Bedlam to Decide Big 12 Regular Season Title

May 3, 6 | Stillwater, Okla. | Cowgirl Stadium

May 5 | Norman | Marita Hynes Field

^NR/RV Oklahoma State

^6/7 Oklahoma

Live Stats

KEBC 1560

ESPNU (Wed.) | FSOK (Fri.) | ESPN (Sat.)

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NORMAN - Winner of 21 of its past 22 games, No. 6/7 Oklahoma (44-8, 14-1 Big 12) wraps up the regular season this week with Bedlam against Oklahoma State (33-19, 12-3).

The series will alternate between the two campus sites with Wednesday (6:30 p.m. start time) and Saturday (4 p.m.) taking place in Stillwater and Friday (6 p.m.) in Norman.

All three games will be televised with ESPNU carrying Wednesday's contest, Fox Sports Oklahoma covering Friday and ESPN broadcasting Saturday. Each game can also be heard on KEBC 1560 in Norman or online via the link above.

OU Has Sights Set on Sixth Straight Big 12 Title

The Big 12 regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Championship are on the line this week as the Sooners hold a two-game lead over the Cowgirls with three games to play. Oklahoma needs just one win in the series to capture its sixth straight Big 12 title.

Team	Record	Games Back	Remaining
Oklahoma	14-1	--	2 at OSU, 1 vs. OSU
Oklahoma State	12-3	2.0	2 vs. OU, 1 at OU

Oklahoma has won an unprecedented five straight Big 12 championships. Prior to this current run, no team in league history had even won three straight conference crowns.

With five straight league crowns, the Sooners are tied for the second longest active regular season conference-title streak in the nation with North Dakota State (Summit). Only Michigan (9) in the Big Ten has a longer stretch.

Oklahoma has won nine Big 12 regular season titles and four conference tournament championships. The 13 combined championships are the most in league history.

The Sooners are undefeated in their past 42 regular season Big 12 series, going 38-0-4. The last series loss for OU came to Missouri on April 16-17, 2011. Baylor, Iowa State and Texas are tied for the next longest streak at 1-0-0.

Since the Big 12 began in 1996, OU has the best all-time win percentage in conference play at .781 (304-85). Texas is a distant second at .637 (232-132), while among teams currently in the league Baylor is third at .512 (187-178-1), followed by Oklahoma State at .454 (176-212), Kansas at .383 (151-243), Texas Tech at .310 (121-269) and Iowa State at .212 (82-304).

Big 12 Championship Returns in 2017

After a six-year hiatus, the Big 12 Championship returns in 2017 at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The championship will consist of pool play with six teams divided into two pools.

Seeds 1, 4 and 6 are in Pool A and seeds 2, 3 and 5 are in Pool B. All pool play will occur on day one, while day two will see the third-place teams in each pool face one another followed by the second-place teams and the first-place teams.

Based on current standings, Oklahoma would be the No. 1 seed and be in the same pool as No. 4 Texas and No. 6 Kansas, while No. 2 Oklahoma State would be paired with No. 3 Baylor and No. 5 Texas Tech..

Best Big 12 Finish

Holding a 14-1 record in the Big 12, OU has a chance to match last season's mark for its best finish in league play.

Year	Record	Win Pct.	Place	Postseason
2016	17-1	.944	1st	National Champs
2014	16-2	.889	1st	WCWS
2008	16-2	.889	2nd	Super Regionals

Oklahoma already posted its best start to conference play this season, going undefeated in its first 10 league games.

In the 22 seasons of Big 12 softball, Oklahoma has had a winning record in league play 21 times and will now have finished first or second in the standings 18 times.

Facing Oklahoma State

Oklahoma has an 83-70 (.542) all-time advantage over Oklahoma State, including a 38-21 mark in Norman, but trails 33-28 in Stillwater. Since Patty Gasso arrived in 1995, however, the Sooners own a 54-22 (.711) edge in the series.

The Sooners have won 13 straight in the series and 16 of the past 17 matchups. The last loss for OU in the series came in Stillwater on April 27, 2011, meaning the Sooners have won five straight at Cowgirl Stadium.

Oklahoma has won 19 straight at home vs. Oklahoma State, last losing on May 17, 1997. The Sooners have also won six straight series vs. OSU.

The Sooners have more wins over the Cowgirls than any other team in program history and Coach Gasso has more wins vs. OSU than any other team with 54.

Opponent	Wins	Losses	Win Pct.
Oklahoma State	83	70	.542
Iowa State	77	28	.733
Kansas	63	44	.589

The Sooners have won the Bedlam Cup 13 times in the 15 years since the official start of the Bedlam Series in 2001. The trophy has not left Norman, as OU retained it in 2003 and 2010.

Since the Big 12's inception, OU has done no worse than a split against OSU in the regular season series and claimed in-state bragging rights in 18 of the 21 seasons.

OU has faced OSU more than any other team as this week marks the 154th, 155th and 156th meetings between the two. Kansas (107) and Iowa State (105) are the only other teams the Sooners have met at least 100 times.

Oklahoma State head coach Kenny Gajewski was a member of Oklahoma's national championship baseball team in 1994 and spent 10 years as OU's turf and maintenance director.

The teams feature a combined 16 Oklahomans on their rosters, with four coming from the Sooners and 12 from the Cowgirls.

Last Time They Met

Oklahoma swept the season series a year ago, winning in Oklahoma City, Stillwater and Norman by a combined score of 23-4. OU slashed (AVG/OBP/SLG) .385/.456/.615 in the series and the staff had an ERA of 1.65 compated to OSU's line of .155/.265/.259 and ERA of 8.49.

The series began in OKC where Oklahoma won 10-2, in five innings. OU trailed 2-0 after the top of the third but scored the final 10 runs, including hitting three homers in a seven-run fifth inning. Shay Knighten hit a two-run homer, while Kady Self added a three-run shot later in the inning and Erin Miller hit a walk-off, two-run blast to right field to end it.

Game two saw another OU run-rule win, 8-0 in five innings. The game actually started Friday night in Stillwater but was postponed to Saturday in Norman in the bottom of the second due to rain. Sydney Romero (3-run) and Nicole Pendley (solo) hit back-to-back home runs in a five-run first inning, while Paige Parker threw a two-hit shutout with seven K's.

The Sooners scored all their runs in the first two innings as they completed the sweep with a 5-2 win in the finale.

Sooners on Record Road Winning Streak

Dating back to April 8 of 2016, OU has won 24 straight road games, including all 14 road contests this year. The 21 straight wins on the road are the most in program history, bettering the old mark of 16.

Wins	Start Date	End Date
24	April 8, 2016	N/A
16	March 18, 2002	March 20, 2003

During the streak, Oklahoma has four top-25 wins, seven shutouts and four run-rule wins. Thirteen victories have been against Big 12 teams, while eight have been non-conference matchups. Here's a stat breakdown during the streak.

OU has the longest active road win streak in the country at 24 games, ahead of Saint Francis (PA) at 17 and James Madison and Lehigh at 8. The only other team to be undefeated on the road this year is Long Beach State (4-0).

Oklahoma has also won a program-record 18 straight road games within conference play, dating to April 25, 2015. The bests the old mark of 17 between April 2001 and March 2003.

Pitching Staff Nearing 2013 Levels

The Oklahoma pitching staff is having its best season statistically since the 2013 national championship team that was led by Keilani Ricketts and Michelle Gascoigne. The team's ERA (1.68), strikeout rate (7.57 per 7 IP) and opponent average (.177) are all at their best levels since 2013, while the walk rate of 1.53 walks per 7 innings pitched is actually better than 2013 (1.57).

The 2017 staff has been anchored by two-time All-American Paige Parker, but junior transfer Paige Lowary and freshman Mariah Lopez have emerged to form a powerful trio. Each pitcher has thrown at least 83.0 innings this year, while Parker has seen her inning total drop from 176.0 to 136.1 at this same point a year ago.

Entering the week, OU and LSU were the only teams in the country to have three pitchers who have thrown at least 83.0 IP and also have ERAs of 1.99 or better.

Lowary's numbers have improved significantly in Norman compared to her first two seasons at Missouri. Her ERA has improved from 3.32 to 1.96 while her strikeout rate has climbed from 6.11 per 7 IP to 6.17 and her walk rate has dropped from 3.51 per 7 IP to 1.99.

Lopez has a 1.77 ERA with 88 strikeouts to just 16 walks in 83.0 IP. As of 4/30, her 4.39 hits/7 IP ranked fourth in the country among freshmen, her ERA was fifth-best and her strikeout rate of 7.4 was 8th (min. 83.0 IP).

OU Stealing at Highest Rate in Last 12 Years

Through 52 games, Oklahoma is 95-111 on stolen base attempts. With 1.83 steals per game entering the week, OU ranked 25th in the country, but by their own standards, the Sooners are stealing at their highest rate in the past 12 years.

The 95 steals and 111 steal attempts are the most for OU at this point in the season since at least 2006.

SB	Year	SBA	Year
95	2017	111	2017
78	2007	103	2007
67	2016	84	2016
66	2010	79	2013
62	2013	79	2010

Eleven different players have at least one stolen base this year and eight have at least seven steals. Caleigh Clifton and Nicole Mendes are tied for the team lead with 17, while Sydney Romero has 15 this year after having just 6 in 2016.

As a team, OU has 16 games this year with at least three stolen bases and 10 games with at least four, including a season-high six at Texas Tech (4/30). The 95 steals are sixth most in OU history.

Quick Hits

Through 5/1, Paige Parker is 10th among active pitchers in career wins (83), 11th in ERA (1.62), 12th in shutouts (26), 15th in total strikeouts (675), 16th in strikeouts/7 IP (7.75), and complete games (67), 30th in innings pitched (609.2), 40th in starts (87) and 47th in appearances (119) ... Paige Lowary is 15th among active pitchers in saves (10), 32nd in wins (54) and 38th in strikeouts/7IP (6.13) ... Caleigh Clifton is 33rd among active players with 35 career HBP ... Nicole Mendes is 5th among active players in career batting average at .439 (min. 100 AB)

Parker leads the team with a 1.01 ERA in Big 12 matchups and 1.69 ERA in road games, while Mariah Lopez has a team-best 0.55 ERA in home games ... Mendes leads the team in batting average in both Big 12 games (.462) and road contests (.477), while Macey Hatfield has a team-high .464 average at home

Every pitcher on the OU staff has an ERA of 1.99 or better, and the staff ERA is 1.48 during conference games ... as a team, OU is 91-163 (.561) with a runner on third and less than 2 out ... after hitting 15 home runs in their first 32 games (0.47/game), the Sooners have hit 28 in their last 20 contests (1.40/game) ... conversely, OU pitchers have given up two home runs in the last 18 games (0.11/game) after giving up 25 in the first 34 contests (0.74/game)

Bedlam to Decide Big 12 Regular Season Title