OU softball: A look at what lies ahead for Sooners at WCWS

The stage is set for the Women’s College World Series, and Oklahoma knows its path.

The Sooners begin their quest for a three-peat against No. 9-seed Stanford at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, a team the Sooners defeated by run rule earlier this season. Stanford isn’t the only WCWS team the Sooners are familiar with — they also met Oklahoma State, Florida State, Utah and Washington during the season, posting a 7-0 record in those games.

The Sooners (56-1) enter the WCWS as the No. 1 overall seed on a 48-game winning streak. Most recently, they overcame a late deficit last weekend to defeat Clemson in the super regional round behind home runs from Kinzie Hansen and Tiare Jennings. Prior to that, they swept their way through the Norman Regional.

As the Sooners get set for the final days of the season at USA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, here’s a look at the rest of the WCWS field:

Record: 45-13

Path to OKC: Defeated Duke (3-1 W , 7-2 W) in super regional; a perfect 5-0 record since regionals

Key players: River Mahler (62 H, .367 BA, .420 SLG, .452 OBP); P NiJaree Canady (.48 ERA, 193 Ks, 16-1 WL)

Offense: 4.6 runs per game (ranked 99th nationally)

Defense: 1.55 ERA (ranked fourth nationally)

Overview: The Sooners had no issues in their only meeting with Stanford this season, securing a 10-1 run-rule victory back in February. However, the Cardinal have been one of the best teams in the NCAA tournament, winning all five games by a combined 31-6.

Record: 49-8

Path to OKC: Defeated Texas (5-2 W, 9-0 W) in super regional

Key players: Kiki Milloy (83 R, 66 H, .420 BA, .981 SLG, .569 OBP); P Ashley Rogers (.75 ERA, 173 Ks, 18-1 WL)

Offense: 7.11 runs per game (ranked second nationally)

Defense: 1.48 ERA (ranked second nationally)

Record: 45-20

Path to OKC: Defeated Northwestern (1-3 L, 2-1 W, 3-2 W) in super regional

Key players: Ashley Prange (58 H, .324 BA, .654 SLG, .440 OBP); P Montana Fouts (1.48 ERA, 319 Ks, 25-10 WL)

Offense: 4.67 runs (92nd nationally)

Defense: 1.99 ERA (13th nationally)

Record: 46-14

Path to OKC: Defeated Oregon (8-1 W, 9-0 W) in super regional

Key players: Rachel Becker (79 H, .449 BA, .648 SLG, .563 OBP); P Kelly Maxwell (1.77 ERA, 223 Ks, 16-5 WL)

Offense: 6.15 runs per game (14th nationally)

Defense: 2.06 ERA (17th nationally)

Record: 55-9

Path to OKC: Defeated Georgia (8-1 W, 4-2 W) in super regional

Key players: Jahni Kerr (64 H, .362 BA, .582 SLG, .390 OBP); P Kathryn Sandercock (1.10 ERA, 107 Ks, 26-3 WL)

Offense: 6.12 runs per game (15th nationally)

Defense: 1.63 ERA (eighth nationally)

Record: 43-13

Road to OKC: Defeated Louisiana (8-0 W, 2-0 W) in super regional

Key players: Baylee Klinger (69 H, .388 BA, .680 SLG, .488 OBP); P Ruby Meylan (2.19 ERA, 197 Ks, 18-5 WL)

Offense: 5.64 runs per game (30th nationally)

Defense: 2.57 ERA (45th nationally)

Record: 42-14

Path to OKC: Defeated San Diego State (3-4 L, 10-1 W, 7-2 W) in super regional

Key players: Aliya Belarde (76 H, .400 BA, .516 BA, .457 OBP); P Mariah Lopez (2.15 ERA, 201 Ks, 23-6 WL)

Offense: 6.24 runs per game (11th nationally)

Defense: 2.74 ERA (66th nationally)

Thursday, June 1

Game 1: No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 5 Alabama, 11 a.m., ESPN

Game 2: No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Stanford, 1:30 p.m., ESPN

Game 3: No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 6 Oklahoma State, 6 p.m., ESPN

Game 4: No. 7 Washington vs. No. 15 Utah, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Friday, June 2

Game 5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 6 p.m., ESPN

Game 6: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Saturday, June 3

Game 7: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 2 p.m., ABC

Game 8: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m., ESPN

Sunday, June 4

Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 2 p.m., ABC

Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 6 p.m., ESPN2

Monday, June 5

Game 11: Game 7 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 11 a.m., ESPN

Game 12: (if necessary): Rematch of Game 11, 1:30 p.m., ESPN

Game 13: Game 8 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 6 p.m., ESPN

Game 14 (if necessary): Rematch of Game 13, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

WCWS Finals

Game 1: June 7

Game 2: June 8

Game 3 (if necessary): June 9