NCAA Softball Region I Championship Preview

TUCSON, Ariz. -- To reach its fifth consecutive Women's College World Series, the Oklahoma (40-19-1) softball team has to win the Region I Championships, which are hosted by the consensus No. 1 team in the country, Arizona.

Before even thinking about 'Zona, No. 2 seed OU has a first round game against No. 7 Temple (29-16). The Sooners will play either No. 3 seed Northwestern (32-18) or No. 6 seed U.C. Santa Barbara (32-29) in their second round game. Like the Big 12 Tournament and WCWS, the regionals are a double elimination tournament.

“It's the toughest regional in the country. There is no question about it,” said OU head coach Patty Gasso. “But you have to go through Arizona to win a national championship every year. So this isn't a bad thing. We get to take our shot now and earn our way back to our fans and the (Women's College) World Series.”

View Regional Live Stats & Results

Oklahoma has been perfect in its last four regionals (16-0). From 2000-03 they won regional championships in Norman with perfect 4-0 performances. Last season OU traveled to Gainsville, Fla., where they won the Region Five Championship in four games.

Arizona, OU and Louisiana-Lafayette reached the WCWS last season. The Sooner's streak of four straight WCWS appearances is the fourth longest in the country behind UCLA, Arizona and Cal.

The only team in the regional that OU has faced in the NCAA postseason before is Arizona, who it owns a 1-2 record against.

OU has an all-time record of 7-20 against Arizona and hasn't defeated the Cats since 2000 when they defeated them in route to its first national championship. OU has all-time winning records against Northwestern (7-1), Temple (2-0), and Centenary (4-0). The Sooners have all-time losing records against Lafayette (4-13) and South Carolina (1-5), while a potential meeting with UCSB would be a first for the programs.

College Sports Television will be broadcasting the action on Saturday and Sunday. Below is a listing of the five games they plan to broadcast:

Game 11 - Saturday at 1 :30 PM
Game 12 - Saturday at 4 PM
Game 13 - Saturday at 7:30 PM
Game 14 - Sunday at 3 PM
Game 15 - Sunday at 5:30 PM*
* If necessary game

The network is available on Time Warner, Adelphia and Insight cable systems, among others, and is also available on DirecTV (channel 610). For information on CSTV availability in particular markets, consumers can log on to www.collegesports.com or call their cable or satellite operator.

Fans in Norman can access all of the postseason action through a live radio feed on SoonerSports.com. The radio broadcast is through the Yahoo! Sports Oklahoma Package and can be purchased for $4.95 a month.

Any game beginning after 7 p.m. will be broadcast locally on KREF (1400 AM) with Tony Sellars pulling the one man show.

As usual live stats will be provided on SoonerSports.com at no charge to the user.

REGION ONE CHAMPIONSHIP
Hillenbrand Field
Tucson, Ariz.
Thursday, May 20
Temple vs. Oklahoma - 1:30 PM

Friday, May 21 - Sunday May 23
NCAA Regionals - TBD

VITAL STATS
Record - 40-19-1
Streaks - Lost one
USA Today/NFCA Ranking - No. 21
ESPN.com/USA Softball Ranking - No. 20
Big 12 Record - 11-7
Home Record - 22-3
Road Record - 6-9
Neutral Site Record - 12-7-1
Non-Conference Record - 27-10-1
Midwest Region Record - 20-12
Out of Region Record - 20-7-1

Region 1 Bracket | Complete NCAA 64-Team Field

SCOUTING NO. 7 SEED TEMPLE
After claiming the first Atlantic-10 Championship in program history, Temple will make its first appearance in the NCAA Championship field. The Owls won four straight games in the A-10 tourney to claim the championship over St. John's. Freshman Richelle Villescas was named the Tournament MVP after pitching Temple to a doubleheader sweep of Saint Joseph's. In 2004, she went 17-12 in 24 starts for the Owls with a 1.93 ERA and 123 strikeouts. Temple is also led by a pair of seniors, Kim Watkins and Lynsey Grace. Watkins was the A-10 Pitcher of the Year and has a 11-1 record in 18 starts this season. She holds down a 0.70 ERA in 110.2 innings pitched along with 89 strikeouts. Grace leads her team in RBI (26), slugging percentage (.511) and is tied for first on the squad with five home runs.

SCOUTING NO. 3 SEED NORTHWESTERN
No. 3 seed Northwestern finished fourth in the Big 10 regular-season standings and was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney by eventual-champion Michigan State. The Wildcats are making their second consecutive appearance and seventh overall in the tournament. In 2004, their schedule featured 27 games against teams in the 64-team field. Northwestern is led by ace Eileen Canny who is 18-3 on the season with 177 strikeouts in 22 starts. The Big 10 Freshman of the Year split time this year with sophomore Courtney Foster. Foster is 14-14 in 27 starts with a 1.64 ERA and 219 strikeouts. At the plate, freshman Garland Cooper is the team's top slugger, leading the squad in batting average (.381), home runs (10) and RBI (42).

SCOUTING NO. 6 SEED UCSBUC Santa Barbara closed out the season with a 14-5 record, including five wins against ranked opponents. The Gauchos took two out of three from then 19th-ranked Pacific, swept a doubleheader from WAC Champion and then-No. 11 Fresno State, and downed Big West Champion and 18th-ranked Long Beach State 4-1 in its own park. UC Santa Barbara is making its first-ever NCAA Regional appearance. The Gauchos earned the postseason bid after tying for second place in the conference standings. UCSB freshman hurler Jennifer Davis is the team's leading pitcher. Davis is 16-15 this season with a 2.65 ERA and 197 strikeouts in 187.1 innings worked. Junior Lindsey Herrin has the team's top power numbers pacing them with 10 homers and 35 RBI. Seniors Leslie Simien and Heather Nobbe also have been big contributors for the Gauchos. Simien leads the Big West with 33 stolen bases in 38 attempts and Nobbe leads the team in batting with a .314 mark.

SCOUTING NO. 1 SEED ARIZONA
Arizona has been the consensus No. 1 team in the land for most of the season. The Wildcats jumped out to a school record 34-0 record and claimed the Pac 10 Championship for the eighth time. Arizona makes its 18th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and has won its last 16 to earn berths in the Women's College World Series each year since 1988. The U-of-A has been a host site 12 times, including last year. On the mound, USA Softball Player of the Year Finalist Alicia Hollowell (39-2) has been dominant with a 0.65 ERA and 480 strikeouts. The Wildcats' offense also shined this year and has five players with 30 or more RBI. Among those are seniors Mackenzie Vandergeest (65) and Wendy Allen (70). Autumn Champion (.482) and Caitlin Lowe (.458) have been a dynamic 1-2 punch for the Cats.

SCOUTING NO. 5 SEED UL-LAFAYETTE
The Ragin Cajuns of Lafayette are the No. 9 team in the country but have been seeded No. 5 in the regional. The Ragin Cajuns won their fifth straight Sun Belt Conference Championship after defeating Middle Tennessee State in the tournament final, 19-0. Lafayette is carried by junior pitcher Brooke Mitchell who is 41-3 with a 0.55 ERA and 484 strikeouts. Freshman Holly Tankersley leads Lafayette's offense that features five players with 30-plus RBI. Tankersley owns the squad's top batting average (.354) and leads the team in home runs (20) and RBI (48).

SCOUTING NO. 4 SEED USCUSC finished in fourth place of the SEC Eastern Division during the regular season. The Gamecocks are making their sixth straight appearance in the tournament and 14th overall. This also marks the second consecutive season USC will play in the Tucson regional. On the mound, senior Stacey Johnson is 16-12 holding down a 1.21 ERA and has struck out 135 batters. Sophomore catcher Ashley Smith is the Gamecocks' top hitter. Her .308 batting average and six homers ranks second on the team, while her 29 RBI leads the team. OU and South Carolina were scheduled to play in the Florida State Invitational earlier this season but the entire tournament was rained out.

SCOUTING NO. 8 SEED CENTENARY
The only team besides Arizona in the regional that OU has faced this season is Centenary. OU defeated Centenary four times this year by combined total of 32-1. The Ladies won the Mid-Continental Conference Tournament. In the conference tournament, senior pitcher Cheyenne Daries tossed a one-hitter and two-hitter on the final day to clinch the tournament MVP and the school's first ever conference crown. Centenary will also be making its first appearance at the NCAA Regional. Offensively, junior Janis Kelley and freshman Micah Rhodes lead the squad. Kelley's 13 homers and 37 RBI are tops on the team while Rhodes .353 batting average is a team best.

AGAINST THE FIELD
OU is 19-15 against the 2004 NCAA softball postseason field. OU has always had a difficult schedule and this year is not different with 56 percent (34 of 60) of its games being against teams that reached regionals. The Sooners are 5-12 against teams with a No. 4 seed or better and 14-3 against teams in the lower half of the bracket. OU and Nebraska are the highest seeded Big 12 teams (No. 2) despite having drastically different conference seasons. Nebraska won the regular season and conference championships, while OU finished fifth during the regular season and third in the conference tourney.

A CUT ABOVE
Heather Scaglione received more all-conference votes than any player and was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. In the conference ranks for the regular season, she leads the Big 12 in batting average (.399), home runs (16), RBI (46), total bases (127), on-base percentage (.512), slugging percentage (.734), and walks (40), while ranking third in runs scored (39) and fifth in doubles (10). She is the only player in conference to eclipse .500 in on-base percentage and .700 in slugging percentage.

She claimed seven conference offensive titles after leading all hitters during Big 12 play in batting average (.455), home runs (6), RBI (15), total bases (40), on-base percentage (.597), slugging percentage (.909) and walks (16).

Her most impressive stat may be on defense where she has thrown out 14 of 22 attempted base stealers (.636). She also has just three passed balls this season and has picked off five runners.

Her remarkable season will go down in Big 12 history as one of the best ever. Scaglione's current on-base percentage of .512 is the fourth best mark in Big 12 history. Her home run total is tied for sixth, her walk tied for third and her total bases mark ranks 10th. She is also within reach of the top-12 in hits and RBI.

TWO NAMED TO ALL-BIG 12 TOURNEY TEAM
Kami Keiter and Jamie Fox were two of 12 players named to All-Big 12 Tournament Team on Sunday afternoon following the championship game. Fox led all tourney hitters with a .636 batting average. She reached safely seven times in 11 at bats. As usual, Keiter was a workhorse for OU. She threw 29.2 innings with a 1.18 ERA while opposing hitters batted just .188 against her.

450, 600 & 650 DOWN, 500 Next?
OU head coach Patty Gasso claimed the 650th victory of her head coaching career (Long Beach City College and OU) with a defeat of No. 25 Tulsa on May 11. Her current career record is 652-217-1 (.749). Gasso picked up the 450th win of her Sooner career when OU knocked off Illinois 7-0 in the season opener at the LSU Tiger Classic (Feb. 6). Gasso's OU career record is 489-159-1 (.753). Gasso is just 11 wins shy of the 500th of her career. She will likely surpass the mark early in the 2005 season. Gasso coached the 600th game of her Sooner career in OU's 10-0 defeat of North Carolina on Feb. 21.

COMPLETE REGIONAL MEDIA GUIDE

University of Oklahoma Athletics

NCAA Softball Region I Championship Preview

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