Alabama softball is two wins away from its third straight Women’s College World Series appearance. To advance, the Crimson Tide must get past the four-time defending national champion.

After entering this year’s NCAA Tournament as the No. 15 national seed, Alabama (40-21) cruised to its 19th regional title in 20 years. Now, in order to reach Oklahoma City, the Tide must make a pitstop in Norman, Oklahoma, where it will need to beat the No. 2 national seed Sooners (48-7) in a best-of-three series this weekend.

Alabama joined Tennessee and Florida as the only three teams to record multiple wins over Oklahoma this season. The Tide beat the Sooners two out of three games in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, last month, suffering a 5-1 defeat in the series opener before battling back for a 6-1 victory in Game 2 and an extra-inning 2-1 win in Game 3.

Repeating the feat in Oklahoma’s Love Stadium, where the Sooners are 25-2 this season, will be a much tougher feat. However, Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy isn’t stressing the challenge.

“We have nothing to lose, right?” Murphy told reporters Wednesday. “They should win. They’re favored. They’re at home. All the things are in their favor. So all we’re going to do is go out there and play our hardest with a lot of energy, have short-term memories. If something bad happens, who cares? So what, now what? And move on to the next pitch.”

Alabama and Oklahoma will square off at 4 p.m. CT on Friday for Game 1, followed by a 2 p.m. start time on Saturday for Game 2. If necessary, Game 3 of the series will be on Sunday at a time yet to be determined.

Here’s everything you need to know about the super regional.

Audrey Vandagriff | CF | Freshman

Alabama’s success at the plate starts with Vandagriff — figuratively and literally. Earlier this week, the Tide’s leadoff hitter was named one of three finalists for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association’s National Freshman of the Year award. Vandagriff leads Alabama with a .406 batting average, 69 hits, 51 runs scored, eight doubles and 37 walks. The speedy center fielder also tops the team with 50 stolen bases, which ranks second nationally.

Vandagriff joins former Tide speedsters Brittany Rogers and Kayla Braud as the third player in program history to reach 50 stolen bases in a season. She is now 10 steals away from Rogers’ single-season program record of 60 set in the 2008 season.

During Alabama’s series win over Oklahoma last month, Vandagriff combined to go 4-for-10 at the plate, including a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the eighth during Alabama’s 2-1 win in Game 3.

Kali Heivilin | 2B | Senior

Heivilin carried Alabama at the plate during last week’s Tuscaloosa Regional. During three wins over Jackson State and Virginia Tech, the senior second baseman went a combined 3-for-7 with a pair of walks and four RBIs. That included a two-run home run to put the Tide ahead during its Game 2 win over Virginia Tech.

Heivilin leads the team with 14 home runs and is tied for the team lead with 46 RBIs. She’s also second on the team with a .371 batting average and a .464 on-base percentage. During last month’s series against Oklahoma, Heivilin went 4-for-9 with a pair of RBIs, including a home run in Game 2 of the series.

Catelyn Riley | SP | Senior

Riley earned the win in Alabama’s regional-clinching victory over Virginia Tech last Sunday. The Tide will need the Ole Miss transfer to come up big again in the circle if it’s going to silence a loaded Oklahoma lineup.

Riley leads the team with a 2.57 earned run average while posting an 11-3 record with 63 strikeouts over 117 innings pitched. During last month’s series against Oklahoma, Riley pitched a combined 13⅔ innings, giving up just one earned run on 10 hits while striking out eight batters. That included a complete-game performance during Alabama’s 2-1 victory over eight innings in Game 3.

Jocelyn Briski | SP | Sophomore

Briski has Alabama’s best stuff in the circle, but the sophomore has struggled with consistency this season. She has posted a 17-12 record with a 2.78 ERA over 161 innings pitched while leading the team with 116 strikeouts.

Briski is coming off a solid performance during the Tuscaloosa Regional, in which she earned the win in Game 2 before coming in for the save in Game 3. Over 7⅔ innings against Virginia Tech, she allowed three earned runs on seven hits while striking out six batters.

Briski came in relief to take the loss in Game 1 of Alabama’s series against Oklahoma last month. However, she rebounded for a complete-game win in Game 2. Over 8⅓ innings against the Sooners, she gave up three earned runs on three hits while striking out three batters.

Kasidi Pickering | RF | Sophomore

Pickering leads Oklahoma with a .419 batting average and a .567 on-base percentage. The slugging leadoff hitter is also tied for the team lead with 54 RBIs and ranks second with 17 home runs. During her three games against Alabama earlier this year, she went 3-for-11 with an RBI.

Nelly McEnroe-Marinas | 3B | Redshirt freshman

After a preseason injury sidelined her last season, McEnroe-Marinas has put together a stellar debut season for the Sooners this spring. The redshirt freshman third baseman is hitting .347 with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs. She also led the SEC with 10 home runs during conference play. McEnroe-Marinas struggled in her three games against Alabama, going just 1-for-11 with a pair of RBIs.

Sam Landry | SP | Senior

Landry has been Oklahoma’s ace this season, compiling a 22-4 record with a 2.00 ERA while striking out 165 batters over 160⅔ innings. The Louisiana transfer earned SEC Newcomer of the Year and was also part of the SEC All-Defensive Team on top of earning first-team all-conference honors.

Landry went 1-1 against Alabama earlier this year, winning Game 1 before taking the loss in Game 3. The right-hander pitched a combined 14-plus innings against the Tide, giving up three earned runs on 10 hits while striking out 11 batters.

Alabama and Oklahoma have met 17 times previously, with Alabama holding a 10-7 record in the all-time series. However, this will be the Tide’s first-ever trip to Norman where it will play in front of a rowdy Love’s Field crowd that seats more than 4,000 fans.

“I talked to somebody, and they said, ‘Murph, you’re going to feel like you’re playing at the Rhoads House. They’re just cheering against you,’” Murphy told reporters. “It’s that type of atmosphere, and it’s really cool. And kudos to the Oklahoma athletic department for investing almost $42 million into the softball stadium, and it’s paying off. The return on investment is tremendous.”

While Love’s Field is intimidating to most, the intense environment won’t be anything new for the Tide. Alabama is used to playing in front of packed crowds at Rhoads Stadium and faced the No. 9 ranked strength of schedule this season, according to Warren Nolan.

“I would say that we’re the most prepared that we could be,” Alabama catcher Marlie Giles told reporters. “We’re blessed to be in an awesome conference, and we’ve played at some really hard places like Texas A&M. That stadium was crazy when we played there. We’ve played at Florida. Really this season has just prepared us for this atmosphere.”

Alabama did a good job of quieting the nation’s home run leader during the Tuscaloosa Regional, holding Virginia Tech’s Cori McMillan to 1-for-6 at the plate with a pair of strikeouts. The Tide’s pitchers will need a similar performance against an Oklahoma lineup that leads the SEC and ranks third nationally with 110 home runs over 55 games.

“They’ve got hitters up and down the lineup,” Murphy told reporters. “We need to keep the ball in the park, for sure, because that’s how they really win. They like to see the ball fly. So if we can keep the ball in the park, hold them to singles, runs, not big innings, that’s the goal for us.

During its three-game series against Alabama last month, Oklahoma scored four of its combined seven runs on home runs. That included a two-run shot from Maya Bland in Game 1, followed by solo home runs from Sydney Barker (Game 2) and McEnroe-Marinas (Game 3).