May 25—NORMAN — When Oklahoma resumes play in the NCAA softball draw Friday at Marita Hynes Field, it will be doing it against a team that had to work significantly harder than it did to get there.
The Norman Super Regional begins at 2 p.m Friday, with the OU playing host to Washington.
The Sooners are the No. 1 seed in the entire NCAA draw and thus favored to advance past the No. 16-seed Huskies.
The Huskies, though, were a controversial election to receive their seed, many believing they deserved a much higher spot.
In the final coaches’ poll, Washington came in No. 6, having posted a 41-11 regular season record, going 18-5 in the Pac-12, falling once to Oregon, once to Oregon State and three times to UCLA,
One of those teams, UCLA, the No. 2 overall seed, is also through to the super regional round.
Washington is on its way to the OU softball complex despite losing a winner’s bracket regional semifinal contest to Michigan on Saturday, a loss that demanded it come back later the same day to eliminate Seattle University before having to beat Michigan twice Sunday.
The Huskies pulled it off, topping the Wolverines 2-0 and 10-5 to keep their season going.
There will be a national spotlight on OU (48-2) and Washington (45-12) beginning Friday.
Each game will be carried on national television.
—The series begin at 2 p.m. Friday, a game that will be broadcast on ESPN.
—The series continues at 2 p.m. Saturday, a game that will broadcast on ABC.
—The series will conclude, if necessary, with a 3 p.m. Sunday contest that would be broadcast on ESPN.
The eventual winner of the series will begin play in the Women’s College World Series the following Thursday at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
The other seven super regionals are as follows:
—Virginia Tech at No. 2 UCLA, in Los Angeles, beginning Thursday.
—No. 14 Kentucky at No. 3 Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, beginning Friday.
—Georgia at No. 4 Florida, in Gainesville, beginning Friday.
—No. 12 Texas at No. 5 Oklahoma State, in Stillwater, beginning Friday.
—No. 11 Arizona at No. 6 Arkansas, in Fayetteville, beginning Friday.
—No. 10 Florida State at No. 7 LSU, in Baton Rouge, beginning Thursday.
—James Madison at No. 8 Missouri, in Columbia, beginning Friday.
Clay Horning
405 366-3526
Follow me @clayhorning