After an almost three hour rain delay, the Sooners and the Crimson Tide battled it out to crown a winner in the final game of the Womens College World Series Final. The Crimson Tide ended up being the new National Champions, winning 5-4.

The difference in the game was the Alabama pitcher, Jackie Traina. Traina threw a five-hitter. Though she did give up three home-runs, 2 of those belonging to Lauren Chamberlin.

Oklahoma did lead the game after the third, but four runs in for Alabama in the 4th was the game changer. Alabama became the first team from the SEC to win a softball title and ended the season with a 60-8 record.

Before the series with Alabama, Oklahoma had been on a 12 game winning streak. They closed out 2012 with a 54-10 record. Player of the year, Keilani Ricketts ended the world series with  64 strikeouts, the third most in WCWS history.

Oklahoma beat Arizona State on Sunday to advance to the Womens College World Series Finals. The last time the Sooner softball team won a National Title was in 2000.

Oklahoma leads the country with 98 home runs on the season and have won 11 games in a row. Player of the Year, Keilani Ricketts ended her pitching streak today, which was  40 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.

Arizona State’s Annie Lockwood hit a two-run double. Even though Lockwood ended the streak, Ricketts still struck out 13 Sun Devils. This was the 25th time this season she has struck out 10 or more players while on the mound.

The Sooners will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in a best-of-three final starting Monday in Oklahoma City. A Big XII vs SEC game is always a great match-up. The two best teams in the country from two of the best conferences in the county.

The Sooner softball team had a very eventful opening WCWS game on Thursday, beating the USF Bulls 5-1 to move on. College Softball player of year, Keilani Ricketts, pitched 11 strikeouts, the most by an OU pitcher is WCWS history. Lauren Chamberlin also hit homer No. 28, pushing the Sooners out from being down 1-0.

The Sooners will take on their most difficult opponent to date, playing No. 1 ranked Cal Friday night at 6:00 PM. The other Sooner bat team is just beginning their college world series run…

Sooner baseball starts off their Road to Omaha run Friday at 1:00 PM CST to take on Appalachian State in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the Sooners bracket is: Virginia, Army and Appalachian State. If they win, they will play at 5:00 PM on Saturday, lose it will be a noon game.

The No. 3 seeded Mountaineers returned 22 letterwinners from the 2011 team that was 33-27 overall and sixth in the SoCon at 15-15. Pitchers projected for todays game are Oklahoma: LHP Jordan John (8-6, 2.30 ERA) vs. Appalachian State: RHP Ryan Arrowood (10-0, 4.03 ERA).

As always, you can catch the Sooners on Sooner Sports Radio KREF 1400 if you are in the area. Live audio and stats can be found on SoonerSports.com

Keilani Ricketts of Oklahoma was named the 2012 Collegiate Softball Player of the year on Tuesday night. Ricketts is the first Sooner in history to take home the honor. Her sister was also a finalist for the award back in 2007.

Keilani Ricketts, 2012 POY Pic from SoonerSports.com

Release from SoonerSports.com:

The unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year, Ricketts was the only player among the three finalists to lead her team in both pitching and hitting. Ricketts currently ranks 11th in the country with an on-base percentage of .558 and 13th with an .841 slugging percentage. The Oklahoma junior is eighth nationally with 49 walks.

In the circle, she ranks third in the NCAA with an ERA of 0.99, third with 393 strikeouts and her 33 wins puts her fifth nationally. Ricketts is second in the nation in giving up just 3.71 hits per seven innings. The southpaw has recorded 1,191 career strikeouts, putting her third on the Big 12 career list.

The other two finalists for the 2012 award were Pac-12 Player of the Year Valerie Arioto (Pleasanton, Calif.) of California and Pac-12 First-Team honoree Katelyn Boyd (Phoenix, Ariz.) of Arizona State.

The Sooners begin their College World Series run on Thursday against South Florida in the opening game. South Florida comes into the game 50-12, while the Sooners are 50-8. The Sooners and the Bulls have met 5 times previously, with the Bulls holding the series, 3-2. The last time they met was in 2003, where the Sooners won both games.

You will be able to catch the Sooners and all of the Women’s College World Series action on ESPN2. The game is scheduled for a Noon first pitch at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.