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OU softball coach Patty Gasso calls Sooners’ senior class a ‘perfect storm’
OU softball coach Patty Gasso calls Sooners’ senior class a ‘perfect storm’
NCAA
Two of the most storied softball programs in the country meet today in Game 7 of the Women’s College World Series. No. 6-seed UCLA – a program with 12 NCAA softball championships – faces off against three-time defending champions and No. 2-seed Oklahoma.
Women’s College World Series: Softball teams battle to win 2024 NCAA tournament
Despite Oklahoma’s recent dominance, the Sooners have a losing record against the Bruins in the Women’s College World Series at 3-4. These two teams faced off in the championship series in 2019. UCLA won but Oklahoma has won every series since.
Oklahoma’s won their last 10 games in a row and UCLA’s rattled off 14 consecutive victories. One of those streaks has to end Saturday in Oklahoma City.
UCLA vs. Oklahoma: TV, streaming and how to watch
- Date: Saturday, June 1
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Where: Devon Park, Oklahoma City, OK
- TV: ABC
- Streaming: ESPN+
How to watch: Catch Women’s College World Series softball tournament with ESPN+
College softball tournament bracket: WCWS schedule
Saturday, June 1
- Game 7: No. 6 UCLA vs. No. 2 Oklahoma, 3 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 8: No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Florida, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Sunday, June 2
- Game 9: No. 14 Alabama vs. loser of Game 8, 3 p.m. ET, ABC
- Game 10: No. 8 Stanford vs. loser of Game 7, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Monday, June 3
- Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, noon ET, ESPN
- Game 12 (if necessary): Game 11 rematch, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
- Game 13: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
- Game 14 (if necessary): Game 13 rematch, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2
Championship Finals
Best-of-three series from June 5-7. All games at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The Sooners are favored to beat the Bruins, per the latest DraftKings odds, and continue their quest for a fourth consecutive championship.
- Moneyline: Oklahoma (-255), UCLA (+205)
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The Oklahoman: Oklahoma 8, UCLA 4
Justin Martinez writes: “OU’s offense didn’t have much trouble scoring against Duke, which entered Thursday’s WCWS opener with the third-best team ERA in the nation (1.55). Now the Sooners will face the Bruins, who have a young pitching duo of freshman Kaitlyn Terry and sophomore Taylor Tinsley. Both players earned All-Pac-12 first team selections this season, but asking them to contain an experienced OU offense on the sport’s biggest stage is a tall order.”
Heartland College Sports: Oklahoma 9, UCLA 4
Bryan Clinton says: “Oklahoma’s offense was on fire against an excellent Duke pitching staff, and while UCLA has been playing terrific softball of late, their staff ranks seventh out of eight teams that made it to OKC with a 2.71-team ERA. If the Sooners’ bats stay hot, they should be able to pull away in this one. I’m not predicting a third consecutive shutout in the series, as OU’s pitching staff isn’t as good as it was in 2022 or 2023, but this group of seniors has had a vendetta against UCLA, and that will continue.”
Sporting News: Oklahoma
Edward Sutelan writes: “The Sooners are once again dominant in nearly all facets of the game. They rank seventh in team ERA (1.85), first in on-base percentage (.473) and second in slugging percentage (.724) among all Division I teams. They have outscored opponents 483-107 this season.”
The Bruins won their third Pac-12 conference regular season championship of the last four years behind a five-game winning streak to close the season. In the conference tournament, UCLA took care of business against Arizona State 6-0 before one-run wins over Arizona (6-5) and Utah (2-1) secured their title.
UCLA opened the NCAA softball tournament with wins over Grand Canyon (9-0), Virginia Tech (7-6), and Grand Canyon (9-1) again in the regionals round. In the super regionals, the Bruins beat Georgia twice by a combined score of 14-1 to secure a spot in the Women’s College World Series bracket. They opened with a 4-1 win over Alabama Thursday to secure their spot against Oklahoma today.
For the first time since 2011, Oklahoma did not win the Big 12 regular season title. Texas took the title by one win but Oklahoma got back on top in the Big 12 conference tournament by beating the Longhorns 5-1 in the championship game.
The three-time defending NCAA champions have kept the winning up from there. In the regionals round, Oklahoma beat Cleveland State 9-0 before beating Oregon twice by a combined score of 9-5. In the super regionals, Oklahoma beat Florida State 11-3 and 4-2 to make it to the Women’s College World Series bracket. They started the final part of the tournament with a 9-1 win over Duke Thursday.
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