With five straight NCAA regional championships from 2000-04, OU became the first team east of Pac-10 country to make five straight appearances in the Women's College World Series.
The Sooners returned to the pinnacle of college softball again in 2011 and 2012.
Following is a look back at each of Oklahoma's seven trips to the WCWS in Oklahoma City.
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2012 WCWS | Sooners Finish Second |
Oklahoma made consecutive WCWS appearances for the first time since 2003-04 with a dominant run through its Regional and Super Regional in Norman. The fourth-seeded Sooners swept five straight games by a combined score of 45-5.
The winning continued in Oklahoma City as OU knocked off South Florida (5-1), No. 1 Cal (3-0) and No. 3 Arizona State (5-3) to advance to the championship series vs. No. 2 Alabama.
The Sooners and Crimson Tide split the first two games to send the series to a winner-take-all final. In a game delayed nearly three hours due to rain, Alabama rallied from a 3-0 deficit by scoring four runs in the fourth inning and ultimately held on, 5-4, to become the first SEC team to win an NCAA softball title.
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2011 WCWS | OU Returns to Oklahoma City |
Oklahoma made its 18th straight postseason appearance and opened at home as the nation's No. 9 seed. OU got past Iona (7-1) and Tulsa (6-0) before the Golden Hurricane forced the "if necessary" game on Sunday with a 4-3 nine-inning win. OU responded from the loss by winning 5-0 to advance to the NCAA Super Regional against eighth-seeded Arizona in Tucson.
OU fired all on all cylinders throughout the weekend, downing the Wildcats in two straight games (6-0 and 5-2) to wins its first Super Regional and return to the WCWS for the first time since 2004. The Sooners fell to No. 1 Arizona State 3-1 in the opening round before being eliminated by Missouri 4-1.
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2004 WCWS | OU Makes it Five Straight |
OU faced another daunting task when it learned of its NCAA Regional schedule as it was headed to No. 1 Arizona as the No. 2 seed in the toughest regional in the tournament.
Oklahoma faced the No. 1 Wildcats in the winner's bracket and upset Arizona, 3-2. The top-ranked Wildcats were knocked out by Louisiana-Lafayette in the loser's bracket final. The Cajuns, who had to beat the Sooners twice, topped OU in the first game but Oklahoma responded with a 15-0 run rule to advance to its fifth WCWS.
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2003 WCWS | Oklahoma Advances Again |
Different from their first three WCWS appearances, the Sooners had to do it on the road as they were sent to Gainesville, Fla., for the NCAA Regional.
It didn't phase the Sooners as OU swept through the regional with the closest margin of victory being four runs. Oklahoma knocked off Bethune Cookman, South Florida, Texas-Arlington and Oregon State on its way to its fourth consecutive Women's College World Series appearance.
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2002 WCWS | Sooners Top No. 1 Texas |
The Sooners faced a tough task as they hosted top-seeded Texas in the Norman Regional.
Oklahoma opened the regional with victories over Utah and Texas A&M before facing Texas and Olympic pitcher Cat Osterman. The Sooners avenged a loss to the Longhorns in the Big 12 Tournament as they scored four runs and advanced to the regional finals with a 4-1 win.
Texas A&M knocked off Texas again and OU topped the Aggies 4-1 in the final to advance to its third straight Women's College World Series.
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2001 WCWS | Back-to-Back Appearances |
A year after winning the national title and becoming only the second non-west coast team to win a softball national championship, the Sooners were back in the title hunt again.
Once again, OU swept through its home regional after beating Lehigh, North Carolina and No. 12 Washington (twice) to advance to its second straight WCWS.
The Sooners carried the nation's longest winning streak into the World Series, but went 1-2 and were eliminated by LSU in a heartbreaking 2-1 game.
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2000 WCWS | OU Wins First National Title |
The Sooners swept through their home regional as they defeated Harvard, Cal State-Northridge and beat Oregon State twice to make their first ever appearance in the World Series.
The Sooner magic continued in Oklahoma City as Oklahoma opened the series with a 2-1 win over California and knocked off Southern Mississippi and perennial powerhouse Arizona to advance to the title game against UCLA.
Using a 3-1 win over the Bruins, OU claimed its first national title in program history.
2000 National Champions |
WCWS Highlights |
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