Oklahoma

No. 1 seed Oklahoma is chasing softball history and Clemson stands in the way at super regional

Published

2 years ago

May 23, 2023

No. 1 seed Oklahoma is chasing softball history and Clemson stands in the way at super regional

Oklahoma must go through one of the nation’s best players in Clemson’s Valerie Cagle to make softball history.

The top-seeded Sooners are on a 46-game win streak heading into Friday’s super regional opener – one victory short of matching Arizona’s Division I record set during the 1996-97 season.

Cagle, one of three finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, stands in the way. She has a 25-6 record with a 1.01 earned-run average and 186 strikeouts in 186 innings. She also is hitting .467 with 19 home runs and 57 RBIs

If the Sooners win two straight against the Tigers, they will have the record to themselves and will advance to next week’s Women’s College World Series. Even if they drop a game, they can still advance by winning two of three to earn a shot at winning a third consecutive national title.

In the Clemson Regional last Saturday, Cagle got the win in a one-hitter against Auburn and had two hits and a home run. The next day, she gave up four hits and no earned runs against Auburn in the 5-1 victory that clinched a spot in the super regional.

Oklahoma rolled through its regional, defeating Hofstra 11-0, Missouri 11-0 and California 16-3 to advance.

Clemson is trying to make some history, too. Clemson is completing just its third full season of softball and has never been to the World Series. The Tigers’ inaugural season was 2020, but it was shortened due to the pandemic. Clemson has reached the NCAA Tournament the past three years and reached super regionals last year before losing to Oklahoma State.

CAJUNS RAGIN’

Louisiana-Lafayette didn’t get the regional host bid despite its No. 11 RPI ranking, but the Ragin’ Cajuns sure got the results.

Louisiana-Lafayette, a Sun Belt Conference team, won the Baton Rouge Regional, defeating Omaha, then host LSU twice to advance. In the clinching win, Lousiana-Lafayette rallied and scored two runs in the seventh inning to defeat LSU, 9-8.

Louisiana-Lafayette now faces No. 7 seed Washington in the double-elimination Seattle Regional for the right to play in the Women’s College World Series.

FOUTS BACK?

Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts hyperextended her left leg during the SEC Tournament, and coach Patrick Murphy played it safe with her in regionals.

Fouts, who leads the nation with 311 strikeouts, was deemed available but did not play.

“It was a possibility to use Montana,” Murphy said after the clincher against Middle Tennessee State. “I’ve never had this situation. There’s not a coaching 101 that has this situation in it. We’ve been through lots of stuff, but never this situation.”

Jaala Torrence stepped up in Fouts’ place to help the fifth-seeded Crimson Tide advance.

PAC-12 POWER

The Pac-12 still has four teams remaining — the most of any conference.

Stanford, Oregon, Washington and Utah all won their regionals. In super regionals, No. 9 seed Stanford will face No. 8 seed Duke; No. 15 seed Utah will host San Diego State; No. 7 Washington will host Louisiana-Lafayette; and Oregon will visit No. 6 seed Oklahoma State.

The Big 12 has three teams left in Oklahoma, Texas and Oklahoma State. Texas has a tough road — the Longhorns will face No. 4 seed Tennessee in super regionals. But Texas never played a home game last year in NCAA Tournament play and reached the World Series finals.

The ACC has Florida State, Clemson and Duke remaining. Florida State, the No. 3 seed, will face Georgia, one of three SEC teams remaining along with Alabama and Tennessee. .

Northwestern is the only Big Ten team remaining and Louisiana-Lafayette is the only member of the Sun Belt left. San Diego State, the only Mountain West Conference team remaining, won the Los Angeles Regional.

STARS ELIMINATED

The other two finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year were eliminated in regionals.

UCLA’s Maya Brady finished the season with a .448 batting average, 18 home runs and 59 RBIs. Her second-seeded Bruins were knocked out in regionals after losing to Grand Canyon and Liberty.

Florida’s Skylar Wallace also is out after Stanford beat the Gators twice. Wallace finished the season with a .447 average, 19 home runs a nd 55 RBIs.

___ Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: twitter.com/CliffBruntAP

Source link

Click to comment

Oklahoma

Fears leads No. 14 Oklahoma against Central Arkansas

Published

57 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Fears leads No. 14 Oklahoma against Central Arkansas

Associated Press

Central Arkansas Bears (3-8) at Oklahoma Sooners (11-0)

Norman, Oklahoma; Sunday, 1 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Sooners -28.5; over/under is 145.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 14 Oklahoma hosts Central Arkansas after Jeremiah Fears scored 30 points in Oklahoma’s 87-86 victory over the Michigan Wolverines.

The Sooners have gone 6-0 at home. Oklahoma has a 2-0 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Bears are 0-6 on the road. Central Arkansas ranks fourth in the ASUN with 23.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Brayden Fagbemi averaging 4.6.

Oklahoma averages 82.0 points, 5.2 more per game than the 76.8 Central Arkansas allows. Central Arkansas averages 9.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.5 more made shots on average than the 6.5 per game Oklahoma allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Fears is scoring 17.9 points per game with 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists for the Sooners.

Layne Taylor is scoring 17.0 points per game and averaging 4.4 rebounds for the Bears.

LAST 10 GAMES: Sooners: 10-0, averaging 80.9 points, 29.3 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 10.1 steals and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.5 points per game.

Bears: 3-7, averaging 73.0 points, 34.3 rebounds, 14.3 assists, 8.8 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 38.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.7 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Source link

Oklahoma

Firefighters respond to commercial fire in Oklahoma City

Published

9 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Firefighters respond to commercial fire in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma City Fire Department responded to a commercial fire near the area of NW 10th and N Western Avenue.

OKCFD were at the scene of a commercial fire around 7 p.m. Saturday night, when they arrived there was heavy smoke visible from multiple floors of a boarded up building.

One adult female was found in the building and taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

At this time no cause has been reported.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.

Source link

Oklahoma

Navy Coach Brian Newberry Talks Oklahoma Prep, Going for 10 Wins

Published

17 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Press Room

Navy Coach Brian Newberry Talks Oklahoma Prep, Going for 10 Wins

NORMAN — Bowl season is a bit unconventional for Navy.

The Midshipmen annually play against Army six days after the bowl schedule is released. That was the case this year, as Navy beat the Black Knights 31-13 on Dec. 14.

Beating Army is always a highlight for the Midshipmen. But the drawback for them is that they have less time than their bowl opponent to prepare for the game.

In this case, that’s Oklahoma. The Sooners will enter the game with more than two weeks of preparation for Navy’s triple-option offense.

“It’s just a little different,” Navy coach Brian Newberry told reporters earlier this week. “They’ve known they’re going to play us for a little time now.”

Navy Coach, Oklahoma Native Brian Newberry Grew Up On OU Football

Navy does, however, enter the Armed Forces Bowl with momentum.

The Midshipmen (9-3) eased past Army last week in Landover, MD. They outgained the Black Knights 384-179 and forced Army quarterback Bryson Daily to throw three interceptions.

Navy’s rivalry win was its third in the last four games after the Midshipmen went on a two-game skid in the middle of the season. Newberry cited his team’s physicality in recent games, particularly in the Midshipmen’s drubbing of Army.

“I was so impressed with how our kids handled the moment,” Newberry said. “Army’s a really, really good football team. I thought we physically dominated the game in the way that we blocked, beat blocks, the way we tackled. I thought we outplayed them in all three phases, so I’m really, really proud of that.”

A stark difference between the teams is the number of players that have entered the transfer portal.

The Sooners have seen 25 players from their 2024 team enter the portal. The Midshipmen have suffered only one departure in the winter portal window with defensive back Lorenzo Vitti.

On one hand, that makes Oklahoma preparation tough for Navy.

“It’s interesting,” Newberry said. “We’re going through their two-deep and trying to figure out who’s going to play and who isn’t. It’s a little bit of a challenge in that regard. And it could certainly change with a different quarterback.”

But largely, the Midshipmen’s lack of transfers gives Newberry confidence that his team will be bought in for one more game in 2024.

“The portal can affect us, players can jump in the portal — we’re not getting that,” Newberry said. “It’s challenging to build a culture anywhere in college football right now, one that’s built on a certain level of trust. They know each other really, really well. They’ve fought through adversity. They stay the course, they pay the price and they have an opportunity.”

Navy will also play for more than just another win; the Midshipmen are looking to make history.

Navy has reached the 10-win mark just four times in program history. The Midshipmen did so three times under former coach Ken Niumatalolo from 2009-2019.

Having a shot at history while playing Oklahoma — the state that Newberry hails from — excites the coach.

“It’s the last time that this team gets to play together,” Newberry said. “They want to go out the right way against a storied program like Oklahoma. It’s a great reward to play in a bowl game, but it’s a game we want to win.”

The Midshipmen and Sooners will play in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth at 11 a.m. on Dec. 27.

Source link