NORMAN– The University of Oklahoma softball team hosts the NCAA Norman Regional at Love's Field this weekend, opening NCAA tournament play on Friday at 7 p.m. CT against Horizon League champion Cleveland State.
OU earned the No. 2 national seed in the NCAA Softball Championship, receiving the right to host both a regional and super regional. The Sooners and Vikings are joined in Norman by #22/RV Oregon and RV/#22 Boston University, who will begin the regional Friday at 4:30 p.m. CT.
Oklahoma's first game of the Norman Regional will be televised nationally on ESPNU with radio coverage on 107.7 FM The Franchise and 1560 AM/103.3 FM The Franchise 2.
The Sooners meet Cleveland State for the first time in program history this weekend. OU holds a 10-6 advantage in the all-time series against Oregon and is 4-2 in six matchups with Boston University.
BU returns to the Norman Regional for the first time since 2018, a 9-0 run-rule victory for the Sooners. Oklahoma has met Oregon three times in NCAA regional tournament play, winning 6-0 and 11-0 at the 2008 Norman Regional after taking a 2-1 victory at the 2005 event.
The Norman Regional is paired with the Tallahassee Regional for supers next weekend.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Oklahoma's first-round draw of the 2024 NCAA Norman Regional, Cleveland State enters the national tournament 22-24 and fresh off winning the Horizon League title last weekend. The Vikings went 16-10 in conference play and have won five of their last six games.
Emma Gilkerson is CSU's leading hitter, batting .353 with six home runs, nine doubles and 20 RBIs. Brooke Albaugh paces the club with 16 doubles and three triples to go with a Viking-best 36 runs scored and a .349 average. Two-way standout Melissa Hozopfel is 18-9 with a 1.77 ERA in the circle, striking out 195 across 193.1 innings, and leads the lineup with 31 RBIs.
SCOUTING THE DUCKS
Oregon travels southeast to Norman this weekend with a 28-19 record entering the postseason. The Ducks were 13-10 in Pac 12 play before exiting in the first round of their conference tournament, falling 7-4 to Utah, and are playing .500 softball over their last 10 games.
Kai Luschar leads Oregon with a .423 average, 46 runs scored and 27 stolen bases to serve as a key member of the top of the order. Ariel Carlson (.366 BA, 15 HR, 52 RBIs) and Alyssa Daniell (.308 BA, 10 HR, 38 RBIs) provide power to the lineup while Hanna Delgado bats .374 with 10 doubles. UO has stolen 86 bases in 47 games this season, averaging 1.83 steals per game on an 82.7% success rate.
Elise Sokolsky (8-3, 2.41 ERA), Taylour Spencer (7-3, 2.77 ERA), Morgan Scott (9-8, 3.45 ERA) and Stevie Hansen (3-5, 3.54 ERA) have each completed at least 55.0 innings in the circle for Oregon this spring.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
Boston University enters the postseason owning the nation's best winning percentage at .921, going 52-4-1 on the year with a perfect 18-0 mark in Patriot League play. The Terriers have won 11 consecutive games coming into the Norman Regional, including a perfect 3-0 mark in their conference tournament.
Ace right-hander Kasey Ricard anchors the Terrier rotation, going 27-3 with a 1.20 ERA and 261 strikeouts across 204.2 innings of work. Allison Boaz adds a 17-1 record and a 1.41 ERA over 134.1 frames, striking out 102. Lauren Keleher (.407 BA, 8 HR, 41 RBIs) and Caitlin co*ker (.406, 7 HR, 36 RBIs) both bat better than .400 while Kayla Roncin (.384) and Brooke Deppiesse (.373) give BU two more hitters above a .370 average. Roncin leads Boston University with 81 hits and 44 RBIs and shares the steal lead with co*ker at 10.
WELCOME BACK TO OKLAHOMA
OU is no stranger to Oregon head coach Melyssa Lombardi and assistant coach Sydney Romero, each of whom carved out storied careers in Norman. A potential matchup this weekend would mark the first time Lombardi has coached against Oklahoma.
Lombardi spent 21 seasons on Patty Gasso's staff, closing her Sooner coaching career in 2018 following 11 campaigns as OU's associate head coach. Oklahoma won four national championships and 15 Big 12 titles with Lombardi overseeing the pitchers and catchers. A two-year Sooner catcher herself, Lombardi was teammates with current OU associate head coach Jennifer Rocha.
Romero is in her first season at Oregon following one year at Duke and two on Gasso's staff. A two-time All-American and 2019 Big 12 Player of the Year at OU, Romero graduated as the program's career leader in doubles.
LAST TIME OUT
Second-seeded Oklahoma received a brilliant start from graduate left-handed pitcher Kelly Maxwell to down the top-seeded and unanimously-No. 1-ranked Longhorns in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship final on Saturday evening in Oklahoma City.
Maxwell struck out seven while limiting Texas to a lone run across 5.1 innings in front of 4,003 fans at Devon Park. The southpaw scattered three walks and a pair of hits while throwing 47 of her 80 pitches for strikes (58.8%). She induced 12 swinging strikes, working at a 15% whiff rate, showcasing her electric stuff against the nation's top lineup by batting average.
Tiare Jennings became the fourth Sooner in program history to reach 300 career hits with her double in the first, joining Jocelyn Alo (343), Norrelle Dickson (328) and Sydney Romero (320).
OU freshman designated player Ella Parker was named the tournament's most-outstanding-player after batting .700 (7-for-10) across the week, driving in five runs and scoring six times while collecting three extra-base hits. Alyssa Brito, Kierston Deal, Kinzie Hansen and Kelly Maxwell joined her on the Big 12 All-Tournament team. Parker becomes the Sooners' ninth most-outstanding-player honoree.
ANOTHER WEEKEND IN NORMAN
The 2024 NCAA Norman Regional marks the 13th consecutive season in which Oklahoma has hosted a regional. The Sooners are 37-3 in that span and haven't lost a home regional game since May 19 to Wisconsin, winners of 10 straight contests since.
OU has advanced in 18 of 20 home regionals. The Sooners are 83-20 all-time in NCAA Regional play and own winning records against both Oregon (3-0) and Boston University (1-0) in the postseason round.
THE TITLE DEFENSE BEGINS
Oklahoma begins its quest for a fourth consecutive NCAA title this weekend at the Norman Regional. The three-time defending national champions are seeded second overall in the NCAA tournament and are in position to also host a Super Regional against the winner of the Tallahassee Regional hosted by No. 15-seed Florida State.
No softball program has ever won four consecutive national titles. The Sooners went 10-0 in the NCAA tournament last season, sweeping their way through the regional and supers before winning all five games at the WCWS to claim their third-straight NCAA championship.
TIA TIME
Senior shortstop Tiare Jennings has been named among the 10 finalists for the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, the organization announced Wednesday.
The Top 25 Finalists will be narrowed down to 3 athletes on May 20, followed by the announcement of the 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year prior to the NCAA Women's College World Series.
Jennings leads OU with 19 home runs, 57 RBIs and 13 doubles entering the NCAA Regionals and is the lone Sooner to have started all 55 games this season. She slashes .368/.462/.798 for a 1.260 OPS, drawing walks at a 15.6% clip while scoring 46 runs. In the field, Jennings has played 323.0 of the Sooners' 338.0 innings at shortstop, converting 157 of her 159 chances for a .987 fielding percentage with just two errors.
Over the course of the 2024 season, the All-Big 12 First Team selection established OU's new career doubles record (62) while recording both her 300th hit and 300th RBI. She is three home runs away from third on the NCAA all-time list and needs three RBIs to move into the NCAA top-five for her career.
FOUR SOONERS DRAFTED
Four Oklahoma players were selected in Tuesday's 2024 Athletes Unlimited Softball College Draft.
Tiare Jennings (No. 3), Jayda Coleman (No. 4), Kelly Maxwell (No. 9) and Kinzie Hansen were among the 15 players selected in Tuesday's draft.
The four selections match OU Softball's record for most draftees in a single season, sharing the high mark with 2013's four picks, and push the total number of professional players to 49 in program history. OU alumna Jocelyn Alo, Alex Storako, Haley Lee and Keilani Ricketts have signed with Athletes Unlimited in advance of the 2024 season.
Due to NCAA regulations, athletes selected in Tuesday's draft are not permitted to sign until the conclusion of the 2024 collegiate season when their eligibilities have been exhausted.
PRIME TIME PARKER
Freshman utility Ella Parker has been named a top-10 finalist for the 2024 TUCCI/NFCA DI Freshman of the Year award, the organization announced last Thursday.
The top-three finalists will be named on May 23 and the winner will be announced on Tuesday, May 28 prior to the start of the 2024 NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
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