Alabama Takes On Oklahoma For Softball National Championship

Monday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the Oklahoma Sooners, in the first game of a best-of-three game championship series, in the 2012 Women's College World Series, at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Alabama represents the SEC, and Oklahoma hails from the Big XII, which means this will be the first year since 2005 that a member of the Pac-10/Pac-12 will not win the national championship.

This will also be the first time since 1986 that the Pac-10/Pac-12 does not have a team in the WCWS finals.

Oklahoma, who is 53-8 on the year, became the only team from the Big XII to win the national title when they defeated UCLA back in 2000. The Sooners are led by duel threat Khalani Ricketts. In the circle, Ricketts is 36-7, with over 400 strikeouts, and an era of 0.99, and is hitting over a .400, with 16 home runs at the plate.

Oklahoma has clubbed 98 homers as a team this year. Besides the 16 home runs by Ricketts, Lauren Chamberlain has 28, and Jessica Shults has added 19.

Alabama, who is 58-7 on the year will be playing in the WCWS finals for the first time in school history, and will be looking to become the first SEC school to win a softball national championship.

The Crimson Tide have a duel threat of their own, in Jackie Traina, who is 40-2, with a 1.70 era. in the circle, and is hitting .309, with ten homers, and 33 RBI's at the plate.

Alabama, who has 97 homers runs as a team, is led by Kaila Hunt, who is hitting a .318, with 21 homers, and 76 RBI's, along with Jennifer Fenton, who paces the team in hitting, at a .389.