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OU Softball: Oklahoma Gets Duke, WCWS Start Times Announced

The Blue Devils won the Missouri Super Regional in a dramtic game on Sunday, and will open the College World Series against the Sooners on Thursday.

John E. Hoover

Head coach Patty Gasso
Head coach Patty Gasso / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

Oklahoma will open the Women's College World Series on Thursday against the Duke Blue Devils.

Duke (52-7) punched its ticket to Oklahoma City with a dramatic, nine-inning, 4-3 victory over Missouri Sunday in the third game of the Columbia Super Regional.

ESPN then announced the start times for Thursday's first-round games.

OU and Duke play at 1:30 p.m. It's the Blue Devils' first-ever trip to the WCWS. OU i(54-6) s seeking its eighth national championship under Patty Gasso and an unprecedented fourth in a row.

Other Thursday games pit Alabama against UCLA at 11 a.m. , Stanford against Texas at 6 p.m., and Oklahoma State against Florida at 8:30 p.m.

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All games will be on ESPN.

OU is the No. 2 overall seed behind Texas. The Sooners were the first team to qualify for OKC after sweeping Florida State Thursday and Friday in the Norman Regional,.

USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium was renamed to Devon Park earlier this season.

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John E. Hoover

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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