Oklahoma Sooners softball

The Oklahoma Sooners softball team represents the University of Oklahoma in NCAA Division I College softball. The team competes in the Big 12 Conference, and plays its home games at Love's Field in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners are currently led by head coach Patty Gasso.

Oklahoma Sooners Softball
2023 Oklahoma Sooners softball team
Founded1975 (48 years ago)
UniversityUniversity of Oklahoma
Athletic directorJoe Castiglione
All-time Record2,015–794–2 (.717)
Head coachPatty Gasso (30th season)
ConferenceBig 12
LocationNorman, Oklahoma
Home stadiumLove's Field (Capacity: 4,200)
NicknameSooners
ColorsCrimson and cream[1]
   
NCAA Tournament champions
2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023
NCAA WCWS runner-up
2012, 2019
NCAA WCWS appearances
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
AIAW WCWS appearances
1975, 1980, 1981, 1982
NCAA Super Regional appearances
2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
NCAA Tournament appearances
1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023
Conference Tournament championships
1996, 2001, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023
Regular Season Conference championships
1996, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023

Oklahoma has won their conference title 15 times, has been to the NCAA Tournament 29 times, has been to the NCAA Women's College World Series 16 times, and has won the NCAA championship seven times. Oklahoma also appeared in the AIAW Women's College World Series four times.

History

The Sooners won their first national championship back in 2000. They swept Harvard, Cal-State Northridge, and Oregon State at their home regionals to advance to their first appearance in the Women's College World Series. They beat California and knocked off Southern Mississippi and Arizona to advance to the championship game against UCLA. They beat UCLA 3-1 to capture their first national title.

They hosted and won their 2013 regional. They beat Marist and Arkansas with a combined score of 41-6. They hosted again their super regionals against Texas A&M where they outscored the Aggies 18-2. In Oklahoma City, they went through 8 seeded Michigan, #10 ranked Texas, and #11 ranked Washington to reach Tennessee in the championship. Game 1 was where Lauren Chamberlain hit her iconic two-run walk-off home run after 12 innings of play. In game 2, Keilani Ricketts drove in all four runs, and Michelle Gascoigne pitched a shut out to obtain their second national title.

Once again, they hosted their regional in 2016 where they beat Wichita State and Ole Miss. They went on to host their super regional against Louisiana-Lafayette where they swept to advance to the Women's College World Series once again. In their first game in the tournament, they beat Alabama in extra innings. They faced #12 Michigan in game 2, and beat LSU in their third to face Auburn in the championship. They won 2-1 in their final game where Paige Parker threw a complete game.

In 2017, Sooners hosted another straight regional and won against North Dakota State, Arkansas, and Tulsa. From there, they went to #7 Auburn for the Super Regionals where they won in two games. They held off Baylor in Oklahoma City, overcame #6 Washington, and beat Oregon to face Florida in the finals. They won game 1 in the longest game ever played in the finals in 17 innings. They finished off the series with a swept to capture their fourth national championship.

In 2021, the Sooners hosted their regional as the No. 1 overall seed and beat Wichita State, Texas A&M, and Morgan State. They advanced to host their super regional against Washington, which they won in two games. At the Women's College World Series, they lost their first round game to James Madison University; subsequently, they won four straight elimination games to advance to the championship series, besting Georgia, UCLA, and James Madison twice. In the championship series, they lost their first game to Florida State, but returned to win games two and three to claim their fifth national championship.

In 2023, the Sooners set an NCAA Division I softball record 53-game winning streak.[2] They finished the season with a 61–1 record and won their seventh national championship, and third consecutive championship. They became the first team to three-peat since UCLA from 1988 to 1990.[3][4]

Love's Field

On October 28, 2021, it was announced a new softball stadium, Love's Field, is planned to break ground in 2022 and open before the 2024 season. Love's provided the naming gift following a $9 million donation. The estimated cost for the project is $27 million. The overall square footage of the complex will be 44,000 square feet and will have a seating capacity of 3,000.[5][6]

Coaching history
Main article: List of Oklahoma Sooners head softball coaches
Years Coach Record %
1975–1976Amy Dahl18–16.529
1977–1984Marita Hynes257–188.578
1985–1993Michelle Thomas226–230.496
1994Jim Beitia58–15.795
1995–presentPatty Gasso1,456–345–2.808

Honours

National championships
Season Record Head coach
2000 66–8 Patty Gasso
2013 57–4 Patty Gasso
2016 57–8 Patty Gasso
2017 61–9 Patty Gasso
2021 56–4 Patty Gasso
2022 59–3 Patty Gasso
2023 61–1 Patty Gasso

Conference championships
Season Conference Record Head coach
1996Big 1217–5Patty Gasso
199911–3
200017–1
200914–4
201219–5
201315–2
201416–2
201514–2
201617–1
201717–1
201818–0
201918–0
202116–1
202217–1
202318–0

Conference tournament championships
Season Conference Head coach
1996 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2001 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2007 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2010 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2017 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2018 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2021 Big 12 Patty Gasso
2023 Big 12 Patty Gasso

Records and statistics

Year-by-year results
Main article: List of Oklahoma Sooners softball seasons

Records by opponent
As of May 20, 2023[7]
Big 12 Conference opponents
Opponent TM W–L Last meeting
Baylor 87 73–14 W 2–0
April 22, 2023
BYU 10 9–1 W 3–1
February 8, 2020
Houston 15 14–1 W 8–0 (5)
March 19, 2022
Iowa State 123 95–28 W 9–0 (5)
May 12, 2023
Kansas 122 78–44 W 8–2
April 30, 2023
Oklahoma State 175 103–72 W 5–1
May 5, 2023
Texas 82 57–25 W 6–1
May 13, 2023
Texas Tech 77 70–7 W 7–0
April 8, 2023
UCF 2 2–0 W 7–1
May 28, 2022
Former Big 12 Conference opponents
Opponent TM W–L Last meeting
Missouri 96 55–41 W 11–0 (6)
May 20, 2023
Nebraska 89 45–44 W 10–2 (5)
February 12, 2020
Texas A&M 83 53–30 W 8–0 (5)
February 24, 2023
Notable Non-Conference opponents
Opponent TM W–L Last meeting
Tulsa 57 47–10 W 6–0
May 2, 2023
UCLA 21 8–13 W 14–0 (5)
February 26, 2023

NCAA Tournament seeding history

National seeding began in 2005. The Oklahoma Sooners have been a national seed 17 of the 18 tournaments.

Years → '05 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '21 '22 '23
Seeds → 1431071494171131041111

College World Series

Oklahoma has made 16 trips to the Women's College World Series, winning the title in 2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023. OU finished as runner-up in 2012 and 2019.

Year Win Loss Percent
2000401.000
200112.333
200202.000
200312.333
200412.333
201102.000
201242.667
2013501.000
201412.333
201651.833
2017501.000
201822.500
201933.500
202162.750
202251.833
2023501.000
Total 44 23 .657

2024 Coaching Staff
Name Position Seasons at Oklahoma
Patty GassoHead coach30th
Jennifer RochaAssociate head coach and pitching coach5th
JT GassoAssistant coach8th
Falepolima AviuAssistant coach1st
Lauren FosterGraduate assistant1st
Ryan WondrasekDirector of player development1st
Reference:[8]

Individual honors and awards

This is a list of individual honors at the national and conference levels, including All-Americans.[9]

First Team All-American
Season Player(s)
1999 Lynette Velazquez
2000 Lisa Carey
2001 Kelli Braitsch
2003 Leah Gulla
2004 Heather Scaglione
2005 Heather Scaglione
2006 Kristin Vesley
2007 Norrelle Dickson
2009 Amber Flores
2010 Heather Scaglione
2011 Keilani Ricketts
2012 Lauren Chamberlain, Keilani Ricketts, Jessica Shults
2013 Lauren Chamberlain, Keilani Ricketts
2014 Shelby Pendley
2015 Lauren Chamberlain
2016 Paige Parker
2018 Jocelyn Alo, Paige Parker, Sydney Romero
2019 Caleigh Clifton, Giselle Juarez, Sydney Romero
2021 Jocelyn Alo, Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings
2022 Jocelyn Alo, Jordy Bahl, Jayda Coleman, Tiare Jennings, Grace Lyons
2023 Jordy Bahl, Alyssa Brito, Jayda Coleman, Kinzie Hansen, Tiare Jennings

References
  1. "Colors – OU Brand Guide". April 20, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  2. Brunt, Cliff (June 8, 2023). "Oklahoma wins third straight WCWS title, extends record win streak to 53". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  3. Post, J.J. (June 8, 2023). "Oklahoma softball joins elite company with title three-peat". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  4. Auerbach, Nicole (June 8, 2023). "Oklahoma softball wins third consecutive national title: How Sooners cemented a dynasty". The Athletic. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  5. "Love's Travel Stops Contributes Lead Gift for New Softball Stadium". soonersports.com. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  6. Bailey, Eric (October 28, 2021). "OU to begin construction of Love's Field, a $27 million stadium for softball program". Tulsa World. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  7. "OU Softball Opponents". soonerstats.com. Sooner Stats. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  8. "Oklahoma Softball Coaches". SoonerSports.com. University of Oklahoma Athletics. Retrieved 8 Jan 2023.
  9. "Big 12 Softball Records" (PDF). Big12Sports.com. Big 12 Conference. pp. 86–89. Retrieved 3 May 2019.

Official Website

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