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Scouting the Norman Regional: Who poses a threat to OU?

Bob Przybyloby: Bob Przybylo05/12/26BPrzybylo

It was absolutely zero shock that OU softball will be at home at Love’s Field. The Norman Regional sees the Sooners as the No. 3 overall national seed.

Joining OU in Norman are No. 2 Kansas, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Binghamton. OU gets it started vs. Binghamton on Friday afternoon.

So who are these teams? A look at the trio of clubs coming to Norman this weekend.

Kansas (35-19 overall, 14-10 Big 12)
Best wins: Arizona State (2), Baylor (2), UCF (2), Oklahoma State
Name to Know: Ella Boyer. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year can bring it. She is hitting .336 and leads the team with 18 home runs, 57 RBIs and 35 walks.

Michigan (34-20, 11-13 Big Ten)
Best wins: Kansas, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Indiana
Name to Know: Lauren Putz. Leads the team in just about everything. Putz has a .442 average with 21 home runs and 77 RBIs.

Binghamton (20-25, 15-5 America East)
Best wins: University of Massachusetts-Lowell (twice to win conference tournament)
Name to Know: Rachel Carey. Second on the team in home runs (14) and leads the squad in batting average (.477) and RBIs (47).

Norman Regional Schedule

Friday
Game 1: Binghamton vs. OU, 2:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Game 2: Michigan vs. Kansas, 5 p.m. (ESPNU)

Saturday
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3 p.m.
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8 p.m.

Sunday
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 3 p.m.
Game 7: *If Necessary, 5:30 p.m.

Softball America believes OU has one of the easiest paths to the Super Regional. The staff ranked the Norman Regional as No. 15 of 16 in terms of difficulty.

15. Norman Regional – (No. 3 Oklahoma)

1 Oklahoma
8 Kansas
Michigan
Binghamton*

How does Oklahoma not make it out?
By losing two high-scoring games. Expect plenty of runs in this regional unless the Sooners’ pitching staff rises to the occasion. Kansas and Michigan have both hit the ball extremely well this season. Oklahoma fans should quickly familiarize themselves with Big 12 Freshman of the Year Ella Boyer from Kansas and Michigan star Lauren Putz. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to imagine Oklahoma losing twice, given the pitching struggles both the Jayhawks and Wolverines have dealt with this season.

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