2 Washington Oklahoma City 1998 Fresno State (52-11) Margie Wright 1-0 Arizona Oklahoma City 1997 Arizona (61-5) Mike Candrea 10-2 UCLA Oklahoma City 1996 *Arizona (58-9) Mike Candrea 6-4 Washington Columbus, Ga. 1995 *UCLA (50-6) Sharron Backus 4-2 Arizona Oklahoma City 1994 *Arizona (64-3) Mike Candrea 2-0 Cal State Northridge Oklahoma City 1993 Arizona (44-8) Mike Candrea 1-0 UCLA Oklahoma City 1992 *UCLA (54-2) Sharron Backus 2-0 Arizona Oklahoma City 1991 Arizona (56-16) Mike Candrea 5-1 UCLA Oklahoma City 1990 UCLA (62-7) Sharron Backus 2-0 Fresno State Oklahoma City 1989 *UCLA (48-4) Sharron Backus 1-0 Fresno State Sunnyvale, Calif. 1988 UCLA (53-8) Sharron Backus 3-0 Fresno State Sunnyvale, Calif. 1987 Texas A&M (56-8) Bob Brock 4-1 UCLA Omaha, Neb. 1986 *Cal State Fullerton (57-9-1) Judi Garman 3-0 Texas A&M Omaha, Neb. 1985 UCLA (41-9) Sharron Backus 2-1 Nebraska Omaha, Neb. 1984 UCLA (45-6-1) Sharron Backus 1-0 Texas A&M Omaha, Neb. 1983 Texas A&M (41-11) Bob Brock 2-0 Cal State Fullerton Omaha, Neb. 1982 *UCLA (33-7-2) Sharron Backus 2-0 Fresno State Omaha, Neb. *Indicates undefeated teams in final series.<doc-sep>
This will get you excited for this year's WCWS This will get you excited for this year's WCWS INDIANAPOLIS—The University of Oklahoma earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship as the 64-team field was announced today by the NCAA Division I Softball Committee. The Sooners will host the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, an automatic qualifier from the America East. FULL BRACKET: View the 2019 interactive bracket | Schedule and teams Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket. The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites beginning this Thursday. Team pairings were determined by geographic proximity, with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during regional competition. The Southeastern Conference led all leagues with 13 teams selected to the championship tournament. The Big Ten Conference placed six teams in the championship tournament. Two teams are making their first appearance in the tournament: Detroit Mercy University and Seattle University. Since the tournament began in 1982, only 13 schools have been crowned the NCAA Division I softball champion. 11 of the 13 teams will compete in this year’s bracket. CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON: Buy tickets and schedule your trip to the 2019 Women's College World Series DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS: *Indicates Host Institution Norman Regional – May 17-19 at Norman, Oklahoma No. 1 seed Oklahoma* (49-2) vs. UMBC (30-22) Notre Dame (36-16) vs. Wisconsin (40-12) Evanston Regional – May 17-19 at Evanston, Illinois Southern Ill. (33-13) vs. Louisville (33-21) Detroit Mercy (31-26) vs. No. 16 seed Northwestern* (43-10) Austin Regional – May 17-19 at Austin, Texas No. 9 seed Texas* (41-14) vs. Sam Houston St. (34-21 ) Texas A&M (28-25) vs. Houston (37-17) Tuscaloosa Regional – May 17-19 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama Arizona St. (33-18) vs. Lipscomb (41-13-1) Alabama St. (24-23) vs. No. 8 seed Alabama* (52-7) Gainesville Regional – May 17-19 at Gainesville, Florida No. 5 seed Florida* (44-15) vs. Boston U. (37-18) Stanford (32-18) vs. Boise St. (34-14) What better way to get career win 💯 than with a strikeout in the @SECSBTourney championship game? #NCAASoftball (via @GatorsSB) pic.twitter.com/mzf0qMGF5J — NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 12, 2019 Knoxville Regional – May 17-19 at Knoxville, Tennessee North Carolina (35-18) vs. Ohio St. (34-16) Longwood (37-20) vs. No. 12 seed Tennessee* (39-14) Stillwater Regional – May 16-18 at Stillwater, Oklahoma No. 13 seed Oklahoma St.* (39-14) vs. BYU (29-24) Arkansas (38-18) vs. Tulsa (35-18) Tallahassee Regional – May 17-19 at Tallahassee, Florida South Carolina (36-17) vs. South Fla. (40-17) Bethune-Cookman (26-29) vs. No. 4 seed Florida St.* (51-8) Seattle Regional – May 17-19 at Seattle, Washington No. 3 seed Washington* (45-7) vs. Fordham (29-24) Mississippi State (33-21) vs. Seattle U. (39-15) Lexington Regional – May 17-19 at Lexington, Kentucky Virginia Tech (45-9) vs. Illinois (32-23) Toledo (29-26) vs. No. 14 seed Kentucky* (33-22) Oxford Regional – May 17-19 at Oxford, Mississippi No. 11 seed Ole Miss* (37-17) vs. Chattanooga (37-15) Louisiana (50-4) vs. Southeast Mo. St. (45-16) Tucson Regional – May 17-19 at Tucson, Arizona Auburn (37-19) vs. Colorado St. (38-10) Harvard (25-17) vs. No. 6 seed Arizona* (42-12) Minneapolis Regional – May 17-19 at Minneapolis, Minnesota No. 7 seed Minnesota* (41-12) vs. North Dakota St. (42-14) Georgia (40-17) vs. Drake (42-14) This Selection Show Sunday wait has us feeling all sorts of ways... pic.twitter.com/D47Pid5ZkW — Minnesota Softball (@GopherSoftball) May 12, 2019 Baton Rouge Regional – May 17-19 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana Texas Tech (39-14) vs. Louisiana Tech (44-14) Monmouth (36-16) vs. No. 10 seed LSU* (40-16) Ann Arbor Regional – May 17-19 at Ann Arbor, Michigan No. 15 seed Michigan* (43-11) vs. Saint Francis (PA) (29-29) James Madison (47-7) vs. DePaul (34-14) Los Angeles Regional – May 17-19 at Los Angeles, California Missouri (32-23) vs. Cal St. Fullerton (38-16) Weber St. (26-19) vs. No. 2 seed UCLA* (46-5) CHAMPIONSHIP STRUCTURE: The committee held selections on May 10-12. The 64-team field was selected from 296 NCAA Division I institutions sponsoring softball. Of the 64 teams, 32 teams received an automatic qualification with the remaining best 32 teams selected on an at-large basis. Full list of automatic qualifiers: *The Big 12, A-10 and AAC softball tournaments were canceled due to inclement weather and field conditions. The Big 12's auto-bid to the NCAA tournament was awarded to Oklahoma, the regular season champs. The AAC auto-bid goes to USF, the highest remaining seed in the conference tournament.