Oklahoma Softball: OU Opens Super Regional Play Against Battle-Tested UCF Knights on Friday
Friday, Oklahoma will have the opportunity to take one step closer to Oklahoma City.
The defending National Champion and top-seeded Sooners are playing host to 16-seeded UCF at Marita Hynes Field, with just a weekend series between the two sides all that stands between OU and another trip to the Women’s College World Series.
Patty Gasso’s Sooners (52-2) are no strangers to the big stage, participating in their 12th straight Super Regional, but the Knights (49-12) will have to learn on the fly.
The soon-to-be Big 12 program will take the field against Oklahoma in their first ever Super Regional appearance on Friday, but Gasso doesn’t think the Knights will be overwhelmed by the spotlight.
How to Watch Oklahoma vs. UCF:
- Game 1: Friday, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
- Game 2: Saturday, 1 p.m., ESPN
- Game 3 (if necessary): Sunday, Time TBD
“They play a very tough schedule to their credit and it has paid off for them,” Gasso said in a Zoom press conference on Wednesday. “They’ve won some big games and I’m not gonna say they’re under the radar because they’re not anymore.”
Playing a tough schedule is one thing, but upsetting the Sooners two out of three games in Norman is another.
Entering this weekend’s Super Regional, Oklahoma leads the country in batting average (.369), home runs per game (2.42), slugging percentage (.730) and earned run average (0.81).
Jocelyn Alo and Jayda Coleman both rank in the top three nationally in on-base percentage this year, and Hope Trautwein, Jordy Bahl and Nicole May all rank inside the top six in ERA.
Rarely have there been moments where the Oklahoma offense has sputtered this season, but the Knights will hope pitcher Gianna Mancha can slow down the Sooners.
Mancha ranks No. 22 this year in ERA, entering the weekend with a 1.62 mark.
Kama Woodall was also key for UCF during regional play in the circle, as she helped fire her team past Michigan to reach the regional final last Saturday.
“Their pitchers are outstanding and they’ve got more than a few that can do the job,” Gasso said. “So we’ve just got to stick with our game plan, continue to trust the training that we’re doing.
“Allow the crowd to engage the way they normally do and really create what we feel is going to be a home field advantage.”
While the Knights battle to contain the OU offense, the Sooner pitchers will look to continue a dominant run from last weekend of their own.
Trautwein and May combined to allow just one two-run home run across 17 innings of work, only surrendering one walk in the process.
Gasso said Bahl, who was named as a finalist for Freshman of the Year on Thursday, has progressed this week, but Oklahoma could likely punch its ticket back to Oklahoma City without its ace.
Trautwein still boasts the nation’s best ERA headed into the weekend, and May has continued to grow in Year 2 with the Sooners after collecting a wealth of postseason experience last year.
Back in the crucible of NCAA Tournament play last weekend, May again dominated. She set the tone throwing for hitless innings against Prairie View A&M, and appeared to grow stronger her offense walloped Texas A&M on Sunday.
Sophomore slugger Tiare Jennings said throughout the entire season, May has remained calm and collected, something that makes reading her very difficult for opposing hitters.
“She keeps a very poised face and you don’t see that even in her highest highs or lowest of lows,” Jennings said on Wednesday. “She keeps the same demeanor the entire time. So I think as a hitter, it’s really hard because you don’t really know what they’re thinking or anything.
“She keeps a poker face no matter what.”
All three of Oklahoma’s pitchers will have to remain locked in this weekend, hoping to dispatch a UCF offense which enters Super Regional play hitting .300 on the year, the 36th best batting average in the country.
First pitch between the Sooners and the Knights is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., and the first contest in this weekend’s Super Regional will be broadcast on ESPN2.
“It’s going to be a dogfight,” Jennings said. “They made it this far. And so every team, you can’t take them lightly. No one wants their season to end this early.
“… (We’ll be) taking it one pitch at a time and just focusing on our preparation.”
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