OU Softball Defeats South Florida 5-1 In Women's College World Series Opener

South Florida may have jumped out to a quick lead scoring on an unearned run in the fourth inning, but it would be a very short lived lead. Oklahoma true freshman superstar, Lauren Chamberlain, would come to the plate in the bottom half of the fourth and send a no-doubter screaming over the outfield fence to put the Sooners quickly back on top 2-1. And once OU has a lead, with National Player of the Year Keilani Ricketts in the circle, more often than not the rest is simply academic.

Ricketts stifled the USF bats while the Sooners added some late insurance runs to extend their lead to a much more comfortable 5-1, which would prove to be the eventual final score. Ricketts, who is batting over .400 on the season, helped her own cause in the sixth driving a ball off the wall (just inches from leaving the park) and eventually winding up on third with a triple. Oklahoma would go on to score to more in the sixth and Ricketts closed the door on South Florida in the seventh.

With the win, the Sooners advance to the winner's bracket to face the winner of (1) Cal vs. (8) LSU. OU has not played Cal this year, who spent a majority of the season as the #1 ranked team in the country, but they did play LSU twice and won both. Neither would be an "easy" matchup, but of the two LSU would be preferrable for obvious reasons. That said, this OU team shouldn't be afraid to play anyone as they are arguably the hottest team in the country at just the right time.