Oklahoma Sooners softball headed to National Championship series - Examiner.com

The Oklahoma Sooners women’s softball team are heading into the National Championship Series after a 5-3 win over the defending National Champion Arizona State Sun Devils on June 3. 

The Sooners remained undefeated in the 2012 postseason despite a rocky start by National Player of the Year Keilani Ricketts. Ricketts shined in her last two games when she threw 27 strikeouts and didn’t give up an unearned run. However, in the game with Arizona State, she allowed eight hits and three earned runs while striking out 13 batters.  

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"All I remember is every inning was a battle," Ricketts said. "Those hitters were making me work. I'm thankful I had my teammates behind me." 

Oklahoma fell behind, 2-0, after a tough first inning but exploded in the third with four runs. Katie Norris hit her fifth home run of the season in the second inning before OU picked up four runs on four hits in the third inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Jessica Shults. 

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"It was timeliness and a little luck," head coach Patty Gasso said. "This team understands you can strike out 10 or 12 times as long as we're putting runners in scoring position. It's finding ways to win. I've said that was one game I'll always remember." 

Now, the Sooners head into the National Championship Series for a best-of-three title series against the Alabama Crimson Tide. That series starts at 7:00 p.m. CT on Monday night, June 4. Oklahoma last won a National Championship in softball in the 2000 season. 

"To find a way to play for a national championship has been our ultimate goal," Gasso said. "There's not another team that deserves it more than my Sooners." 

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