Five softball teams that could stand in the way of a Texas-Oklahoma WCWS rematch
The last game the Texas softball team played took place at Oklahoma City's Devon Park, where Oklahoma handed the top-ranked Longhorns a 5-1 loss in last Saturday’s Big 12 Tournament championship.
And based on the plethora of predictions that have rolled in since the NCAA announced its tournament field, the last game of the season will take place when those two teams again meet on the same field in June for the finale of the Women's College World Series.
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That’s a sturdy limb for college softball prognosticators to climb on. No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma are at the top of all the major national polls and no other team garnered a first-place vote in either the USA Softball/ESPN poll or the USA Today/NFCA rankings.
According to the Texas players and coaches, facing the Sooners in their cauldron of a home stadium this past weekend can only help the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament, which begins for Texas on Friday against Siena.
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“The crowd was awesome,” said UT pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez, who struck out a career-high 10 Sooners in the loss. “The experience being under the lights at OKC. I mean, that was awesome.”
Gutierrez also got a bit of advice after the game from pitching coach Pattie Ruth Taylor, who told her to absorb the atmosphere and use it to help fuel a return trip.
“PR (Taylor) said to enjoy this moment because we're going be back and I 100% agree with that,” Gutierrez said. “Being on that stage at that big moment, I think it's going to be huge for us.”
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But will Texas and Oklahoma meet for a fifth time after splitting their previous four games this season and secure a rematch of the 2022 national championship game?
“I mean, that's a way down the road, and I hope it's a matchup that happens,” Texas coach Mike White said. “That'd be tremendous to be able to do that again like we did two years ago. But we're not looking past these other teams.”
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And who are those other teams that could spoil everyone’s bracket? Here are five teams that could stand in Texas' way before yet another meeting with the Sooners:
Texas A&M: The No. 16 seed, the Longhorns’ once and future conference rival will travel to Austin May 24-26 if it survives its host regional this weekend. The Aggies boast a deep and talented squad that finished third in the grueling SEC, and their low seed raised some eyebrows.
Texas State: If A&M doesn’t advance out of the College Station Regional, it’s probably because Texas State ace Jessica Mullins will have pitched the Bobcats to an upset win. Mullins, one of the initial 25 finalists for USA Softball’s player of the year award, gives Texas State a puncher’s chance in any pitching duel.
Oklahoma State: You can’t talk about Texas or Oklahoma without mentioning the Cowgirls, the No. 5 overall seed who beat both the Sooners and Longhorns in their Big 12 season series. They won’t be fazed by the CWS atmosphere.
Tennessee: The third-seeded Vols handled Texas in last year’s super regional and look like a threat to earn a return trip to Oklahoma City. No team has a better one-two punch than pitcher Karlyn Pickens and outfielder Kiki Milloy.
Duke: A top-five team for much of the season, the ACC champions somehow dropped to the No. 10 seed because of a questionable schedule, which means they’ll have to travel for the super regionals. But slugger Claire Davidson leads a loaded lineup that will strike fear into any higher seed at the CWS.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Five team teams that stand in way of rematch between Texas softball, OU
