Oklahoma will need to beat a familiar opponent to earn a shot at a record fourth straight national softball title.
The second-seeded Sooners (52-6) host No. 15 seed Florida State (46-14) in a best-of-three super regional series starting Thursday at Love’s Field in Norman, Oklahoma. The winner advances to the Women’s College World Series, which begins May 30 at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Coach Patty Gasso’s Sooners beat the Seminoles in the national championship series last year and in 2021.
Florida State has its own championship history under coach Lonni Alameda, winning the national title in 2018 and playing in three of the last five championship series.
Texas rolling
Texas played like a No. 1 overall seed at its regional, plowing through the Austin Regional by beating Siena 5-0 and Northwestern 14-2 and 7-0.
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The Longhorns will host future SEC rival Texas A&M in super regionals starting Friday. Reese Atwood, a top-three finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, heads a unit that leads the nation with a .383 batting average.
Atwood has set Texas single-season records with 22 home runs and 88 RBIs. She has a .433 batting average and a .488 on-base percentage.
Kilfoyl dominates
Oklahoma State’s Lexi Kilfoyl showed why she is one of three finalists for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award by blowing through the competition in regional play.
The Big 12 Pitcher of the Year ranks second in the nation with a 1.08 ERA. In the Stillwater Regional, she went 3-0 with 0.74 ERA in 19 innings, struck out 21 and walked none. She claimed wins against Northern Colorado, Kentucky and Michigan.
Kilfoyl is the first Oklahoma State player to be named a top-three finalist. The fifth-seeded Cowgirls will host Arizona in super regionals starting Friday.
UCLA returns
Traditional power UCLA was knocked out in regionals last year in a shocking exit that included a loss…
